Notebook - Spurs v Vitesse

Antonio Conte will take on his first fixture as our Head Coach tonight as we return to Europa Conference League action with the visit of Vitesse to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (8pm kick-off).

Here is a look at the key points of note ahead of the game…

1 - Antonio arrives

On Tuesday, the dawn of a new era broke as Antonio Conte was appointed as our new Head Coach - and the visit of Vitesse will mark his first game in charge. Antonio joins us with an impressive résumé having won four Serie A titles during his time in Italy as well as the Premier League and FA Cup during his previous spell in England. Meanwhile, in European competitions, he has experience of managing in both the Champions League and Europa League, leading Internazionale to final of the latter competition in 2020. Between 2014 and 2016, he also coached the Italian national team and, against the odds, led the Azzurri to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.

2 - New ground with Vitesse

Tonight's meeting with Vitesse will mark Antonio’s first-ever encounter with a Dutch side. Despite having managed at the highest level in the game, the Italian has somehow managed to avoid teams from Holland. He has, however, faced the Netherlands once before as a coach – that was a 2-0 win over the Oranje in his first match as Italy’s Head Coach in September, 2014. Having faced Vitesse for the first time in a competitive clash on our recent trip to Arnhem, naturally, we’ve never taken on the Vites on home soil.

3 - Paratici on Conte arrival

Ahead of the game, Managing Director - Football, Fabio Paratici, addressed the local and national media on Wednesday with his press conference heavily focussing on the appointment of Antonio Conte as our Head Coach.

During Fabio’s time at Juventus (2010-2021), he worked alongside Antonio for three years (2011-2014) as the Italian coach sparked a golden period for the Old Lady. Now, reunited in north London, the pair’s work begins once more as they look to turn our fortunes around.

“When we started at Juve, we hadn’t won (a title) for a long time,” Fabio began, reflecting on the duo’s first project together at Juventus. “We didn’t think about ‘we have to win this or this’. We thought we had to compete; that is the most important thing. Then when we are at that level, then you need to improve again and arrive to win trophies. I know him (Antonio) very well. He is a hard worker, with a lot of passion and a lot of knowledge. He is one of the best coaches in the world. His track record speaks for itself. We have to be like we are, work harder and be committed. It is day-by-day that you build something, not just because you think, or you speak about this. You have to act, work hard and stay focussed. Nothing else.”

4 - Last time out in Europe

It was disappointment for us last time out in the Europa Conference League as we fell to a 1-0 defeat against our upcoming opponents, Vitesse. The Dutch side came out against us with aggression and intensity in front of a packed GelreDome and stifled our ambition. After a slow first half, we flew into life at the start of the second and could have been ahead had Bryan Gil’s speculative effort not cannoned back off the crossbar. The hosts gained the momentum back from that moment though and went on to find a winner through Maximilian Wittek’s volley on 78 minutes.

5 - Hugo: ‘Now is not the time for words. It is time to work.’

Naturally, there is excitement brewing within the squad following the appointment of Antonio Conte as our Head Coach and captain Hugo Lloris sees this as a huge opportunity for the group.

Antonio joins us after having led Internazionale to the Serie A title last season, a triumph which ended Juventus’ nine-year domination over the Italian top-flight – a run of Scudettos which he himself had started in 2011, leading the Old Lady to their first three of the nine. Yet, despite all his previous successes, the Italian’s ambition is unceasing – something Hugo explains was made clear from his first meeting with the squad.

“It was quite simple,” Hugo said on our new Head Coach’s opening message to the team. “He is very ambitious, and he believes in all the players in the dressing room. He will give his best to help the Club to improve and to give a proper structure to the team. Then, as players, we need to demand more from each other. We need to show more responsibility for the Club and fans.

“It is a great opportunity to work under one of the greatest managers of the last few years. Now is not the time for words. It is time to work. It is time to believe again in ourselves, our team and in our club. Step by step we will try to improve and reach the level that we should.”

6 - Hugo closing in on Stevie P

Speaking of our skipper, if he plays tonight, Hugo Lloris will go level with legendary former captain Steve Perryman on 64 European appearances for the Club. Harry Kane is now our record appearance maker (66) and goalscorer (43) in European competition.

7 - Vitesse’s streak on the road

We were aware of just how strong Vitesse are at home in Europe before we travelled out to Holland last month, but the Dutch side have also been showing their quality on the road on the continent this season. Having entered the Europa Conference League at the third qualifying round, they are yet to lose away in the competition this term. The Vites have already defeated Dundalk in Dublin, they then drew 3-3 in the play-off round across the Belgium border with Anderlecht before they edged NS Mura 2-0 in Maribor on Matchday One of Group G.

8 - Strengths in the group stage

We may have lost against Vitesse in our most recent group stage outing, but it has been three years since we last lost back-to-back games in the group stages of a European competition. That came at the start of our run to the UEFA Champions League Final in the 2018/19 season as we suffered a 2-1 defeat to Internazionale at the San Siro in September, 2018, before we then fell to Barcelona 4-2 at Wembley the following month.

9 - Home comforts

Despite Vitesse’s unbeaten run away from home in this year’s competition, we have a near perfect record at home in our last 12 European games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, having won 11 of those matches (L1). In our last eight games, we have won each of them and kept a clean sheet while none of our last 22 home games in Europe have ended level (W17, L5). If we managed to overcome Vitesse on Thursday, we will have won nine consecutive home games in Europe for the first time since April, 1974.

10 - Kane, Europe, home, goals

Harry Kane’s record at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in European competitions is outstanding. In just nine appearances at our home in UEFA competitions, Harry has been involved in 17 goals, scoring 15 and assisting another two. That run includes two hat-tricks and, so far this season, he already has five goals to his name after just two appearances.