One imagines that José Mourinho, Tottenham Hotspur’s manager, is one of the last Premier League coaches to catch the Christmas spirit. However, according to defender Sergio Reguilón, there is nothing further from the truth.
Reguilón, a 24-year-old Spain international, revealed how a surprise gift made by Mourinho on Christmas Day helped mitigate the sadness he felt at being forced to spend the festive season alone in London, away from his family .
“I always say the same thing: I would like you to know him the way I know him,” Reguilón said in an interview with Diario AS de Madrid. “I could tell a thousand wonderful anecdotes …”
“For example, on Christmas day, who knows that I am alone. We arrived to train on the 25th at 3 and I had a box in my place. I open it and it was a suckling pig already cooked. He told me: ‘I know you are alone in Christmas so you don’t have to cook dinner, and you eat well. ‘
“He has details that people do not know on a day-to-day basis,” continued the defender. “But for a footballer, what [el DT] be aware of how you are, apart from football, it is very important. “
It is not the first time that Mourinho has lent his help in domestic matters to Reguilón, who signed for Spurs from Real Madrid in a transfer last September, while he settles in north London. Last month, the Tottenham manager revealed that he had presented Reguilón with a leg of Iberian ham valued at £ 500 ($ 650). The gift was reported to have been an award for keeping Riyah Mahrez at bay during the 2-0 win over Manchester City.
“A promise is a promise”, Mourinho wrote on his Instagram account, illustrated with a photo of the coach and Reguilón with their piece of ham. “It cost me £ 500, but I keep my promises.”
It is not the first time in 2020 that a footballer has received a suckling pig as a gift. Brazil’s national team legend Ronaldinho was reported to have won a similar award by winning a football tournament played during his time in prison in Paraguay earlier this year.
In Reguilón’s case, he has received his gourmet pork dishes with gratitude. Although his adaptation to the Premier League courts has gone by without major problems, the Spaniard admitted in his interview with Diario AS that he still has not managed to get used to the London culinary offer.
“I can’t quite get the taste of English food,” said Reguilón. “They always send me my hams and my things from Spain, the other day they sent me a box of fabada, so imagine …”
So far, it is clear that Mourinho’s human management has achieved its objectives. Reguilón praises the Portuguese, classifying him as a “top coach”.
“I personally look at him, I see that confidence that he has in himself and I say ‘we are going to win something, yes or yes’. We are going to have to win something. With that mentality things are done.”
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