![]() The Englishman secured victory for Real in Paris with a stunning 67th-minute volley, with Fernando Morientes and Raúl scoring the others. : Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia The first intra-national European Cup final in the competitions's 45-year history acted as the stage for Steve McManaman to write his name into Champions League folklore. In his opinion, the ability to manage and control emotion holds the key to the expression of talent. It comes before tactics, technique and physicality. To Pochettino, the power of the mind is everything. The wider point talks to Pochettino’s obsession with steeling the mentality of his players of pushing the limits of what they think is possible. There were springs in various steps at training the following day. If the club’s in-house TV channel ever wants to screen the footage, it had better find a bleeper button, but the first thing to say – other than do not try this at home – is that everyone came through unscathed. Pochettino was next and then it was the players and the members of staff. ![]() The burning embers were spread out across a little walkway and, with fire extinguishers close by (health and safety, you know), Espar went first, striding barefoot across the coals. Then, as now, everything was overseen by his friend Xesco Espar, a motivational coach from Barcelona. The final activity of the evening was the firewalk, something Pochettino had done with the players at his previous club, Southampton, in the summer of 2013. Spurs’ team-bonding session before the Champions League final took place on Wednesday last week and it certainly brought a degree of jeopardy, of risk before the reward. One by one, his players followed suit: breaking arrows and, in the process, mental barriers. ![]()
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