Gareth Bale has pieced together his own “Welsh Mafia” at Tottenham, but Juan Foyth says the Argentine equivalent in north London – led by the fiery Erik Lamela – would emerge victorious in any training ground battle.
Certain members of Jose Mourinho’s squad have been trying to lighten the mood this season with their exploits on and off the field, with distractions needed in what has become a testing campaign for all concerned.
Bale, back in familiar surroundings after securing a loan move from Real Madrid, has joined forces with fellow countrymen Ben Davies and Joe Rodon at Spurs – while Heung-min Son has been made an honorary Welshman – but there is also a strong South American contingent to be reckoned with.
What has been said?
The Argentines have seen their ranks depleted, with Foyth spending the 2020-21 campaign with Villarreal as Paulo Gazzaniga joins him in Spain at Elche, but Lamela and Giovani Lo Celso remain in England.
Quizzed by 90min on who would prevail in a fight if things got a little heated with Bale and Co, Foyth joked: “We would beat them.
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“Apart from the fact that Coco [Lamela] goes looking for it. Do you know how up for it he is? Forget about it.
“[He is] very hard. When he gets angry, he goes looking for it like crazy. He has offered to fight me a couple of times! Obviously in training and that, heat of the moment, I'm not the only one.
“Off the pitch yeah, we have a great relationship, we're friends.”
Does Mourinho have control at Spurs?
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While his players are enjoying themselves this season, questions are being asked of whether the Portuguese coach will be sticking around at Spurs.
Mourinho has seen his methods criticised at times, despite boasting a proven track record, and rumours have emerged regarding supposed rifts in the camp.
Foyth insists such talk is wide of the mark, with the 23-year-old eager to point out that everyone at Tottenham is pulling in the same direction.
He added on Mourinho: “He can be called however he wants, however he wants to call himself, because he's won everything.
“I think he is special in the way he declares it, right? He is a bit special.
“The truth is that when you see him at the press conferences, he tells you [what he thinks] himself.
“I think in the Tottenham [Amazon Prime] documentary he said it, that everyone thinks that he is a bad person, that he always wants to fight. But no, the truth is that with the group, he is very close to the group.
“He talks a lot with all the players. It was a surprise to me when he arrived. Because of course, we would all watch the press conferences and say 'uh, not this'. But the truth is that he is a very good person.”
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