Tottenham Hostpur's goalie Hugo Lloris: You may feel lonely, but focus on the action

Hugo Lloris. Picture/ AFP

Tottenham Hotspur captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is one of the finest in the business. The EPL footballer has earned quite a reputation for himself over the years and is regarded amongst the finest keepers in football history due to his quick reflexes. The French footballer played for Nice and Lyon before moving to Spurs in 2012. Tottenham is currently placed 6th on the table and will look to move up as they clash against 11th placed Leeds United today. Ahead of the EPL game, Hugo Lloris speaks about his first captaincy in 2014, his captaincy style and philosophy, reliance on outfield players and viewpoint of a goalie.

Excerpts from the interview:

EXCELLENT. NOW, MOVING ON TO YOUR NEW ROLE AS CAPTAIN, AND I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER IT WELL, FIRST CAPTAINED SPURS AGAINST EVERTON IN 2014 , WON THE GAME. WHAT ARE YOUR MEMORIES OF THAT FIRST GAME PUTTING ON THE ARMBAND WHEN YOU FOUND OUT WALKING OUT THE TUNNEL?
To be honest, I don't remember at all. I just found out. It's something… at that time. I think Younes Kaboul was the captain and probably didn't play that game and so I took the armband. At that time, Mauricio Pochettino gave his confidence to manage the armband between Younes Kaboul, Emmanuel Adebayor and myself. So, it was a different situation. But this armband doesn't change my approach doesn't change my personality and is just about manager decision. I mean, I'm not looking for it. I just be myself and with the willingness to help the team on the pitch, trying to give my best in any training session in games and outside to try to lead as good as I can.

WHAT WOULD WHAT WOULD YOU SAY YOUR CAPTAINING STYLE IS ARE YOU A SHOUTER, A HUGGER? A BIT OF BOTH? WHAT'S YOUR CAPTAINING STYLE OR PHILOSOPHY?
It's difficult to talk about yourself. You know, I just try to be natural, try to listen to my feelings, at the same time I'm in between the team and the manager, so it's important for me to understand the philosophy of the manager, to transmit the good information to my teammates. And also, I need to know where my teammates, because sometimes it's important to understand, you know, them, their feelings and, so but first of all, you have to lead being positive with the willingness to work to give your best try to be as good as you can, being decisive, try to help the team in your performance. And then obviously, if you need the voice, it can happen sometimes to shout no? But when you arrive at that point it's because there is a serious problem. I think i try to, you know, to be myself being calm, being positive and also, it's not only about the responsibility of one player, but we also have a few players sharing this responsibility. You know, that's everywhere the same. So, yeah, it is a bit like that.

I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU ABOUT BEING A GOALKEEPER, BEING AT THE BACK AND WE'LL COME ON TO THAT IN A BIT, AS YOU MENTION IT, THE OTHER PLAYERS ON THE TEAM, THE OUTFIELD PLAYERS, THERE IS A THERE IS A PHYSICAL DISTANCE, OBVIOUSLY, BEING THE GOALKEEPER. HOW MUCH DO YOU RELY ON THE OUTFIELD PLAYERS THE OTHER LEADERS IN THE TEAM WHO ARE THEY AND HOW MUCH DO YOU RELY ON THEM?
Yeah, as a goalkeeper, when I say that there is no big difference between being captain or being a goalkeeper it's because the keeper is already a captain in his box, you have to manage the people in front of you. So, it's easy to touch the back four or even the midfielders, but for the offensive players, we are a bit far from there. So, we just need a few voices in the team that can transmit this energy, can transmit these feelings and try to lead the team. You know, I think the communication is very important on the pitch, even more than outside the pitch, and that's something that, you know, i used to do even when I was a kid, because at the back, you can with your voice, sometimes you can see things and you can fix problems. You can help around you. But I think defenders, they can do the same with the midfielders and the midfielders, they can do the same with the offensive players. You know, when we talk about football, we talk about the team and we need to add players to make a team. So, everyone has his personality, everyone has his skills, and we just try to find the right connection between ourselves.

DO YOU THINK THAT IT IS QUITE A UNIQUE VIEWPOINT, ISN'T IT, THAT THE GOALKEEPER HAS, YOU KIND OF SEE EVERYTHING IN A WAY THAT OTHER PLAYERS DON'T? DO YOU THINK THAT IS AN ADVANTAGE OR DISADVANTAGE BEING AT THE BACK, LEADING FROM THE BACK
The disadvantage is like you are so far from the referee at some point. But in England, I think the referees they are open to talk with another player and you know, team is Harry Kane, you know. So, he feels also the responsibility and he can transmit his feelings towards the referees, also towards his teammates. And as I say, this is something that has to be shared, it's not only one player that has the full responsibilities it's something between players that has to be shared and it works like this in Tottenham and it works like this in the national team. And I'm really happy with that.

DO YOU EVER FEEL… SOME GOALKEEPERS TALK ABOUT LONELINESS, YOU KNOW, THE SORT OF ISOLATION OF THE BACK? DO YOU EVER FEEL THAT AS CAPTAIN, IS IT EVEN LESS LONELY BECAUSE YOU ARE HAVING TO DO THAT COMMUNICATION?
Honestly, without crowd, you can still communicate even from far distance, but when the stand is full of fans, it makes things harder and sometimes you are…you just feel a bit useless from a distance. But also, you have to stay focused because especially in one action, in one second the opposing team they can arrive into your box. So, feeling lonely, maybe, but also you cannot switch off, you always focus on the action, even if the ball is far away from you, you must be focused because in two places, the opponent can arrive at your box.

Catch all the live and exclusive action as Leeds United take on Spurs on Saturday, May 8, 2021 at 5:00 PM only on Star Sports Select Network