‘It was crazy’ – Former player admits he was ‘naive’ to swap Chelsea for Tottenham
Gus Poyet has admitted that he was naive to swap Chelsea for Tottenham Hotspur back in 2001, claiming that he simply didn’t realise how much of a rivalry there was between the two clubs.
At the end of the 2000/01 season, Chelsea had just finished sixth in the Premier League, with Tottenham all the way down in 12th – a pretty standard campaign for both teams at the time.
Following his four years with the Blues, Poyet was presented with several contract offers from teams in different leagues, or he could choose to remain in London and play for the Lilywhites. The Uruguayan midfielder seized the opportunity.
He went on to play for Spurs for three more years before returning in 2007 to serve as assistant manager. However, it seems that the move might not have taken place had Poyet been aware of the fierce rivalry between Tottenham and Chelsea.
He said, via Full Circle Courtesy of Bet365: “To be honest, I was quite naive. I can honestly say that I was unaware of their closeness and the responses I would receive from Chelsea fans.
“My explanation is a simple one, because when I played for Chelsea, the two teams that I wanted to beat were Arsenal and Man United. They were the ones winning the league, I wasn’t even thinking about Spurs with respect to them. There was even more of a fight against Leeds because of previous history, more than when Chelsea played Spurs.
“When I was at Chelsea, it was during a time when we were beating Spurs often enough that no one made a big deal about it and it just seemed like a normal game.
“I had a couple of offers from some teams out of the country and another option being at Spurs, and I wanted to stay in London. So then I moved, and Glen Hoddle was a big part of that, but after the news had broken it was crazy.
“I didn’t know what I had done, it was madness. It was only then that I realised, but the truth was that I was very naïve.”
Poyet didn’t take long to move past his decision though, playing in a number of fierce London derbies in the Lilywhite of Tottenham against his old club. He even managed to walk away victorious on one occasion, something Spurs seem to struggle to do against Chelsea even nowadays.
He added: “I didn’t realise it would be so dramatic, but now I’m on the other side with a team that didn’t beat Chelsea for however long. As much as I loved Chelsea, my character meant I had to do everything in my power to win for Spurs now.
We lost the first two games we played against Chelsea, but I believe we eventually defeated them on the third try. Although it was an odd evening, it was significant from a business standpoint.
It’s safe to say that under Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure in North London, the rivalry between Spurs and Chelsea intensified, with the Lilywhites at last challenging the Blues on an equal footing. Not to mention a few acrimonious relationships between players like Diego Costa and Jan Vertonghen!
To stay informed about the most recent developments regarding Tottenham, make sure to follow SpursWeb’s pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
