Goalie Tottenham and the French national team Hugo Lloris on how he became a football player, about Mauricio Pochettino, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane.

On the eve of the fight of the fourth round of the group round of the Champions League against Real Goalkeeper Tottenham Hugo Lloris shared his secrets with correspondents As.

- Are you a goalkeeper by vocation?.

- No, the sport for me started with a tennis racket. I was only five years old then, and I did not dream about football. Only then, for the company with friends, I started to drive the ball. However, the role of the goalkeeper immediately attracted me. I can not exactly say why, probably, I liked the risk, and I gladly rushed to the feet of my opponents.

- That is, saving the goal from the goal was not the main thing?.

- No, at that age I did not feel any responsibility for keeping the gate, for the result. I just did what was fun. A sense of responsibility appeared much later.

- In those days you have already begun to look at the game of professional goalkeepers?.

- No, for the first time I drew attention to other goalkeepers during the 1994 World Cup, I remember the finale of Brazil - Italy and the goalkeepers of those teams, Claudio Taffarel and Gianluca Paljuuc. I also remember the funny goalkeeper of Sweden, I just forgot his name (Thomas Ravelli, - note. red.

- You started to follow only the goalkeepers?.

- And for the attackers, too. It seemed to me that the result of the match depends on them - some try to score, others are hindered by all the forces. By the way, sometimes I acted on the position of the center forward, and I did well.

"At what age?".

- When I was eight or nine. And when I was ten, in Nice, I had already made my choice. My idol was Dominic Baratelli, goalkeeper of Nice, PSG and the French team.

- Have you been high since childhood?.

- Just the opposite.

- Dreamed to grow up soon?.

- No, it never bothered me. Moreover, at the age of thirteen I grew very. I must also take into account that I did not think that I would become a professional football player. Everything happened by itself after the moment when I made the final choice not in favor of tennis. I practiced five days a week, there were games at the weekend, so it was impossible to combine two sports. And I chose football because I preferred collective sports. I liked to feel part of the team, to share emotions with friends, no matter - bad or good.

- But the goalkeeper is still very different from the other members of the team: another form, gloves ... - Yes, and it was important for me - the goalkeeper can not hide, dissolve among other players. He is always in sight and should always be ready to fight, even when it is necessary to fight not only with the rival, but also with himself. However, I do not think that the goalkeeper should constantly be the center of attention, no matter how well he played. The most difficult match is the following. This is my philosophy.

- Some goalkeepers in training work exclusively on an individual program. And you?.

- It used to be so, but now I, except for individual exercises, try to take part in the general training. It helps to feel confident with the ball, do not be afraid to leave the gate. In all the teams that coached Mauricio Pochettino, the goalkeeper was assigned a much more significant role than the protection of the gate. Therefore, I try to work on the same level with field players, although at times it looks very funny.

- Over the past ten years, the role of the goalkeeper in the team has changed a lot. Did you feel it?.

- In general, I think that goalkeepers have evolved the most in modern football. If before the goal of the goalkeeper was to catch and beat that which flies to the goal, and the game outside the penalty was a forced measure, when there is no other way out, now the goalkeepers are actively involved in perepasovke with the defenders, the attacks begin. To this you must be prepared, so that your losses do not lead to sad consequences.

- Did all the missed balls be your faults? Do you think that in any episode it was possible to play better?.

- That's how I feel about all my goals. It is clear that this is not always my fault, but I always feel that I could have played better. It seems to me that such legends as Iker Casillas or Gianluigi Buffon are therefore so long at the highest level that they constantly ask themselves what they can improve in their game and are constantly striving for improvement.

- There are goalkeepers who do not like to train ... - I definitely do not belong to this category. I like to train and play. In addition, I'm already 30, so if I want to stay at the peak of the form, I must make an effort. After I started working with Mauricio Pochettino and Tony Jimenez (goalkeeper's coach Tottenham,. red. ), I began to spend more time in the gym, building muscle, and work on honing goalkeeper technique.

- You have to fall 100 times a day to the lawn. Is it very painful?.

- Waking up every morning and knowing that you have to fall, and can more often than 100 times, do not give it much importance, because it comes from early childhood. I can not say that I feel pain or discomfort. Although I, like other people, sometimes have bad days ... - And Tony Jimenez on such days makes you a discount?.

- At least, it corrects the training process.

- And there is no such thing that when you feel that today is not your day, do you prefer not to get out of bed at all?.

- I understand what you mean, but my parents have taught me, and my parents - their parents, that when you are doing something, you have no right to give slack. If you do something, then you must do it with full dedication. Only then will you achieve the result and enjoy the done.

- Did the parish in Tottenham Mauricio Pochettino give you a new impetus?.

- At one time I came to Lyon when it was the strongest team in France, the contender for the victory in the Champions League. For me it was an incentive to play in the first team, to win trophies. Then I realized that I needed something new, and then just came the invitation to Tottenham. There was an incentive to prove themselves in the new championship, to fight for new titles. However, two years later in London, I realized that I again lack something. And here came my first conversation with Pochettino. I immediately realized that from now on everything in the club and the team will go differently. Probably, they understood this and the other guys. Now we have already turned into a real force in England, turning into that in Europe.

- Was it hard to believe him right away?.

- At that time we were far from the best teams in England, but he said: "Give me a year". He simply radiated energy, and soon infected everyone with his enthusiasm. Moreover, his philosophy began to bear fruit.

- What did you feel when you brought your young team to Santiago Bernabeu?.

- After the match, I was proud of our game. It was very nice to show who is now Tottenham. In England, we have been considered for a long time, but in Europe they still do not take seriously. However, success in the fight against Borussia, and then a decent game at the legendary Bernabeu, must prove the seriousness of our intentions. I played three times in Madrid for Lyon, and each time I felt a special atmosphere of this stadium. Literally you feel the history of the victories of Real, and I liked this feeling.

- What lessons did you learn from the match of the third round against Real Madrid?.

- Perhaps for Real that match was a surprise. It's hard to tune in to fight against the best team on the planet, which comes out on the field with confidence that it can defeat anyone. But I knew perfectly well the capabilities of our team. If we act with complete concentration, we can cope with any opponent. That is, it was not a lesson, but a strengthening of faith in one's own strengths.

"Many relate Tottenham's progress to the progress of Harry Kane ..." "He's a big hard worker. In this we are similar to him. He constantly struggles with himself, trying to reach a new level. Scoring a goal, he wants to score more, winning the match, he seeks to win the next. This is the secret of his progress.

- What did you most like before the game: to reflect all the blows to Cristiano Ronaldo, or that these blows were not there at all?.

- When I'm on the field, I do not care who shoots at goal. The main thing is not to give the ball to the grid.

"How did you manage to repel Benzem's blow?".

- He got close to me so quickly that I had to act instinctively, trying to close as much as possible the sector of shelling. This is more like handball tactics, when the arms, legs and all other parts of the body go into the course, there is no time to think and analyze the situation. Such "saves" will not work out in training. You need luck here. And I was lucky.

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