Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou is full of admiration for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, but fails to see many similarities between the pair.
Postecoglou’s youthful Spurs side face the biggest test of his early reign on Sunday when they make the short trip to the Emirates for the first north London derby of the season.
Second-placed Tottenham travel across the capital in high spirits but face an Arsenal team that are into a fifth season under Arteta, who also took over a club in the doldrums and has overseen a cultural change from top to bottom.
While Postecoglou is at the start of the same type of rebuilding job at Spurs, he poked fun at suggestions he is alike his 41-year-old opposite number.
He said: “I think Mikel has been outstanding, really strong right from the start by having a real vision for the football club and the club’s backed him, but I don’t think that’s unique.
“I think Liverpool did the same with Jurgen (Klopp). Most clubs that end up having a successful period do it on the back of having a really clear idea of what they’re trying to create.
“The only problem is that a lot of clubs jump at shadows at the first sign of things not progressing at the rate they were hoping to. Credit to Arsenal and credit to Mikel that they backed each other and they’re reaping the rewards of it but that’s not a blueprint for us to follow.
“We’ve got our own blueprint. You don’t have to follow anyone else’s timescale, you don’t have to follow anyone else’s processes. What you’ve got to do is have a clear idea about what you want and provided along the way you see progress, stick to it.
“In terms of similarities, I’m 58, he’s whatever (41). I’ve had 26 years, he’s five years into it. He’s managed in one country, I’ve managed in a few. I’m not sure how he’s got a great head of hair!
“He’s a lot fitter than I am. I don’t know, there’s not a lot of threads I can sort of join between us. I wouldn’t say we’re opposites.
“We’re different. Even in the way his team plays. Yes he does have a very attacking philosophy but it’s different from mine and that’s the beauty of the game. That’s what you love about it.
“It’s why you can’t copy. If you’re an artist and you see a Picasso, yeah you can copy it, but it’s not going to be a Picasso is it? It’s the same with football.
“You can see that somebody does something really well, but don’t bring your own personality into it. I have great admiration for the way he’s gone about things and how he’s stuck to his beliefs. It’s a credit to him.”
Postecoglou did not claim to have any type of personal relationship with Arteta, but he did reveal a time when he got to view the Spaniard up close.
The former Celtic boss watched Manchester City training not long after he was appointed manager at Yokohama, who are part-owned by the City Football Group.
“I spent a week at City when I first got the Yokohama job because they were part of the group and were generous enough to invite me in,” he revealed.
“I didn’t speak to anyone but I observed training and you could see then how passionate Mikel was about the game and that he was itching to get going and become a manager himself.
“He’s had a different journey but he’s made the impact.
“As I keep saying, there’s no real defined way to get here.”
CF Montreal v D.C. United: Courtois pleased to 'stop the bleeding'
Laurent Courtois was pleased to see CF Montreal "stop the bleeding" with Saturday's goalless draw against Nashville SC, but he knows more is needed when they host D.C. United on Wednesday.
Montreal are winless in their last nine matches across all competitions (four draws, five losses) and sit 13th of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference.
They did at least snap a four-game losing streak with that stalemate, and Courtois wants them to use that result as a platform.
"I heard a couple of guys talking about 'stopping the bleeding' and I hate it, but it's the reality of the moment," said Courtois.
"We're happy in the sense that we were able to get back to our standards of commitment and competitiveness, but we know that we need more at home, so we have to get back to work."
D.C. were also held to a draw last time out as their own winless run stretched to three matches, being pegged back in a 1-1 home tie with the Chicago Fire.
Coach Troy Lesesne was less than pleased with his team's performance in that match, saying: "In the end, we were fortunate to get a point out of that, and that's not good enough.
"Maybe there wasn't enough service. I think it was to do with how we went out.
"In the first half you could see our identity by the way we went out, but you could not see that in the second half."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CF Montreal – Josef Martinez
Martinez has scored eight regular-season goals against D.C. United, equalling the most he has scored against any opponent in his MLS career (also eight versus the New England Revolution and Orlando City).
D.C. United – Christian Benteke
D.C. have won 347 aerial duels this season, over 100 more than any other MLS team and almost three times as many as Montreal.
Montreal have won 122 aerial duels this year, the second-fewest in MLS and 42 fewer than Benteke alone (164).
MATCH PREDICTION – CF MONTREAL WIN
D.C. have won two straight matches against Montreal in all competitions, but the only three-game winning streak achieved by either team against the other came in 2016-17 (three victories for Montreal).
Montreal's nine-match winless run is their joint-longest across all competitions since they joined MLS in 2012 (also nine in 2013-14).
However, D.C. have failed to win any of their last three matches (one draw, two losses) and have only won one of their last 13 on the road (seven draws, five defeats).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
CF Montreal – 46.9%
D.C. United – 25.7%
Draw – 27.4%
Terzic: Dortmund ready to snap Madrid's perfect Champions League final run
Edin Terzic believes Borussia Dortmund can break Real Madrid's winning run in Champions League finals when they meet in the showcase at Wembley on Saturday.
Madrid have won all eight finals they have played in since the Champions League replaced the European Cup in 1992, while they have also won five Champions League titles in the past 10 seasons for a total of 14 European crowns.
Terzic said records were there to be broken, but Dortmund would need to perform at the highest level.
"We have to have the belief that we can achieve big things," Terzic told a press conference. "We have to invest everything to bring the trophy back to Dortmund. It has been a long time."
Dortmund won the competition in 1997 and reached the final again in 2013, though they lost to Bayern Munich in an all-German showdown.
"The most important thing is if you want to win the Champions League you have to beat the champions," Terzic said. "We now face the absolute champions.
"They have had this experience 14 times, won it five times in the past 10 years. But our aim is always to break it down to one game.
"Eight Champions League finals and they never lost. But what matters is not what happened in the previous eight. What matters is only the next one. It is time to break that run."
Dortmund finished fifth in the Bundesliga this season, narrowly securing their Champions League spot for next season. In 2023, they had been title contenders, narrowly missing out on the league trophy on the final matchday.
Terzic said that bitter experience a year ago, however, contributed to their success this season.
"I had said it at the time that I would have done without this chapter of my life, but this day was from that point part of our road to success," he said.
"Now we travel to London with the same fans who, a year ago, after that bitter match [on the final Bundesliga matchday], kept supporting us and singing for hours. It is time to give something back, and we will have the chance to hopefully celebrate together."
Owen gives Bellingham 'massive chance' of Ballon d'Or success
Michael Owen believes Jude Bellingham has a "massive chance" of winning the Ballon d'Or after a stand-out debut season at Real Madrid.
Los Blancos won their 36th LaLiga title, losing just one of their league games while finishing 10 points clear of second-place Barcelona.
Bellingham ended the league campaign as Madrid’s top-scorer, netting 19 LaLiga goals and added another four in the Champions League to help them on their way to the final.
The attacking-midfielder has also created more chances under pressure (19) than any other midfielder in the Champions League, with four of those resulting in an assist for a Madrid teammate.
Bellingham is due to join up with England for Euro 2024 following the Champions League final as the Three Lions aim to win their first major trophy since 1966.
Bellingham is among the favourites to get his hands on the Ballon d'Or and would be the first Englishman to win it since Owen himself in 2001.
"The Ballon d'Or comes to players who have an exceptional season, not only personally, but who have had a season where they have won something or multiple titles," Owen told TNT Sports.
"If Jude Bellingham goes and wins LaLiga, which he already has done, as well as the Champions League all while being one of the stars of the show in that team, then he has got to be in the conversation.
"A lot will depend on Euro 2024 with England. If he has a good tournament and England go far, then you could rightly say that he has a massive chance."
Bellingham will face former club Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on Saturday as Madrid aim to lift a record-extending 15th title in the European Cup.
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