Antonio Conte will attend the funeral of Gian Piero Ventrone on Sunday after the Tottenham boss oversaw an emotional Premier League win at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Spurs fitness coach Ventrone died on Thursday, reportedly after being diagnosed with leukaemia, and Conte said his fellow Italian had asked just days ago if he could be allowed to miss work due to illness.
After Harry Kane's goal earned a 1-0 win for Spurs, who sit third in the table, Conte spoke about the trauma that all at Tottenham have felt over the loss of Ventrone.
It was the first time Conte had opened up in public about Ventrone, having cancelled his regular pre-match press conference on Thursday.
He said it had been "really, really difficult for us to focus on the game", saying the experience of recent days had been "incredible".
Conte had not been expecting Ventrone's death, and its impact on the former Juventus and Italy coach has been profound.
He said he was aware Ventrone's health was "really problematic" early in the week.
"But no one could have expected this situation because no one knew something about this illness," Conte said. "It was an illness but under control and then it is very difficult because the situation hit me a lot under the emotional aspect.
"When it happens, it is very difficult to cover your feeling with the players and with the people that work in Tottenham.
"At the same time, I have seen a lot of solidarity. The players were really devastated by the pain and in the whole Tottenham environment the feeling was really bad because in only 10 months I think Gian Piero got through the heart of everybody."
Ventrone was a man Conte wanted on his Spurs staff, confident he would make his players stronger and fitter, with the pair having known each other for 30 years.
He described Ventrone as "a scientist". Conte spoke to Ventrone on the Thursday prior to his death, when illness was taking a toll. Ventrone said he was experiencing "a bit of a fever" and felt he could not attend training, according to Conte, but at the same time he was reluctant to be absent.
Conte said Ventrone then spoke to him about his health situation, and in turn was told not to worry about his Tottenham duties but to take care of himself.
Manager Conte said Spurs' players were "really devastated" by news of Ventrone's death, which came at the age of 62. Many have paid fond tributes to the trainer.
"Sometimes life puts you in difficult situations, but we have to cope in the best possible way to overcome this situation," Conte said in an interview posted by Tottenham. "But we'll never forget Gian Piero. Gian Piero will live in my heart and my head."
Conte explained a Tottenham delegation, which he is expected to lead along with chairman Daniel Levy, will head to Naples for the funeral.
"I want to tell his son and daughter that they need to be strong because Gian Piero was strong, a strong character," Conte said.
"He doesn't want to see us unhappy. It's difficult to make him happy because we are really devastated by the pain."
Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 Leipzig: Visitors fightback halts unbeaten streak for Alonso's side
Bayer Leverkusen suffered their first defeat in 36 Bundesliga matches, as Leipzig came from behind to stun Xabi Alonso's side 3-2 at BayArena.
Lois Openda struck twice for Marco Rose's, who recovered from 2-0 down to make it two wins from two and move to the summit of the table.
It looked like business as usual for the reigning Bundesliga champions when they scored twice in the last seven minutes of the first half through Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo.
However, Leipzig replied deep into first-half stoppage time with Kevin Kampl reducing the deficit.
Openda then brought the visitors level in the 57th minute, before a stunning long-range strike completed the turnaround 10 minutes from time, condemning Leverkusen to their first league defeat in 15 months.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen's long streak comes to a shuddering halt
Leipzig became the first side to beat Leverkusen in a Bundesliga match since Bochum achieved the feat a staggering 462 days earlier.
The visitors have begun a Bundesliga season with two wins from two for only the second time, also doing so in 2019-20.
They are also now unbeaten in 13 league matches, their longest such streak since Rose took charge.
As for Leverkusen, their invincible streak is officially history, as is their 29-game unbeaten run on home soil.
'We really let ourselves down' - Coleman slams Everton after late Bournemouth collapse
Seamus Coleman acknowledged Everton "really let ourselves down" and must "look at ourselves in the mirror" following their spectacular late collapse against Bournemouth.
Sean Dyche's side, who were seeking their first points of the season, led 2-0 in the 87th minute at Goodison Park through goals from Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
However, the hosts were undone by three crosses in the latter stages, with Antoine Semenyo pulling a goal back and Lewis Cook levelling, before Luis Sinisterra completed a sensational turnaround in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Boos rung around Goodison Park as the Toffees remained pointless and rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, and Coleman echoed the supporters' frustrations.
"We really let ourselves down in front of our fans," the skipper said. "We cannot take our foot off the gas at this level. Unfortunately, we did that.
"We cannot be conceding the goals that we did. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror."
Meanwhile, Dyche bemoaned the lack of responsibility amongst his players, as they became the first side in Premier League history to lose a game after leading by two or more goals in the 87th minute.
"We did so much right until they scored their first goal," the Everton head coach said. "The game should have been out of sight. We conceded one and then threw it away. I can't put my finger on it right now.
"They kept raining it forward and got their reward in the end. They were playing it forward and crossing it into the box, and we didn't deal with it. Simple stuff, but we threw it away. It is the third game we have thrown away this season.
"Everyone was looking at someone else to deal with things and that is when there is trouble. You could see the body language change. You have to see games through, and we have enough experience to do that, but today we didn't."
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola added: "It was the worst game we played this season. Everton deserved to win today, but the players kept pushing.
"I always have hope because this team has spirit. We have done it before and had some good comebacks. The spark of the first goal made us believe we could do it again."
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Wolves: Bellegarde beauty earns visitors first point
Wolves earned their first point of the Premier League season following a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Chris Wood's towering header was cancelled out by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde's stunning strike as the spoils were shared at the City Ground.
The hosts took the lead in the 10th minute as Wood rose to nod home from Elliot Anderson's corner.
However, the visitors were level just two minutes later in spectacular fashion, with Bellegarde firing a stunning long-range volley into the roof of the net.
Gary O'Neil's side had Sam Johnstone to thank after the break, with the debutant producing a strong hand to deny Wood his second goal of the game.
Matheus Cunha curled a shot just wide while the offside flag denied Wood later on, with Forest unable to snatch victory but extending their unbeaten start to the campaign.
Data Debrief: Wolves end losing streak while Wood matches Collymore
After opening the season with two defeats and eight goals conceded, Wolves stopped the rot with a welcome point against their Midlands rivals, while ending a five-game Premier League losing streak in the process.
Meanwhile, Forest remain unbeaten in their opening three games of a top-flight season for the first time since 1995-96.
Heading his side into the lead, Wood became only the second Forest player to score in both their first two home matches in a Premier League season since Stan Collymore 30 years previously.
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