Ange Postecoglou said it was a joy to meet Owen Bright again and a number of other Tottenham fans after the club recently showed its support for Down Syndrome Awareness Week.
A group of young people with Down’s syndrome were invited to the training ground along with their families to watch Spurs players take part in a training session on Wednesday.
The Tottenham players wore a range of colourful mismatched socks, provided by Nike, to show their support for the #LotsOfSocks campaign, which embraces the fact that no two people are the same regardless of the number of chromosomes they have.
Individuals born with Down’s syndrome typically have three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two, with mismatched socks the perfect way to illustrate no two people are the same ahead of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21.
Postecoglou met the group of young people with Down’s syndrome and got the chance to see Spurs fan Bright again, who stole the show at the club’s Fans Forum event in September with a question to the Tottenham boss.
Bright greeted Postecoglou with a big hug before the Australian coach showed the young Tottenham fan a picture of the pair from the Fans Forum event, which took pride of place in his manager’s office at the training ground in Enfield.
The young fans, who are members of Tottenham’s official disabled supporters’ association SpursAbility, also got to meet players from the men and women’s teams.
Asked ahead of Saturday’s trip to Fulham if providing joy to fans was one of the best parts of his job, Postecoglou replied: “Yes it is but it is also reciprocal.
“I get a lot of joy out of it too, mate.
“It is not every day you walk out to training and someone runs up to give you a hug. It’s not the usual greeting I get!
“And it wasn’t just Owen. There were quite a few of his friends there and I walked out and saw a bunch of Spurs supporters buzzing. There is no better feeling.
“As much as we understand particularly the players, they are their heroes and the joy they give them, we get equal joy out of it mate because it’s such a fantastic feeling to see people who are passionate about their football club and how much joy it gives them.
“Yeah, it’s just a privilege to be in that space.”
Venezuela 1-1 Argentina: Rondon equaliser thwarts world champions on Messi return
Argentina dropped points in a second successive CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier, as Venezuela held them to a 1-1 draw in Maturin.
The spoils were shared at Estadio Monumental de Maturin, where Salomon Rondon's second-half header cancelled out Nicolas Otamendi's earlier effort.
After heavy rain delayed kick-off, Argentina took the lead in the 13th minute.
Venezuela goalkeeper Rafael Romo failed to properly clear the returning Lionel Messi's free-kick, and Otamendi reacted quickest to poke home from 12 yards out.
The hosts went close to levelling either side of the break. German Pezzella cleared off the line from Rondon, while Geronimo Rulli - deputising for the suspended Emiliano Martinez - kept out Yangel Herrera's powerful header.
However, Venezuela did grab their equaliser in the 65th minute - and subsequently a point - when Rondon rose at the near post to power home from Yeferson Soteldo's cross.
Messi returned to the international scene for the first time since limping off in tears during the Copa America final.
But the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner could not help Argentina get back to winning ways, while he conceded possession the joint-most times (19) by any visiting player.
The conditions certainly affected the flow of the game, and was more to the suiting of Venezuela. Although they had just 40.1% of possession, the hosts outshot their opponents 16-8.
However, they have now failed to win their last five CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers; their longest streak since going six without victory between June and October 2021.
Israel 1-4 France: Rampant Bleus clinch back-to-back Nations League wins
France made it back-to-back wins in the Nations League, with Christopher Nkunku and Bradley Barcola among the scorers as they thrashed Israel 4-1 in Hungary.
Playing at a neutral venue in Budapest's Bozsik Arena, France flew out of the traps as Israel goalkeeper Omri Glazer let Eduardo Camavinga's strike squirm past him in the sixth minute.
Israel did draw level midway through the first half as Omri Gandelman headed Oscar Gloukh's cross home, but they were on terms for less than five minutes as Chelsea forward Nkunku flicked the ball through Ilay Feingold's legs before slotting a low finish into the far corner.
Randal Kolo Muani twice went close to extending France's lead before Matteo Guendouzi gave them breathing space in the 87th minute, rolling a finish beyond Glazer and into the bottom corner.
Didier Deschamps' men added further gloss to the scoreline two minutes later, Guendouzi finding a similar position, but this time opting to pick out Barcola for a curled finish.
The result sees France move onto six points in Group A2, one adrift of Italy – who beat them on matchday one. They face Belgium next time out on Monday.
Data Debrief: New-look Bleus sparkle
With Kylian Mbappe absent due to a niggling injury and Antoine Griezmann retiring from international football, Deschamps fielded a new-look frontline of Nkunku, Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise.
Recording 33 touches in the area to Israel's five, and 15 shots to their opponents' one, France certainly impressed.
Kolo Muani was a particular bright spark despite not getting on the scoresheet, with his four chances created being at least twice as many as any other player (Theo Hernandez laid on two).
Haaland becomes Norway's record scorer with Slovenia brace
Erling Haaland became Norway's all-time leading scorer with a brace in their 3-0 victory over Slovenia.
The Manchester City striker was captaining his first nation for the first time, and marked the occasion in trademark record-breaking fashion.
Haaland broke the deadlock after just seven minutes of the Nations League clash at the Ullevaal Stadium, where Alexander Sorloth doubled the lead seven minutes after the restart.
Sorloth then turned provider just after the hour mark for Haaland, who broke Jorgen Juve's 87-year record with his 34th international goal in just 36 caps.
The result put Norway firmly in charge of Group B3 with seven points, three ahead of Austria and Slovenia, with Kazakhstan propping up the table on one point.
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