Toby Alderweireld: Vertonghen recruited me to Tottenham and I absolutely loved Pochettino's pre-season

Tottenham legend Toby Alderweireld returned to the club's training ground as a guest on The Hotspur Way podcast, produced in partnership between Tottenham and Sports Illustrated. In the interview, he discussed his life after retirement and his experiences at Atlético Madrid, while also reflecting on his time as a Tottenham player. This article is the fourth part of the extended interview.

So then Tottenham came calling. How did it happen?

I had a great season at Southampton. Then Vertonghen called me and said, "Pochettino really wants you." I immediately wanted to join Tottenham. Now if I say this, it might sound like something everyone would want to hear, but that's genuinely how it happened. My last match was for Wales against Belgium in an international fixture.

The day after that match, I arrived here and met Pochettino. I told Atlético directly: "I want to go to Tottenham, I want to go to Tottenham." Eventually, they agreed to let me go.

Wait, so Vertonghen recruited you? Meaning Pochettino asked Vertonghen to call you, or did Vertonghen essentially do that off his own initiative?

Yes, basically. Because both Vertonghen and I were part of the Belgium national team at that time.

Vertonghen said to me, "Listen, I think Tottenham really wants you. Can I give your number to Pochettino?" I said, "Yes, of course."

After that, we exchanged a few messages. I told him, "Let's meet after the Wales match." So after the Wales game, I came straight to London. Then we talked. A week later, the transfer was done.

So that's how it happened. That's brilliant. So he basically used every method he could find to get in touch with you—whatever it took, it was about getting in touch with that person first.

Yes, exactly.

So you met Pochettino, reached an agreement, and then came to this club. At that time, Pochettino was already building a very unique club culture and had assembled an excellent squad. When you first walked into the Tottenham dressing room and saw the players around you, what was your impression?

Honestly, at first I didn't really enjoy it.

Really?

Because it was the pre-season period.

Oh, no, no. (laughs) Pochettino's pre-season training is not easy at all.

I was thinking, "What is this?"

He pushed everyone to their limits, didn't he?

It was madness.

You must have wondered who this guy was. He was always so charismatic before, and now suddenly he's like this?

Yes. (laughs) But he didn't deceive me. He had warned me that pre-season would be difficult.

Yes, pre-season is tough for every club, but this pre-season was...

Was it the toughest pre-season you've ever experienced?

Everyone who went through it knows. There was an exercise called Gacon—it was truly madness. Extremely difficult.

I felt like it was a completely different level of pre-season training. But I told myself, "I have to get through this, I've signed a five-year contract," so I just had to push through.

Yes, now you have no choice.

Yes. And then we played some matches. I remember we went to America and played against the MLS All-Stars or something.

From that point onwards, everything gradually fell into place. I felt like I was playing very well from the start.

Yes, that really helped. If you can perform well from the beginning, everything else becomes much easier.

After that, you had many key players in the dressing room. Later, you formed one of the most exciting teams of that era. The football Pochettino had you play was really attractive to watch. When everyone really got to know each other and built trust, when the team started achieving successes on the pitch, what was the feeling in that dressing room like?

When you're actually in it, you don't really realize or feel it. It might sound strange, but at that time, you're always just thinking about the next game, the next game, the next game.

But when you look back a few years later, you think, "Wow, that feeling was truly incredible." We never went into a match thinking we'd win comfortably, but we had tremendous belief. We were in great physical condition.

After going through such intense pre-season training, you must have been very tough.

Yes. But you can feel it just by looking at the quality of players on the bench. Think about it—Vertonghen, Mousa Dembélé, Wanyama, Danny Rose, Kyle Walker. We had incredible player depth back then.

We were physically strong, but these guys also knew how to play football. And yes, Mousa Dembélé—everyone knows how good he was. And Christian Eriksen. Since Vertonghen and I both came from Ajax, we were very familiar with each other.

So we weren't just physically strong guys. We were physically strong, we knew how to play football, and we were in excellent physical condition.

And yes, White Hart Lane. It was truly incredible. I was very fortunate and proud to play there, especially in the final years of White Hart Lane.

If someone asks me now, "What was it like playing there?" I honestly can't find the words to explain it.

There was history there, and there was a sense of unity among everyone. The stadium was intimate, and at that time, we had that kind of team. As I mentioned before, just standing together in the dressing room felt very special.

That's interesting, because you also played at Calderón. Those old, traditional stadiums seem to always create something more special.

Yes, I understand that nowadays you have to consider commercial revenue. But the feeling back then was truly special.

Yes, we had some incredible matches there. I remember my first goal for Tottenham was against Manchester City.

We won 4-1. And there was the North London Derby, where I also scored. So there were some great memories from that period.

I remember scoring against Manchester City, Arsenal, West Ham, and Manchester United in one season.

Wait, you're a defender.

I know. (laughs) That season was very good.

That's quite an achievement. So was this related to how Pochettino wanted you to play? Was it because of the way he instructed you to play that each of you got these opportunities?

First of all, everyone was in excellent physical condition. Why were we so resilient? Because he wanted to play a pressing style of football.

When we lose the ball, we press. When we lose it again, we press again. That's why I think our opponents hated playing against us.

Because we were always tight on them, constantly applying pressure. And we had the players who could make the difference.

Son, Alli, Christian Eriksen, Lamela.

Toby: I was always slightly nervous before matches against opponents, which is why I was able to perform at my best

Toby: I learned the truest way to play as a defender from Simeone, and that's why I fell in love with playing defence

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