Whilst many of us were rolling out of a hefty slumber to greet a new week, Spurs were busy welcoming Italian set-piece specialist Gianni Vio to compatriot Antonio Conte’s coaching staff.
The 69 year-old Vio joins the club straight from his country’s national team, where he has been working since September 2020. His contribution to the Azzuri’s Euros victory last summer is testament to a colourful career that has included spells in Dubai with Al-Nassr; his homeland with Catania, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Palermo; the US with DC United; and finally, England with Brentford and Leeds.
The ex-banker has reportedly already linked up with the squad in South Korea (via 90min). The fact that Gianni has made it to the Far East so hastily is just as good, given that the chap reportedly has over 5,000 (yes – five thousand!) set piece plays in his repertoire. Not only is such a dossier enough to give Bear Bryant a heart-attack, but one can also imagine the collective look of trepidation amongst our defensive ranks at the thought of having to memorise such an ungodly quantity of choreography in the Korean heat.
The sooner Vio gets working, the better in my view. Set piece woes are nothing new to the team; I’ve always bemoaned the fact that we don’t score enough from them, and we concede too often from them. I’m therefore absolutely delighted that we’ve addressed an obvious problem area in both the defensive and offensive aspects of our game. More on this to follow…
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