Tottenham Hire Set Piece Coach Gianni Vio To Focus On Problem Area
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has hired fellow Italian Gianni Vio to focus on an area in which his team struggled last season.
Spurs scored just eight Premier League goals from set-pieces in 2021/22. Only Manchester United (7), Watford (6) and Norwich (3) scored fewer.
Defensively, Tottenham conceded 10 EPL goals from set-plays - nine more than Manchester City, six more than Chelsea and two more than Arsenal.
But watch out for Tottenham from free-kicks, corners and maybe even throw-ins next term because Vio has been brought in as a set-piece specialist.
A Tottenham statement read: "We are delighted to welcome Gianni Vio to the club as a member of Antonio Conte's coaching staff.
"Gianni, 69, takes the role of Set Pieces Coach and joins us with immediate effect from the Italy national team, where he has worked since September, 2020."
As well as working with Italy, Vio has previously held specialist coaching roles with SPAL, Cagliari, Leeds, Brentford, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Palermo.
Though Spurs are expected to pay extra attention to set-pieces in training this season, their main focus right now is on fitness.
Spurs are currently in South Korea on tour. They held an open training session at Seoul's World Cup Stadium in 87°F heat with practically zero wind on Monday.
The two-hour session ended with players being asked to run 42 lengths of the pitch.
Multiple players, including Son Heung-min, collapsed to the ground due to exhaustion during the session, while England captain Harry Kane vomited as 6,000 fans watched on.