When Tottenham Hotspur submitted its squad for the first stage of this year’s Champions League competition, Mathys Tel was one of the players left out of the squad. Due to an overage of non-homegrown and club-trained players, Spurs were only able to register a squad of 22 List A players, and it meant a couple of first teamers — Tel, Yves Bissouma — had to be left out.
It was obviously a massive disappointment for Tel, who spent last Spring on loan from Bayern Munich and then joined the club permanently
for £30m this summer. But in an interview with French outlet Le Telegramme, Tel says that he’s using the situation as motivation to continue to improve. He also said that Spurs head coach Thomas Frank called him and respectfully informed him of Frank’s decision.
“It’s clear that when you’re not on a list, it certainly hurts, but I’m someone who stays quite positive, no matter what the situation, because I think I’ve worked a lot on the mental aspect. So today it’s certainly a disappointment, I would have liked to be there, but the coach’s choice is the coach’s choice, I can only respect him and I’ll work to come back in the most beautiful way.
“[Frank told me about the decision] quite simply, with respect. He called me, he told me of his choice quite simply and then you could see the team appearing on the networks.
“… I learned that no matter what the situation, no matter what reasons you’re called in a club, you have to be patient because there are times when good things happen, times when it doesn’t happen. It’s life. Sometimes there are things that we deserve and that we don’t get. But do we have everything in life that we deserve? Not often.
“I’ve matured, in my experience, and I think today it has forged my personality and I would say my character above all.”
This is an incredibly mature statement from a young professional footballer and it speaks to his, well, character. I’m sure the entire squad knew the situation with UEFA’s rules and that some players would be left out, and I’m also pretty sure the thought had probably crossed Mathys’ mind that he could be one of the odd ones out. That doesn’t make it any easier to take, but I do appreciate Tel’s attitude and response to the disappointment.
Spurs’ squad situation unfortunately won’t be getting any easier. It’s possible that players like Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin would be back and healthy by the time Spurs would need to (hypothetically) submit another Champions League squad to UEFA, making the squad construction even more complicated. Things ease up significantly next season when a few of Spurs’ younger players age up and become club-trained and eligible for List B. For now, it’s a crunch, but Tel certainly seems to have his head on straight. He’ll get plenty of minutes in the Premier League once the matches start coming short and fast.
