Kevin Danso has given an insight into what Cristian Romero is really like in the Tottenham dressing room and admits that he's always motivated to play football matches after Ange Postecoglou speaks to the team.
Danso arrived at the north London club just four months ago but has quickly become a popular character within the Spurs squad and has already made 12 appearances across all competitions around a muscle injury. Now he faces the prospect of the first final of his senior career with the Europa League showpiece event coming up fast on May 21 against Manchester United.
In reality Danso's hopes of starting in the final would likely require the absence of Romero but there is only huge respect for his Spurs vice-captain and World Cup winner, who recently passed 100 Premier League appearances for the club. The Austria international also offered up an unexpected side in the dressing room to the aggressive tackler the public gets to see on the pitch.
"He's definitely world class. From the outside looking in, you'd think he's very aggressive but he's one of the calmest guys in the changing room," said Danso. "Everybody at the club and anybody who watches football knows he's a brilliant passer and a great defender. I feel like a defender needs that [aggressive] side to him to give the strikers a bit of fear, [thinking] 'oh he could come in at any time'. He's a great talent, a great player. So is Micky [van de Ven]. So is everybody at this club, or they wouldn't be here."
Those expecting the confident Romero to be a shouting captain would also be sorely mistaken.
"No, no he's not the most vocal. That's why I said he's one of the calmest guys. There's different kinds of leadership and he leads by example by the way he plays," said the 26-year-old. "Some are more vocal and some just lead by example and that's exactly what he does. He's a world class player, he's won trophies, he brings that experience and he knows what to do in finals. In big games, he's always there."
So are there certain aspects that Danso would like to take from Romero's game?
"100%. His calmness, his passing range. There's players all over in my position I look to emulate and take things from their game and add to my game. I want to be as complete as possible," he said before listing some of those other players.
"Micky obviously with the way he reads the ball and defending the challenges with his pace. Players like Sergio Ramos, [Virgil] van Dijk...the list is endless. You watch defenders at the highest level and try to add what they do to your game."
So which Tottenham players have looked after Danso since he arrived at the north London club?
"Everybody really. The changing room is amazing. I speak a bit of French because I was in France for the last three years so I speak with the French boys, and obviously growing up here [in England]...Dom [Solanke], Djed [Spence]...so I find it easy to fit in wherever I am because I've been doing it all my life," he explained.
Another man who has left his mark on Danso is his head coach Postecoglou. The Australian's pre-match team talks are famous for their inspirational qualities and the Austrian centre-back could only endorse that.
"Amazing. Honestly. Before every game I've never not felt motivated ahead of the match," he said before explaining how he has been adapting to the 59-year-old's style of football.
"It's normal. In football you always have to adapt. My whole life I've been adapting and it's just about doing that to the best of my ability, getting used to the new players I'm playing with and the new style, and take it on as a challenge. Obviously I'm a professional footballer so I take it on and use it the best I can.
"[At Spurs it's] the high line that we play. That's the only thing I'd say that's a bit different but generally everybody in the modern day tries to play a higher line. Spurs' [line] is really aggressive and I like that because it plays to my strength.
"I feel like we're always ready, we're well prepared, we have all the solutions for every game and it's just about us trying to relay them on the pitch."
With all the noise about Postecoglou's future, how do the players put that to one side with such a huge game in Spain on the horizon?
"Generally just by focusing on what's happening today. We can't affect what happens tomorrow, the only thing we can affect is the here and now. The manager always says that and I feel like the manager's been amazing," he said. "We're in a final, it doesn't happen often and I'm loving every minute of it."
Danso also paid tribute to Postecoglou's senior assistant coach Matt Wells for his work with him and the other defenders and how the young coach has helped him on the training pitches at Hotspur Way.
"[He's helped] in the way we want to defend in and around the box. It's very interesting. I love playing, learning and adding to my game and he's certainly added to my game since I've been here," said the centre-back.
So did Postecoglou sell Danso the prospect of playing in a Europa League final when he was trying to bring him across from Lens in the January transfer window and was that an important thing for him?
"Personally, yes of course but Tottenham speaks for itself. Europa League or no Europa League, it's a big club and somewhere everybody would like to be. That was my reasoning in choosing Tottenham. It was a very easy decision," he said.
Danso has already beaten Manchester United in the Premier League since arriving at Tottenham, with the 1-0 win on his home debut for the club in February. That went some way to scrubbing out a previous experience of playing for Southampton against United when he got sent off through two yellow cards.
"I was having a really good game! But I was young at the time, about 20, got an assist then just made a silly tackle, I was over eager to win the ball and got sent off. At Tottenham, it was my third game, my first game at home at the stadium anyway. It was a good feeling. I feel like in a final a lot more is at stake, it will be a different game obviously but we know what's at stake and we'll go out trying to win.
"[Even being two English teams] I think it will still feel like a final, a winner takes all game. Everybody knows what's on the line. We've done well in the Premier League against them, even in the Carabao Cup. So we just need to go into the game with a confidence but obviously be careful because we know what's at stake."
He added: "I'm very ready. You don't know how many opportunities you're going to get to play in a final and here I am, four months here and there's already a final. So whatever happens, I'm ready. Whatever my role is, I'll just be supporting the team 100% and doing my best in whatever that role is.
