How paternal influences are creating a strong bond at Spurs

With both strong parental figures and players becoming fathers themselves, familial bonds are being formed at Spurs

It might have just been Mother's Day in the UK, but you can't help but notice a strong paternal influence within Tottenham Hotspur nowadays.

Ange Postecoglou has become something of a father figure to this group of young Spurs players and many of them have been guided by strong paternal figures in their own lives or have been transformed by their own experiences as new fathers in recent years.

That's not to detract from the powerful influences of the mothers in the careers of these Tottenham players but there is certainly a paternal imprint within the club that is there for all to see.

Dejan Kulusevski admitted this week that his father Stefan shaped the hard-working nature of his own temperament.

Dejan Kulusevski has paid tribute to his dad’s work ethic

"If you want to understand who I am, you have to know about my father, Stefan. He was born in Sweden to Macedonian parents, and he has the original Balkan mentality," the Spurs winger said in an open letter to the club's fans in The Players' Tribune.

"When I began playing for Brommapojkarna, my team in Stockholm, he would drive me to games in the morning, but he also worked night shifts at the Arlanda Airport, supervising the shuttle bus service. He’s been working there for 25 years, and his mother drove the same bus. If you have flown to Stockholm, there’s a good chance that you’ve caught a ride with Grandma.

"When my father came home from the night shift, he would go straight into the kitchen, make me breakfast and drive me to the game. Without sleep, and he never complained. Never.

"One day I had this game where I was barely running, and at halftime you could tell that my father was angry. Of course, this is Sweden, so the normal thing would have been for him to take me aside and have a quiet word. But in front of everybody — parents, coaches, teammates — he started screaming at me.

"He said, “I swear on my life, if you don’t start doing more, I’m gonna drive home and leave you right here.” Bro, I was so embarrassed I could have died. But he was right, you know? He had stayed up for 20 hours to be there. He wanted me to give everything, because he was giving everything for me."

He added: "When I started travelling with Brommapojkarna to play teams abroad, he was always there, alone — Azerbaijan, Italy, Germany. He would save up money to take my sister and me to Champions League games in London and Milan. “Kids, take some time off school next week, we’re going to London.” That was it.

"And that’s the Balkan way. My father never talked about how hard he worked or how much he sacrificed. He just did it. As a footballer, and as a person, watching him was the best education possible."

Ange Postecoglou has acted as a father figure to his Spurs players

Postecoglou has always been open about his complicated relationship with his father Dimitris, known as Jim. A man of few words, a hard worker who brought his family from Greece to the other side of the world for a better life, the young Ange's relationship with his father came through their mutual love of football and their late nights together watching football matches on television from across the globe.

The Australian has since made a career out of - in his own words - trying to make his dad proud with the kind of football his teams play.