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Serge Aurier exclusive: Why Jose Mourinho is 'the best', learning from mistakes and messages to Andre Gomes

Serge Aurier has complete faith in Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho - John Nguyen/JNVisuals
Serge Aurier has complete faith in Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho - John Nguyen/JNVisuals

It was in the question and answer session with pupils at Riverside School in Tottenham that Serge Aurier proudly declared Jose Mourinho is the best manager in the world.

A couple of hours later in the headmaster’s office, Aurier’s bold claim softened slightly, but he was not backing down on his opinion that he is now playing for one of the world’s best at Tottenham Hotspur.

“For me, yes, he is in the three best managers in the world because he has won so many trophies,” said Aurier. “When you win so many trophies with different teams, I think you are the best.”

Just as the television character Mrs Merton asked Debbie McGee what first attracted her to the millionaire Paul Daniels, the attraction of Mourinho to a group of players who had once again fallen at the final hurdle in last season’s Champions League appears glaringly obvious.

It is now two months since Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs on a contract until the end of the 2022/23 season and Aurier is the first player to give an extended interview since the change.

“He (Mourinho) has won so many trophies and everyone wants to follow this way,” said Aurier. “When the big manager comes in and you see his CV and it’s win, win, win, win, of course in the players’ minds something changes.

Serge Aurier meets students at Riverside School in north London - Credit: John Nguyen
Aurier grew up in a tough neighbourhood on the outskirts of Paris Credit: John Nguyen

“When he speaks, maybe it’s good or maybe it’s bad but you know he wins trophies and maybe, yes, it’s this way you need to follow. I think everyone knows what the gaffer wants and where we want to go. And maybe after this season we get a trophy, maybe the FA Cup and we also need to work hard to get to the top four.”

For a player who has been through his fair share of controversies, there was a certain irony to the fact that our interview took place on the wrong side of the headmaster’s desk.

But the two hours Aurier had spent in the company of pupils with learning difficulties, playing futsal and taking time to speak with them and help them in various training drills, offered a different view of the 27-year-old.

Aurier regrets his mistakes, not least the homophobic insults he aimed at manager Laurent Blanc and Zlatan Ibrahimovic while he was a Paris Saint-Germain player and his assault on a police officer.

“Of course, I regret my mistakes because it is not me,” said Aurier. “My family, when we talked about this, they said ‘it’s not you’. They said they couldn’t understand because it wasn’t me. Now I know to be careful.

“I made mistakes because I was young, now I’m better, I have a daughter and my life has changed. In England, people are only interested in my football and it’s better for me.

“I am from Paris and when you are from Paris and you play for Paris, it’s not very good because you have your good friends, your bad friends and you put them all in the same bag. You don’t want to leave your friends because then they say ‘ah this guy has changed’. It’s very difficult to work seriously. Here, I’m ok. I have good friends and I don’t go out too much.”

Tottenham right back Serge Aurier meets students at Riverside School in north London - Credit: John Nguyen/
Serge Aurier regrets the comments he made while a PSG player Credit: John Nguyen/

Aurier grew up in Sevran, a tough suburb north of Paris after being moved to France from the Ivory Coast aged five by his parents. Some of his old friends are still in prison and it is a route he admits he could have easily gone down.

“Sevran was a very, very difficult city,” said Aurier. “There was no money. I lived there with my family and it wasn’t easy to stay focussed because I had some friends who are in prison today and maybe I would have followed that way.

“When you are in the school and you see something happen, a bad situation, or you see the dealer, maybe you think ‘why not?’ Because it’s easy to follow this. When you don’t have good people behind you, it’s very difficult to follow the good way.

“I am lucky because my family worked a lot. My mum was a babysitter and my dad drove the school bus - 20 kids. I got the bus and I sat right behind him and all the other 20 kids behind me. That was my life.”

Asked what his life would have become if it were not for football, Aurier added: “I don’t know, it’s very difficult. I have some friends in prison, they were dealers. Me, I don’t know, maybe I would have followed that way. My family drove me in the best way. When I go back, I speak with my old friend and we talk about this situation, and I’m lucky.”

Aurier wanted to quit Tottenham in the summer after making only 17 appearances for the club last term. But he is happy now he is playing regularly again, even though the season has already thrown up a series of challenges.

The week after seeing what had looked like a good goal against Leicester City ruled out by VAR, Aurier was sent-off just 30 minutes into the game against Southampton for picking up two quick bookings. But his hardest moment came at the start of November, when he was involved in the incident that saw Everton midfielder Andre Gomes suffer a horrific ankle injury.

Aurier was seen praying on the pitch in the immediate aftermath of the incident and was delighted to find out that Gomes has this week returned to individual training.

Presented with a picture of Gomes working in the gym, Aurier said: “Oh, ok. He’s back. Wow. Good news. I sent him a message I think last week and he said he’s ok. I’ve been sending him some messages. After he replied to the first message I wrote, I sent him some more.

“That day it was him, but tomorrow maybe it’s me or another player, so we need to give support because it was a very difficult moment. I remember this moment and I was not comfortable when I got back to my house after the game because it was a bad situation. So I am happy for him now because he’s back in the gym and on his way back to the pitch.”

Aurier and his Tottenham team-mates travel to Watford on Saturday, knowing they must win without long-term injury victims Harry Kane and Moussa Sissoko to maintain their hopes of bridging the nine-point gap to fourth place.

“We lost the best striker in the League,” said Aurier. “When we play with Harry it’s easy because he scores a lot of goals. Now it’s very difficult for the team because the manager wants to change something, use new tactics and we need to adapt quickly.”

  • Serge Aurier was taking part in an after-school sports session for young people with learning difficulties delivered by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.