Eric Dier has reflected on his days at Sporting Lisbon, where he began his footballing career, looking at the rules and discipline he was working under at the Portuguese team.
Eric Dier said: “I was so happy at Sporting Lisbon. That club is my club. It’s my family. It was an experience. Being the young ones, we were given a hard time and being the only English kid there, that was an experience in itself.”
The 27-year-old found success in Portugal as he was captain of his age range at Sporting and he alluded to the potential reason why.
Eric Dier explained: “I was very driven when I was young. When I moved to the academy it streamlined my focus [going to school and training]. Everyone wanted the same goal. That’s all I was interested in, making it.”
A stand-out aspect that Dier had to get used to at Sporting was discipline.
Eric Dier said: “They had incredible discipline installed in the academy, that was something that was fantastic for us. I grew up in a very disciplined household, it was the only way with six kids so it was quite good going into that. There was a huge emphasis on respect, I think it’s a cultural thing as well. So there would be rules like you have to keep your room tidy, you have to make your bed every morning, if you didn’t you wouldn’t be allowed out at the weekends, you would have to stay at the academy. Saying good morning to everyone. You had to be good at school. You had to behave at school, you had to perform at school, that was really important for them. They focused on so much more than just the football side of things which I think was so important and something everyone there benefited from. Making a bed is a huge thing of mine because of that. I’ll go to a hotel and make my bed in the morning. I have to start my day in that way.”
Moving on from his long spell at Sporting, the defender looked back at his time under Mauricio Pochettino and linked a quality both the Argentine and current boss Antonio Conte have.
Eric Dier explained: “In every environment, I’m a strong believer that you need that leader figure that everyone feeds to and with Mauricio and the manager now, I enjoy being in that environment where it’s their way or the high way and there’s no room for discussion. I think that’s the best environment to be successful as a team. It’s not for me, as a player, to say how we should be doing or how we should be playing, that’s the manager’s job and the better he does it, the easier it is for everyone as players.”
The current Spurs boss is known for his strict managerial methods and during his time at Chelsea, he spoke about the need to sometimes be tough on your players. This strict nature under Conte is something he has a reputation for, but will be something Dier is used to, because of his experiences growing up.
Eric Dier said: “I like being in an environment where there’s an energy between everyone, you really feel like everyone is working towards the same thing, where everyone is focused on the same goal. Working for a manager in which I believe in and I trust, makes a huge difference to me.”
Although the former Sporting player may act as a leader on the pitch, he clearly likes to be given guidance off the field too and through the discipline and rules he experienced at his former club, that is something he is used to.
