DELE ALLI once fought for a starting place in the centre of England’s midfield with Ruben Loftus-Cheek… but at schoolboy level there was no contest, according to his former coach.
When the Spurs star was playing youth football at MK Dons, he came up against the giant Chelsea prospect when the pair were just young teens.
26
26
Alli and his team mates bossed Loftus-Cheek & Co off the park that day in an exciting 3- 3 draw, according to his former coach and mentor Dan Micciche and the playmaker continued to rise to any challenges put in front of him ever since.
Micciche, 42, took the talented youngster under his wing when he was 12 years old and has witnessed Alli’s meteoric rise to the top.
The former Head of Academy coach at the Bucks club, who had a brief spell as their first team manager this year, told SunSport in 2018 how he encouraged Alli to be a free spirit on the pitch.
Micciche also revealed that top clubs snubbed the playmaker when he was a youngster because they thought he was flash and showboated too much.
26
26
“The bigger the club we played, the better he performed,” Micciche said.
“You could go to tough places away from home and he’d have no fear at all.
“I saw him go to Aston Villa, at a time when they were in various FA Youth Cup finals and had a decent side.
“They had England Youth international Dan Crowley, but Dele was better.
“We played Tottenham in front of 5,000 people and Dele was up against the very talented Harry Winks and Josh Onomah, but Dele got the better of them and was instrumental in a 4 – 1 win.
26
“And even Chelsea away, against his England rival Ruben, he completely bossed the game.
“He just loved a challenge where he could prove he was better than others at higher profile clubs.”
Micciche, who also worked with the likes of Ryan Sessegnon and Phil Foden at England Under-16 level, was well aware he had a special talent on his hands, believing Alli’s raw skill had to be handled accordingly.
That’s why the English coach, born to Italian migrants, let his star pupil play how he wanted to.
“He was very different to most academy kids at that age.
26
26
“Dele was more of a street player, very skilful, tried things which other kids wouldn’t attempt to try.
“His thinking was very advanced, in terms of his awareness and creativity. He had very good feet and was always good in tight areas.
“Ironically, the first game I saw him play was against Tottenham’s Under-12s. He caught my eye straight away, nutmegging people and he was very confident – scooping the ball over people’s heads, using the outside of his foot.
“A lot of coaches might’ve thought he showboated too much and was flash.
“But they were the sort of things that would get me off my seat and excite me as a coach, so I was very accepting of that and didn’t want to take that part out of his game.
26
26
“He’s more of a team player now and more disciplined in and out of possession. But when he was younger, he was more of an individual.
“I didn’t make him a better technical player, he didn’t need that from me.
“He needed to develop his strengths into super strengths and be put in an environment where he continued to love the club, practice and the game.
“To sum it up, Dele needed to be put in an environment which would stimulate him to improve.”
26
To keep his star man on his toes, Micciche often played Alli against opposition players that were three, four-years older than him.
The pioneering trainer also tested his apprentice in matches starting with just ten men and playing on different size pitches.
Nothing fazed the boy at all. But despite his advanced ability, a lot of big clubs were cautious of taking a punt on him before Tottenham eventually stepped in.
“When I first went to MK Dons in 2007, I read Dele’s report that the previous coach had written,” Micciche told SunSport.
26
“It said, ‘Needs to learn when to dribble, when to pass.’ What they were basically saying was he dribbled too much.
“But I was never going to restrict his touches. I just had to find other ways for him to share the ball more and be a better team player over time, as development is a long term process.
“But I didn’t want to take away his individual ability.
“I think you’d lose him, his quality and his motivation for the game by doing that anyway.
“But that’s why he didn’t have clubs or England youth scouts queuing up for him.
26
“How Dele played, dependant on what day you saw him play, could’ve put scouts off him.
“Dele would do a Cruyff turn, get tackled and the other team might score or nearly score. Scouts might put in their report, ‘Takes too many risks’ or ‘Tries to do the wrong things in the wrong areas’.
“Whereas, I wouldn’t have discouraged him from those things. For me, there is no right or wrong part of the pitch to do a Cruyff turn, it’s whether it works or not and you have to help him find solutions with his thinking that can work in the future.
“Managing mistakes effectively becomes key and you have to consistently embrace and demand creativity.”
26
Alli’s temperament has been called into question on the pitch before – his spiky attitude often landing him in trouble with Premier League referees.
That was a part of his game Micciche admitted he had to carefully manage.
“Dele was a doer,” he said.
“Some kids at youth level will ask a lot of questions, there’s a lot of dialogue and they can take longer taking things on board.
26
26
“But with Dele, his learning style was, ‘Quickly tell me what you want to do, so I can play longer.’ And that’s what he likes.
“He could take a bit of tough love too due to our close connection and trust. I’d stick him in sin bins and that could be perceived as being harsh on him.
“But it was with the thought of putting in some boundaries and telling him you wouldn’t get away with it at first team level.
“I think where you get his respect is you adopt that approach with all the players. There was never any favouritism towards him, so he was aware of that.”
26
26
As well as controlling Alli’s attitude on the pitch, Micciche was keen to install tactical discipline into the promising youngster.
A system was developed that helped Alli understand the central midfield role better.
“What he’d end up doing was everyone’s job for them, because he didn’t trust his teammates at first.
“I used to strip the pitch in three. I’d tell him when we had the ball he could go anywhere he wanted within those three channels.
26
“When we haven’t got the ball, you could only stay in the middle channel. I didn’t want him pressing the full-backs or pressing wingers, that wasn’t his job and it allowed him to conserve his energy to do what he did best.”
Alli’s tough upbringing has been well-documented. Born to Nigerian father Kehinde and English mother Denise, his dad moved to the States just weeks after his birth.
He was first raised by his mum, an alcoholic, before moving to Africa aged nine to be with his old man.
Alli spent two years studying at an international school before returning to Milton Keynes to live with Denise.
26
“Football was his escape and release,” Micciche said.
“Where I got it right with him was separating anything else from the football and actually realising the academy and the club were his safe place.
“He could be himself there, but he probably couldn’t do that at school where there’s lots of rules and he had to conform a lot.
“With us, we gave him a lot of freedom on the pitch, we allowed him to express himself. It was a safe, not a soft environment.
26
26
“He could do what he wanted and turned up when he wanted within reason and the philosophy of the academy, but at the same time, if he missed training or was late, you have to remember he’s not the one who drives the car.
“You can’t put the blame on him. He didn’t have the support network to get there half an hour before training starts.”
However, Alli’s saving grace came in the shape of Alan and Sally Hickford, parents of another MK Dons prospect, Harry Hickford, who England’s number 20 calls his “brother”.
They adopted Alli when he was 13 and he’s never looked back since.
26
26
Micciche added: “The Hickfords were incredibly loving and supportive people who did everything to ensure Dele was safe.
“Thanks to them, he developed into a well-mannered and educated young person.”
Since making his debut aged just 16 for the MK Dons, Alli’s continued to impress football fans all around the globe.
He moved to Tottenham, courtesy of high profile scout Paul Mitchell now at Red Bull Leipzig.
Alli was once one of the most promising talents in the Premier League but has suffered inconsistent form in recent years, losing his place in the England set-up.
He has failed to hit the ground running since Mauricio Pochettino left, being largely overlooked by Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo.
But he will hope for new life under Italian Antonio Conte – who replaced Nuno – and was brought back into Spurs’ starting line up for their 2-2 draw with Liverpool.
26
26
26