[ad_1]
Only Bale has more experience than the Spurs on the biggest stage in European football.
In his seven years at Real Madrid, the Welshman won four Champions League, scoring in the 2014 and 2018 finals.
But he still never won the adoration he received during his transformation from promising left-back to the world’s most expensive player in his first spell at Tottenham.
It first got a taste of Champions League action in 2010/11 when Spurs defeated both Milan teams, with Bale scoring a hat-trick against Inter, to reach the quarter-finals where they lost, of course, against Madrid.
After being voted Player of the Year twice in three seasons by his fellow pros, while the Spurs continually failed to qualify for the Champions League, Bale had outgrown his surroundings when he left for £ 85 million ($ 110 million) in 2013. .
In the seven years since then, Tottenham has grown to such an extent that they can welcome him back to play in a new billion-pound stadium, with José Mourinho at the helm and England captain Harry Kane at the helm.
The problem for Spurs president Daniel Levy is that almost all of that progress was made during Mauricio Pochettino’s five years in office between 2014 and 2019.
Despite limited investment in the team while Levy concentrated on building the new stadium, the Argentine made Tottenham regulars in the Champions League and later contenders with a notable run towards the 2019 final, ending in a 2-0 loss to Liverpool.
However, after a lousy start to last season and feeling that Spurs had stalled due to a lack of team changes, Pochettino was fired last November, paving the way for Mourinho’s arrival.
Males de Mourinho
Results only improved marginally as Spurs finished sixth in the Premier League to sneak into the Europa League on goal difference.
Thursday’s trip to Bulgaria to face Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the Europa League second qualifying round is a far cry from the glory nights in Barcelona, Dortmund and Amsterdam that Spurs enjoyed not long ago with Pochettino.
Tottenham opened their new Premier League season last weekend with a 1-0 loss to Everton, a terrible display lacking in inventiveness, leaving Levy with little doubt that Spurs were in dire need of a lift.
He has earned a reputation as one of the most frugal executives in football and just three months ago warned that Spurs were facing costs of more than £ 200 million from the coronavirus crisis due to lost revenue, concerts and matchday events. , including two NFL games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, Levy has approved a deal to pay half of Bale’s £ 27 million salary for one year, and Sergio Reguilon is also expected to join from Madrid for another £ 27 million.
It remains to be seen if Bale, now 31 and with a long injury history, is able to revive Tottenham’s fortunes.
But by giving Mourinho a lead of three from Bale, Kane and Son Heung-min, Levy leaves the Portuguese with little excuse for failure as Tottenham chase a spot in the top four and their first trophy after a 12-year drought. .
“A squad is a puzzle and when a new signing completes the puzzle, it’s great for the team,” Mourinho said before Bale’s arrival.
Now the pressure is on the coach to put the pieces together successfully for Tottenham to win again on the field.
kca / jw / bsp / iwd
