With almost his last kick of a football in a Tottenham shirt, Gareth Bale cut in from the right and whipped a stunning strike into the top corner against Sunderland.
It’s been seven years since that moment, a glorious but ultimately fruitless goal as Arsenal pipped Spurs to fourth spot in 2012/13.
AFP
Three weeks earlier, Bale had not only won the prestigious Professional Footballers’ Association’s Players’ Player of the Year award, he also won their Young Player of the Year award, the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year award, and the Premier League’s Player of the Season gong.
You could even argue he might have won the Premier League’s Manager of the Season award. His conversation about his role at Spurs and subsequent move behind Emmanuel Adebayor almost got them into the top four.
His campaign was truly astonishing, propelling Tottenham to within a whisker of Champions League qualification with 21 league goals and four assists.
An £85.3million move to Real Madrid was hardly surprising as a result.
Now, though, he’s back. On loan from the Bernabeu for the season, while there is the possibility, if all goes well, he could join again next year too.
Fans are giddy at the thought of watching Bale again in a lilywhite shirt, rampaging across the pitch, slamming shots in from long range, and skinning defenders.
A lot has changed in N17 since he left. Spurs now play at the world-class Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and have an incredible training facility.
They now have England captain Harry Kane as their star man – Bale did spend eight minutes in total on the pitch with him in his previous spell – along with Heung-Min Son, and the thought of all three together is enough to make Spurs fans salivate.
Meanwhile, it’s now Jose Mourinho in charge of the north London side and not Andre Villas-Boas.
AFP or licensors
The Tottenham team that took to the pitch that day back in 2013 is almost totally unrecognisable, although there are a couple of familiar faces.
Bale will, if he plays on Sunday against West Ham, know the man between the sticks – Hugo Lloris.
The Frenchman joined in 2012 remaining at the club for eight years, helping them to qualify for the Champions League on four occasions, and making the final of the competition in 2019.
Jan Vertonghen was in the team which beat Sunderland 1-0 seven years ago and has only just left the club, moving to Benfica on a free transfer.
AFP - Getty
Getty Images - Getty
Elsewhere, though, it’s a totally different ball game.
Kyle Walker has been at Man City since a £50m move in 2017, centre-back Michael Dawson left White Hart Lane a year after Bale, while maverick left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto lasted until 2015 before he joined Saint-Etienne.
In midfield, Scott Parker is now manager of Fulham, while a 33-year-old Tom Huddlestone is now without a club after his contract with Derby ran out in the summer.
On the flanks, jet-heeled Aaron Lennon is now plying his trade in Turkey with Kayserispor after his contract at Burnley wasn’t renewed, while Clint Dempsey is quietly retired over in America after calling time on his career in 2018.
And striker Emmanuel Adebayor is without a club having left Paraguayan side Olimpia last March due the threat of coronavirus.
Even those who were on the bench that day are long gone.
Brad Friedel, now 49, is currently working with an agency over in the United States after some brief coaching ventures.
Right-back Kyle Naughton has been with Swansea since 2015 and Steven Caulker is rebuilding his career in Turkey with Alanyaspor.
Mousa Dembele would become a key figure in Tottenham’s title challenges before eventually leaving for Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R&F in 2019.
Attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson remains in the Premier League with Everton, while Lewis Holtby now plays for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship.
Club legend Jermain Defoe took the final spot with the subs and he’s also still playing, aged 38, in Scotland with Rangers.
Getty Images - Getty
How Tottenham could look against West Ham on Sunday
from Football - news, transfers, fixtures, scores, pictures https://ift.tt/3j1x0ED
via IFTTT
No Comment