Eric Dier has attempted to describe the tension that arises in the air when two of the biggest teams in Portuguese football go head to head.
Tottenham’s Eric Dier has made well over two centuries of appearances for the club in his six-year spell so far.
A mere €4 million transfer fee was all it took for Spurs to secure the services of the Englishman in the summer of 2014.
Prior to joining the Premier League, he made a name for himself in the Primeira Liga with Sporting Lisbon.
The versatile defensive player became a regular in the Sporting line-up after rising through the ranks and breaking into their first team in 2012, having joined the club’s youth setup aged eight.
Dier has been part of some of the most intense rivalries in the world of football, but he insists nothing trumps the passion of the fans in Portugal.
Asked to pick the most intense derby among England vs Germany, Arsenal vs Tottenham, and Benfica vs Sporting on Sky show ‘A League Of Their Own’, he replied without any dubiety: “The derbies in Portugal are pretty intense.
“You feel like, if [the supporters] could get on the pitch, that they actually would come after you.”
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