Ahead of Tottenham’s Europa League debut, Jose Mourinho wanted to talk about the evolution of one of his biggest stars in the squad.
Tottenham Hotspur is starting a whole new chapter with many new players, but Jose Mourinho wanted to talk about one of them specifically. Gareth Bale returned to the Spurs with the hope of possibly getting to become the team’s most important player. He didn’t start his second spell with the right foot after Tottenham’s draw against West Ham United.
Gareth came on the pitch with his side winning 3-1 and he finished the game with a 3-3 result. In fact, he even had the chance to score Tottenham’s fourth goal and he bottled the opportunity. It is clear that this version of Gareth Bale is very different than the one we saw at Real Madrid during the final days.
But he is also very different from the one we got to experience during his best performances. This version of Gareth is calmer, he takes more time to make his decisions and he doesn’t get ahead of himself. Jose wanted to talk about his evolution.
For Mourinho, the differences are evident.
Contrary to the world-beater he was when he left Spurs back in 2013, Jose Mourinho can spot the differences between Gareth’s old version and this one.
“No player is the same in such a wide span of time,” said Mourinho via AS. “That was between 2013 and 2020, we are talking about a seven-year difference. It’s not just months. This is not about Gareth Bale, we are talking about every footballer in the world.
“Footballers can change in seven years. Sometimes this change is not for better or for worse, it’s just change. An evolution of his qualities or his style of play. Even in his position. Of course he is not the same, he is a different footballer.
“This is the third time I have played this competition. In the other two with Porto and Manchester United, I won the title. So my Europa League record is good, I’ve never been eliminated. I lost some games during the group stage but I won the tournament.”
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