Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino has praised Tottenham winger Gareth Bale by saying that he is one of the best in the world. The 23-year-old Welsh winger recently scored the only goal of the game in the 1-0 victory for Tottenham over Southampton.
After replacing Nigel Adkins a few months ago, Argentina's Pochettino has managed to secure safety for his team in the Premier league. As a result, this 1-0 defeat does not have any major implications for Pochettino. He was in full praise of Bale, who scored against his former club to keep Tottenham in the hunt for the top four positions.
Southampton have 39 points from their 35 matches this season and they are on course to experiencing Premier league football for another season. Bale recently managed to win the two PFA awards on offer. He has been widely linked with a move to Spain with the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid interested in him. Pochettino is not surprised about the interest from clubs abroad in Bale. He feels that the 23-year-old is such a good player that he can settle in almost any team. He has even went as far as saying that Bale can be compared along with Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi in several aspects.
"There are some similarities between Bale and Messi. They are both very quick, both left footed and they both have a winning mentality. Bale is very decisive in how his team plays, although maybe not as much as Messi. He is an amazing player because of his speed, his strength and his goal-scoring ability. He has shown that throughout the season and I rate him very highly. He is in the top 10 players in the world. We cannot just focus on Bale," said Southampton's manager ahead of the match, which they eventually lost.
- Log in to post comments