MY GENIUS
Pochettino: Mousa is one of the best players I’ve been lucky enough to meet.. but if I’d had him at 18 years old he would have been a legend!
HE has been a key player in Tottenham’s title challenge this season – and during Mauricio Pochettino’s time in north London.
His skill and close control have seen him feted at times by some of the biggest clubs in the country.
Pochettino now believes “genius” Mousa Dembele would have gone on to become one of the finest players on the planet – had the Belgium star learned under him as a teenager.
The Spurs boss went further – rating Dembele alongside four footballing legends as one of the best he has ever worked with.
Exclusive data, courtesy of EA Sports, places the former Fulham star ahead of his counterparts in the Premier League.
Pochettino, whose men go to Burnley today, agrees. He said: “I always say to him, ‘Mousa, in my book, you will be one of my genius players that I have been lucky to meet.’ One was Maradona, another Ronaldinho, also Okocha and then De La Pena – he was a genius too.
“We’ve always told him, ‘If we had taken you at 18 or 19, you would have become one of the best players in the world’. I would have loved to have taken him at 18.”
Pochettino, no mean defender himself, played in the same team as Diego Maradona for Newell’s Old Boys in the 1993/94 season.
Ronaldinho played with Pochettino for two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, before the Brazilian magician was snapped up by Barcelona.
Also in that PSG team, during the 2001/2 campaign, was the supremely gifted Jay-Jay Okocha, widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time.
Playmaker Ivan De La Pena came through the ranks at Barca, where he lifted the title, but closed out his career at Espanyol where he too played alongside Pochettino.
When the Spurs boss arrived at White Hart Lane in 2014, Dembele had struggled with injuries that had restricted his appearances and saw him unable to nail down a regular place under the Argentine.
Fast-forward nearly three years and Dembele (battling Southampton’s Steven Davis for the ball, left) remains a vital cog in the Spurs wheel as the rejuvenated north Londoners fight for the title and Champions League football for a second successive season.
“Mousa is completely different to two-and-a-half years ago when we arrived here.” said the Spurs boss. “He didn’t play too much in his first season, he always had problems, or physical problems.
“I must give all credit to the medical staff to create a Mousa that is strong and can play. I think that every week. He has worked very hard. W e provide individual plans for every player. I think we are very happy.” Spurs – 10 points behind leaders Chelsea – go to Burnley today hunting the three points which will maintain their position as the Blues’ nearest rivals. The Clarets have been beaten just three times in the league this season and Pochettino has warned his men to guard against complacency. “Burnley are a very aggressive team,” he added. “They are very strong and very well organised. They play very well on the counter-attack and with long balls. “So we need to be ready to fight.” Data courtesy of EA Sports, the Lead Partner of the Premier League.