AVB warns Inter Milan: Brilliant Bale is even better

Andre Villas-Boas has warned Inter Milan that Gareth Bale is now even more capable of wreaking havoc against them than when he tore them apart the last time around.

Bale caught the world’s attention in October 2010 when he scored a hat-trick at the San Siro and then went on to make a mockery of Brazil right-back Maicon when Inter went down 3-1 to Spurs in the reverse fixture the following month.

Bale went on to star for Tottenham last season, but it is only in this campaign that the 23-year-old has come to be regarded as having similar quality to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Bale has scored 20 goals for Spurs this term – comfortably his best return as a professional – and his manager thinks the Welshman is primed to cause yet more damage to Inter when the two teams lock horns in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie at White Hart Lane  tonight.

“I think Gareth has evolved as a player. He is even more threatening now,” the Spurs manager said. “I remember seeing the highlights of Inter and Tottenham, and how Tottenham came back into the game late on.

“Maicon was an outstanding right-back, one of the Brazilian right backs, so to see a young player like Gareth play like he did against him demonstrates his talent.

“Now, two years on, he plays in a different position. He’s become a different player – a bigger player and a more complete player. He’s the kind of player who can determine the outcome of a game, as we’ve seen in recent matches.”

Bale, as Villas-Boas points out, has been crucial to the unbeaten 12-match run that has seen Spurs climb above Chelsea in to third place. While much of the attention will understandably be on Bale, the visit of Inter also brings back fond memories for Tottenham’s manager.

Villas-Boas spent 18 months at the San Siro operating as Inter’s head scout under Jose Mourinho before he decided to go it alone after being offered the manager’s position at Academica de Coimbra.

“It was a difficult moment of my professional life (to leave Inter),” Villas-Boas said. “At that time I was scouting for Jose. We had conversations because I wanted to be a little bit more involved with first-team training. Jose had always seen me doing the job I was doing. It was a difficult step to take, but it was probably the right one.”

Meanwhile, Inter stalwart Javier Zanetti played in both Champions League encounters against Spurs in 2010 and has not forgotten the damage inflicted by Bale.

“Bale is a great player and will be difficult to deal with,” he told Tuttosport earlier this week. "We must be brave. But being on the front foot in a game like this will not be easy.”

Inter boss Andrea Stramaccioni has recalled striker Antonio Cassano to his squad following a training ground bust-up last week. Nerazzurri bosses played down the incident, but Stramaccioni left Cassano out of the squad for Sunday’s 3-2 win at Catania.

It is any wonder Inter fear Welsh wing wizard Bale given his last performance against them:

READ MORE:

- Ex-Real Madrid chief: 'We have the means to land Bale'

- OPINION: Tottenham's ambition may struggle to burn as brightly as Bale's brilliance

- VIDEO: World at his feet, but where now for Gareth Bale?

 

 

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