Harry Redknapp has proclaimed that Italian football is not what it used to be and predicts that his former side Spurs will have no problem knocking AC Milan out.
Tottenham drew Milan in the last 16 of the competition and it is a pairing that Redknapp knows well, given he was leading the London club in 2010-11 when they faced the same opponent at the same stage of the competition.
He spoke prior to the first leg at San Siro last month – a game that the Rossoneri won 1-0 thanks to an early Brahim Diaz goal – and stated that Spurs would have no problem getting to the quarter-finals of the competition, branding them the ‘red hot favourites’.
Now Redknapp has spoken to TMW ahead of the return leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and he did not shy away from a bold prediction despite what happened last time/
What kind of a game awaits us?
“I’ve seen the first leg. Tottenham have some difficulties away from home sometimes, but I think the 1-0 draw isn’t a bad result and I’m sure they’ll turn the tables on the second leg. They’ll have the advantage of playing in front of their home crowd, there it will be a different atmosphere. And in the great European nights the team will show itself.”
There are therefore few doubts about who will play in the quarter-finals…
“When you have players of the level of Harry Kane, Son, Richarlison and Kulusevski… all capable of overturning similar situations.”
However, Bentancur’s quality is lacking in the middle…
“He’s certainly a good player, but I have to say that whoever replaces him has quality, such as Skipp for example. But the difference will be seen up front and in my opinion Tottenham have the best centre-forward at the world that is Harry Kane and, I repeat, the atmosphere in the stadium will make the difference. It will be difficult to stop Tottenham.”
You expect a Tottenham Hotspur Stadium worthy of the San Siro in the first leg, then?
“Definitely. Tottenham’s stadium in my opinion is probably the best in the world. It’s incredible, really.”
Is Conte the right man for this team?
“Fantastic manager, a top coach. Emotional manager, who always wants to win. His passion is fantastic, I would say contagious. I’ve never met him but I admire him a lot. He did fantastic things at Chelsea and at Tottenham he picked up a difficult job If he still has time to work, he will be able to do great things and for this reason I hope he stays on the Spurs bench for a long time, even if we can’t be sure.”
What impressions did you get from Milan?
“They seemed in great form. But I have to admit that the Italian teams aren’t as strong as they once were, and are not at the same level as we were a few seasons ago. Milan and Inter certainly have great traditions, but the only ones that give me the impression of being a top team at the moment is Napoli. What they are doing is incredible, the margin of advantage they have created over their opponents is frightening.”
You said of Italian football that it has lost quality compared to the past. Now the Premier League is in charge…
“Once in England we all watched the Italian league and the players dreamed of going to Serie A: Liam Brady, Souness, Francis, Hateley, Jordan, Wilkins… it was special. And still back in time, people like John Charles, Dennis Law, Jimmy Greaves: it was the best of the best in the United Kingdom who went to Italy, fulfilling a dream. Now if you proposed Harry Kane to move to Milan or Inter, he would answer no. Everyone wants the Premier League, there’s a lot of money, incredible stuff.”
Some English people still come to Italy, for example Tomori. However, he was not called up by Southgate for the World Cup. Do you think playing in Serie A for an Englishman is penalising?
“Southgate simply prefers players he’s worked with for a long time, like Maguire and Stones. Players he trusts and consequently Tomori has no space, but he’s a player who could play anywhere.”
“But I have to admit that the Italian teams aren’t as strong as they once were, and are not at the same level as we were a few seasons ago.”
And the English clubs aren’t on the level of the past Italian clubs. So, what the point of his story?
Football’s coming home? England is the best football country in the world? Yeah, we all know the truth. Just count the number of WC trophies they have and compare it to the others.
Ironically none of English teams, have won their Round of 16 matches..
LOL. Let’s keep it that way. 🙂
Who is this idiot?
If you don’t know who Harry Redknapp is Nicky then I’m not sure you should be commenting on a story about English football.
And in fairness it’s pretty clear that the Premier League is a level above Serie A at the moment. You only need to see the results in Europe over the last decade for evidence. Not to say that Milan can’t win this tie of course – but the overall standards have indisputably changed.
I know who he is buddy. Calm down
Said the same thing before the first leg. I hope we serve him his own words on a platter again tomorrow night.
English coaches and critics are all the same, they are never objective, even the commentary team analyze matches with a bias, which sometimes comes home to bite them.
He is not analyzing both the teams , and speaking of the strengths and weakness of both of them, he is making it abundantly clear, Spurs will win .
A vrai dire, le football italien souffre depuis des années.
Les Spurs auront l’avantage du terrain et de l’expérience et surtout le métier dans ce stade de la compétition.
Pronostic 3/0
Agree to disagree, ‘Arry
Always the same thing, this guy is a typical English bias. Probably never watch any games outside of England. Spurs didn’t do anything home game and Kane got bullied by Thiaw. 3 English teams lost tho
well a good lesson would be to not play like dortmund from the start,inviting pressure away from home in ucl witha one goal lead is a terrible idea
Lovely to come back here after the win.
‘Red hot favourites’😂