Mauricio Pochettino uses just one word to describe Mousa Dembele after managing him at Tottenham
02/15/2025 03:15 PM
Mauricio Pochettino worked with some truly amazing players during his time at Tottenham.
Harry Kane was a world-class player at Spurs, Dele Alli produced two astonishing seasons under Pochettino at Tottenham, while Christian Eriksen was also fantastic in north London under Pochettino.
However, perhaps one of the best players Pochettino managed at Tottenham was Mousa Dembele.
Indeed, Dembele may not have got the credit he deserved from the wider footballing world in his pomp, but he has received huge acclaim from his peers in recent years.
Antonio Rudiger says Dembele is the most underrated player he's seen, Jack Wilshere hated facing Dembele, while Kieran Trippier said Dembele was up there with Lionel Messi.
Dembele was a top talent, and now, speaking to Goal, Mauricio Pochettino has summed the Belgian up using just one word.
Mauricio Pochettino's one word to describe Mousa Dembele
Pochettino was taking part in a challenge with Goal where he had to describe his former players using just one word or a short phrase.
Pochettino was asked about Dembele, and he could only think about one way to describe the Belgian.
Indeed, Pochettino simply said 'wow' after he was asked to describe the former Spurs star.
Pochettino also spoke highly about more of his former players.
| Player | Mauricio Pochettino’s description |
|---|---|
| Mousa Dembele | Wow |
| Thiago Silva | Leader |
| Marco Verratti | The greatest player that I saw in my life |
| Harry Kane | Top scorer |
| Neymar | Magician |
| Kylian Mbappe | Killer |
| Lionel Messi | Genius |
What Danny Rose said about Mousa Dembele
It's impossible to overestimate just how important a player Dembele was for that Tottenham team around this time.
The Belgian used to run the show in the midfield on a weekly basis.
In fact, Dembele was so important to Tottenham that Danny Rose claimed that Spurs would've won the Champions League if Dembele never left.
"He was absolutely amazing. For me, if he hadn't left in January we would've won the final in the Champions League," Rose said.
Obviously in January it's not in anyone's thoughts we'd get to the final, but that's how influential he was for us, if he played in the final we would've won that game."
Of course, Tottenham would lose 2-0 to Liverpool in that year's Champions League final.
One player can turn the tide of a game like this, and while it may be a tad hyperbolic to say that Dembele definitely would've been the difference, he could have had a positive effect on what was a drab Tottenham performance on that night.
