According to José Mourinho, Gareth Bale no longer suffers from ‘psychological scars’ at Tottenham Hotspur. The forward hired from Real Madrid had some very difficult months at the North London club, but in recent weeks he has started to get more and more in shape. On Sunday, Bale formed a strong duo with Harry Kane in the home game against fellow townsman Crystal Palace (4-1 victory). Both attackers scored twice.
Bale signed in the last six matches of the Spurs for six goals and three assists. “I am very happy with that”, Mourinho jubilates in an interview with the BBC. “Gareth is a great player and it has been a privilege for me to work with him.” The Portuguese manager also denies that he has challenged Bale to improve himself, after the poor start to his rental period. “We didn’t. We only supported him”, Mourinho emphasizes.
Mourinho looks back on the early days of Bale, who returned to his old love Tottenham after seven seasons at Real. “I came across psychological scars. If you keep running into injuries for a few seasons, it is no longer about the scars on your body, but about the psychological scars that you have been left with. Something like that brings fear and instability. along.” Mourinho notes with great satisfaction, however, that Bale has left all the problems on the off-field behind him.
“With hard work and the support of those around you, you will eventually break through the psychological barrier,” Mourinho explains Bale’s revival. “And Gareth finally broke through that barrier. He did it all by himself, we had no further influence on that. We only supported him as much as possible.” Bale prepares with Tottenham for the encounter with Dinamo Zagreb in the eighth final of the Europa League. A home game will follow on Thursday, with the game being played a week later on March 18.
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