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PREMIER LEAGUE | SERGIO REGUILÓN INTERVIEW
Jonathan NorthcroftThe Sunday Times
It is normal for foreign signings to need time to settle into the English game, especially those who are young and are working on their language skills. Yet, speak to Sergio Reguilón, and you realise that he is a little different.
On the pitch, his attributes as a dynamic and feisty but technical full back have made him a perfect fit for the type of game José Mourinho wants to play at Tottenham Hotspur: measured football with an edge. Off it, the 24-year-old from Madrid has become very much a favourite at the training ground. He is a joker and he is game. “Good value” they say.
This source of ‘La Banta’ had a standout cameo when a video emerged of the Spurs squad playingindoor cricket in November. Clearly as clueless as a top order England batsman about how the game should be played, the Spaniard appeared to spend most of his time giggling and playing an improvised bongo drum at midwicket.
How does he rate his bat and ball skills? “I try to learn but it’s too difficult,” Reguilón says, making a little hooting noise, before giving way to more giggles. “No, I’m happy because I don’t understand but I play.
“I try to learn the customs of England and the customs of the players of the sport of my friends in the team. I’m happy to learn with them . . . but I’m so bad.”
Last Sunday, he found himself subject of a studio argument between Roy Keane and Jamie Redknapp when the Sky Sports pundits analysed Tottenham before their game against Burnley. After the match, which Spurs won 4-0, Reguilón responded with humour — replying on Twitter to a clip of Redknapp defending him with a well-known GIF of Michael Jackson munching popcorn. The message was that he had enjoyed watching the debate.
Characterising Spurs as having too many average performers, Keane suggested Reguilón was transferred from Real Madrid in summer because he lacked the quality of a top player. In response, Redknapp described him as “a fantastic player” and “as good a left back as there is in the country”. Reguilón was appreciative of the support.
“That is [Keane’s] opinion but for me we have a lot of top class players that can play in every team. But we play for Tottenham and we defend Tottenham and for me we have the best players. That’s my opinion,” Reguilón said.
“Thank you Jamie for defending me, it was so funny! He was really angry! I watched that and smiled a lot. It was very nice.”
Reguilón presents his move from the Santiago Bernabéu in considerably more positive terms than Keane did. Having spent last season on loan at Seville, with whom he won the Europa League, he decided his future lay away from Real, the club where he was developed but — despite making his debut in 2018 — never became a regular.
“In the summer I had a big decision and with all the clubs on the table, I chose Tottenham. Because their proposal, the team, the league, the club, the city — there are too many factors that said yes. And the gaffer for me was very important. The personnel at the club, with [Daniel] Levy and with José and everything — it was very important.”
Rejoining Gareth Bale, who he befriended at the Santiago Bernabéu, was another attraction. “I was talking with him when we were with Madrid and said ‘Gareth, maybe I go to Tottenham’ and he said, ‘Really? me too! No way!’. In the end it was amazing.” He is delighted by his amigo’s return to form. “Gareth for me is a top player. Now I think is the best performance [for Spurs] because his body is different and he needs more training, more work to be fit but now is his best moment in Tottenham.”
Three consecutive wins and clean sheets have reignited Spurs, helping them into the round of 16 of the Europa League and back within striking distance of the Premier League top four. Has anything special happened to prompt the good run? “Yes. I’m back!” quips Reguilón. “I’m joking. I don’t know. Maybe there are moments in the season when it happens that we are tired, maybe the game is an unlucky one, it’s football, it’s difficult to explain. But now we are in the good moment and we have to build on it.
“Now the feeling is we can arrive in the top four. It’s difficult but we have the players to do it.”
Despite giving his manager a headache when he, Érik Lamela and Giovani Lo Celso were pictured together at a festive party in breach of lockdown rules, Reguilón remains well-liked by Mourinho, who sent the young Spaniard a cooked suckling pig to eat on Christmas Day. “It was a big bit of pork!” Reguilón laughs. “I ate the pork alone at home on the 25th of December, I promise . . . I know José wants the best for me and I feel the same about him.
“I love Spanish food. For me it is my favourite food, the best food.” Better, perhaps, than Spanish cricket.
