Rodrigo Bentancur has opened up on his experience playing for Boca Juniors at a young age and how that has helped him deal with the challenges that have come in his career since.
Bentancur, who was born in the small city of Nueva Helvecia in Uruguay, moved to Buenos Aires when he was just 13 years of age to join Boca.
He made his senior debut for the Argentinean giants as a teenager and played his first Superclasico against River Plate aged 17.
The Spurs midfielder has now spoken about the difficulty of having to settle into such a demanding and high-pressure environment.
He told The Evening Standard: “It certainly wasn’t easy at the time. You are going from a town, a population of around 10,000, to a massive city with a population of 20 million.
“It was a long period of my career, something special and I never wanted to miss out on. I don’t want to be disrespectful to any fan base in the world, but those Boca fans in that stadium are something different. It’s something special.”
Bentancur then made a move to Juventus when he was just 19 years of age and had to deal with the pressure of playing for the biggest club in Italy.
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The midfielder quickly established himself as a vital cog in the Juve midfield, playing a crucial role in three Scudetto triumphs.
The 24-year-old explained how the tactical ideas he was exposed to at Juve have helped him quickly understand the methods of Antonio Conte and his coaching staff.
Bentancur added: “Italian football is almost like the school for defending. In terms of positional sense and tactical awareness that really came on during my time in Italy, because that’s what they do extremely well and what you learn.
“The kind of concepts and ideas that they (the Tottenham coaching staff) want to get over as well, it’s stuff that I have been used to seeing.”
Bentancur insisted that he has no intention of resting on his laurels and continues to aim high at Spurs.
He added: “Everything begins with a dream. I can’t say it hasn’t been anything but tough for a kid to come from such a small space, 10,000 population. You would never imagine this.
“But I am lucky enough to have been successful and I think the important thing is that you have to never give up. It’s not about resting on your laurels, it’s all about working hard to maintain that level.”
Spurs Web Opinion
There are not many players who are as experienced at 24 years of age as Bentancur is. The same can be said of Hojbjerg, who made his senior debut for Bayern Munich aged just 17. Having these kinds of characters in the dressing room can only be good for the side.
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