Former Tottenham Hotspur academy player, Ruben Lameiras, has opened up on his time in North London and how the education he received at the club was crucial in helping him to forge a career in the professional game.
Lameiras arrived at Tottenham as a 16-year-old back in 2011 and went on to spend four years at the club. While he didn’t make an appearance for the first-team, he did feature for the club’s Under-21 side.
Since leaving Tottenham, the Portuguese midfielder has enjoyed spells at League One sides Coventry City and Plymouth Argyle.
The 25-year-old moved to newly promoted Portuguese club FC Famalicao last summer and has enjoyed a fine season in Liga NOS, registering four goals and an assist in fifteen league starts for the club (transfermarkt.com).
In an interview with Famalicao’s official Youtube Channel (as relayed by Sport Witness), Lameiras revealed that he has great memories from his time at Spurs.
He said: “I think I have a lot of memories. Before training with them, when I was 16, I would see a lot of training.
“There were players of great quality, who one day I thought that I wanted to be like them, achieve what they achieved in their career. It was a motivation to continue working.
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“When I turned 17, I did the first training session with them and then until the age of 19, I trained almost every day. They always helped me. The players always talked to me, about what I could do or not do. The education I had there was very good.”
However, the midfielder didn’t seem too open to the idea of returning to England in the future.
When asked if he would like to try his luck in English football again, Lameiras said: “I think all players dream of playing for the national team and playing at a higher level. But I think it’s also important to go to work and like where you’re working.
“I think this is very important. Being at a very big club and not to like being there… so I think it has both. I also think it’s very important to be happy at the workplace.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Lameiras came through at a time when we had a lot of top midfielders at the club. He would have trained and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Luka Modric, Rafael van der Vaart, Scott Parker and Mousa Dembele, to name but a few. That experience would have certainly been invaluable for any young player and it is not surprising that it left a lasting impression on the 25-year-old.
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