The flamboyance and coercion behind Tottenham Hotspur’s successful 2015-16 season may have been its English contingent, comprising of Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Harry Kane but the bedrock of the philosophy propagated by Mauricio Pochettino was propagated by a sound backline. While Walker, Dier and Rose were instrumental in ensuring that the North Londoners boasted the joint meanest defence in the league last season, the centre-back duo of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld exuberated confidence and composure to shut opponents out more often than not. With the exception of their horrific 5-1 demolition at Newcastle United on the final day of the season, the Belgians marshalled Tottenham’s rear-guard brilliantly and were rightly lauded for their efforts.
Alderweireld in particular enjoyed a stellar season. Having signed for the London outfit from Atletico Madrid following a season-long loan at Southampton, the 27-year-old played an important role in both boxes for the club. Alderweireld’s presence at the back when his side was required to defend set-pieces and corners was reassuring while at the other end, he netted four goals. All in all, it turned out to be an excellent year for the Belgium international and the White Hart Lane faithful will be hoping for more of the same this year.
The centre-back has started the new campaign promisingly. He endured a few hairy moments against Everton on the opening day of the season with Gerard Deulofeu in attack for the Merseysiders and found Sadio Mane a difficult opponent to deal with in Tottenham’s 1-1 draw against Liverpool at the Lane though. That aside, he has helped expedite three clean sheets for Mauricio Pochettino against Crystal Palace, Stoke City and Sunderland respectively and scored a goal against Monaco in the Champions League.
The latter ended in a disappointing 2-1 defeat, a result indicative of the job Pochettino has on his hands as far as the club’s European ambitions are concerned. Some may view it as a blip in an otherwise promising start though and Alderweireld can take plenty of positives from his outings thus far.
Renowned for his pace and power both on and off the ball, Alderweireld has proved to be a fan favourite at Tottenham’s stomping ground and his intelligence is another endearing quality that the manager has appreciated in the past. With the Premier League’s dynamic expanding remarkably, the need of the hour is a physically imposing centre-half capable of nullifying strikers like Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa. Alderweireld’s statistics from his first season at Tottenham are astounding indeed. With over 65 interceptions and 30 important tackles and blocks, it has become increasingly clear he ticks multiple boxes from a defensive standpoint.
There is absolutely no doubt he can emulate his performances and raise the bar for defending in the Premier League. For Alderweireld is a striker’s nightmare, or so would the supporters claim.
