Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa lauds Tottenham Hotspur star Rodrigo Bentancur
Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa has lauded Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur. He played 86 minutes as Bielsa’s team cruised to a 3-0 win over Bolivia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL qualifiers.
Bentancur missed a large part of 2023 after a serious ACL injury suffered in February. While he was out on the touchline, three different managers managed Spurs.
He finally made his return from injury in late October as a late substitute in the Premier League game against Crystal Palace, which we won 2-1. He has since featured in two more league games.
And he also seems to be match fit. Bentancur was signed under Conte in January 2022 and came alongside Dejan Kulusevski to N17. What a signing those two have been.
What next for Bentancur?
Bentancur, who has 55 caps for his country’s senior side, also played 28 minutes in the historic 2-0 win against Argentina. Bielsa seems to be glad that the 26-year-old is back and he recently said, via the Independent:
“He is a player that it is difficult to find an area of the midfield that he is not in a position to assume. There are not many players who defend like a holding midfielder, who attack and defend like an interior, like a number 8, like a mixed midfielder, and that when they reach the rival area he has the resources, the qualities of an offensive midfielder.”
“It is a very special case within football in general. A player who in himself meets the conditions for all places on the field. Today he stood out clearly.”
Bielsa has highlighted very eloquently what makes Bentancur an asset. He is a complete midfielder, who can pass, attack, defend, and run for the entire 90 minutes every single game.
That is part of the reason why Conte got him here, to have a hard-working central midfielder in his two-man midfield set-up. He is a player destined to succeed under Ange Postecoglou as well.
More Tottenham Hotspur News
- Juventus ready to listen to offers for Tottenham Hotspur target Samuel Iling-Junior
- Everton points deduction shows Tottenham Hotspur saved £20m on Richarlison transfer
- Tottenham Hotspur offer four-word injury update on star defender Micky van de Ven
Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma have been excellent, but Bentancur just brings more to the pitch on both ends, which is why one can imagine that he will be a pinned starter from hereon. More bad news for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg— his partner in midfield last season who can’t seem to get any meaningful playing time right now.
