Tottenham Legends player ratings vs AC Milan Glorie as Robbie Keane runs riot
Tottenham Hotspur put their iconic stadium to good use during the international break as Spurs Legends took on AC Milan Glorie for a fantastic charity event.
With goals from Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe, Sandro, and Michael Brown, let’s take a look at the player ratings from Tottenham Legends 6-2 AC Milan Glorie.
Tottenham Legends player ratings vs Andrea Pirlo’s AC Milan Glorie
Heurelho Gomes: 6
Pulled off a fantastic fingertip save from Federico Giunti in the first half to keep AC Milan out. Beyond that, he barely had anything to do apart from admire the stadium view. The first half finished 5-0 when he was swapped out for Michel Vorm.
Played a solid 45 minutes of football at right-back to allow the marauding Lennon to do damage in the AC Milan box. You can tell he still plays football – one of the fittest defenders out there on the pitch.
Michael Dawson: 8
Pulled off a fair few genuinely impressive bits of defending. He even went airborne with a volleyed clearance early in the second half. You can tell he really wanted to earn that clean sheet against AC Milan. Unfortunately, despite Daws holding a good line against Cafu in the 62nd minute, the offside flag stayed down and Zaccardo tapped the ball home for Milan. Stopped a certain Milan goal with a last-ditch slide tackle to intercept in front of his own net.
Ledley King: 6
Managed to get 30 minutes under his belt which frankly is impressive with just one knee. Nostalgic to see him out there ordering the back four around again though. Also worth mentioning he technically kept a clean sheet, with the score at 3-0 when he departed. Well in, Ledley.
Younes Kaboul: 7
Kept Cafu and Ricardo Oliviera quiet on his side – yes, you read that correctly. Kaboul is still in great shape and an absolute mountain to get past. He can still shift with that deceptive pace though.
Sandro: 8
Man of the Match at the San Siro in 2011 and up against Pirlo in midfield this afternoon. Earned a cheer from the crowd when he went to ground with a rare Legends charity match slide tackle and still somehow managed to run away with the ball.
In the 34th minute, he let fire from 25 yards and arrowed one into the bottom corner – not quite his Man United goal but still a great finish. Of course, he did Heung-min Son’s celebration and had a little dance on the touchline after, in true Beast style.
Teemu Taino: 7.5
A delightful, delicate ball between the lines to set Robbie Keane in behind after 18 minutes – well worth the assist. Put in an impressive shift in the engine room, especially since he was surrounded by so much attacking talent who didn’t necessarily want to do the grunt work.
Aaron Lennon: 9
Had the AC Milan defence scrambling within seconds of kicking off with a trademark scuttle down the right wing. Eight minutes later, he timed another run to perfection to square the ball across the face for Keane to tap home – shades of that infamous Crouch goal! He recorded his second assist of the game in the 39th minute, another classically unselfish Lennon square across the box.
Had the ball in the back of the net with a neat chip over Dida after just six minutes but was a yard or two offside. A classic Defoe finish on 14 minutes as he collected the ball, dropped a shoulder, and reversed the ball into the near corner with no backlift.
Dimitar Berbatov: 8
Dimitar Berbatov’s charity walkathon was a treat to watch. I would say he hasn’t lost a step but there was barely a step to lose. That first touch hasn’t left him and he still oozes class on the ball. He had the stadium gasping when he effortlessly brought the ball down from head height on the stretch before setting Defoe away on a break.
Robbie Keane: 10
Someone has been watching Harry Kane highlights. Keane dropped into the pockets for fun between the AC Milan lines and picked out balls over the top to Defoe and Lennon. Much like Kane, that didn’t stop him from popping up at the back post to tap home a Lennon cross on nine minutes.
A delightful dummy to let the ball run into Defoe’s feet in the build-up to the second goal too. Beat the offside trap with a run between the lines on 18 minutes before slotting home past Dida with ease. The hat-trick was complete after just 39 minutes, once again tapping home into an unguarded net from a Lennon cross. Safe to say, he got a huge standing ovation when he went off after 55 minutes.
Substitutes:
Michel Vorm: 5
Came on at half-time to replace Gomes between the sticks. Nothing he could do to stop Cristian Zaccardo from tapping home after a questionable offside decision. Got beat by an Andrea Pirlo free-kick into the top corner, but that seems like a badge of honour if anything.
Sebastien Bassong: 5
Came on for Ledley King after 30 minutes and earned a clean sheet during his time on the pitch. Came off again after the 59th minute.
Benoit Assout-Ekotto: 5
Came on at half-time for Kaboul. Benny famously didn’t know who Tottenham were playing most weeks during his time at the club, but even he has surely heard of Andrea Pirlo.
Steffen Freund: 5
Came on at half-time for Chimbonda and put in a shift at right-back. He definitely looks younger than his 55 years, that’s for sure!
Chris Perry: 5
Came on at half-time to fill in at centre-back and right-back for Tottenham.
Michael Brown: 7
Came on at half-time and got through a whole lot of running for some of his tired teammates. Rolled the ball home after some lovely build-up play from Defoe and Berba presented him with a golden chance.
Teddy Sheringham: 5
Replace hat-trick hero Robbie Keane after 55 minutes to one of the biggest cheers of the afternoon. He may be 58 years old but he was still one of the fittest out there. Remember, he didn’t even retire from football until he was 42! Went close to scoring with a curled left-footed shot toward the end of the game.
Allan Nielsen: 6
Came on for Bassong on the 59th minute. Full of energy in midfield. One of Tottenham’s more impressive players in a tired second half.
Mark Falco: 5
At 64 years of age, Falco was the oldest member of the Tottenham squad but still managed to come on for a good 20 minutes. He came so close to scoring too!
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