Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld have been receiving much praise recently given their brilliant partnership at Spurs. It’s well deserved and all based on an understanding the pair have been building for years, much to the benefit of their current club.
Quoted by Voetbal Primeur, Vertonghen explained: “Looking back on my career, you will see that I’ve played more than half of the matches next to Toby. Maybe even three quarters. We do not need many words to understand each other.
“Perhaps it is because we have had the same training, have played for the same teams and have the same philosophy. We know how to help each other out of trouble.”
Both footballers were at Germinal Beerschot as youth players, before both moving on to Ajax. Vertonghen went straight from there to Tottenham, whereas Alderweireld ended up at Spurs via Atletico Madrid and Southampton, the latter a loan.
Then there’s all the Belgium games played together, both at senior and youth level. It’s a wonder they need any words at all!
