Photo: Bryan Berlin / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Former Tottenham striker Terry Gibson has praised Pedro Porro's performances for Spain at the World Cup and called on Spurs to aim for the Champions League following a busy summer of signings.
Gibson, who made his Spurs debut on 29 December 1979 aged 17 years and three days — making him one of the club's youngest-ever league debutants — spoke about Porro's role in Spain's tournament-winning defence, the summer arrivals at N17, and his memories of Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa.
On Porro, Gibson said the Spain manager initially struggled to settle on a right-back. "It was a real competition between him and Marcos Llorente to start at right-back," Gibson said. "Porro made the position his own, did brilliantly."
Gibson highlighted Spain's defensive record as the tournament's standout statistic. "Eleven shots against them throughout the tournament. Eleven saves the goalkeeper had to make in eight matches," he said. Spain's 2-0 semi-final win over France, in which Porro scored, drew particular praise as their best performance.
On Spain's potential, Gibson pointed to the absence of a recognised striker as the one area for improvement. "If they find that, then… it's frightening, isn't it? A Harry Kane, for instance," he said. He also highlighted midfielder Marc Bernal — whom he described as "the double of Rodri" — as a player who did not make the squad but could feature in future tournaments.
Gibson drew a parallel between Porro's World Cup winner's medal and his own experience of playing alongside Ardiles and Villa in the late 1970s. "When Pedro Porro comes back, his team-mates are going to be delighted for him and they'll want to ask him what it feels like," he said.
Asked about Spurs' summer transfer activity, Gibson welcomed the signing of Andy Robertson among others. "I'm delighted the club is buying established Premier League players, good characters as well, good personalities," he said. "Andy Robertson is a good personality to have about the place. That winning mentality."
Gibson was direct about his ambitions for the club. "For me, we should be aiming for the Champions League again. And why not challenge for the title?" he said, noting that Leicester's unexpected title win showed the top prize was not out of reach for clubs outside the traditional elite.