Much was said about the precocious talent of Jermain Defoe when he made his West Ham debut at the start of the decade in a League Cup tie.
Here was a player who would eventually cost them £1.4million (Dh8.2m) after they tempted him away from Charlton when he turned professional aged 16.
At 17, he made his entrance in style, coming off the bench at Walsall to claim a late winner.
Harry Redknapp, then the West Ham manager, had no doubt Defoe's fee would prove a pittance. He was proved right.
Since then, while in charge of Portsmouth and now Tottenham, Redknapp has shelled out a further £21m to have the diminutive striker in his side. As Defoe prepares to meet his former club at White Hart Lane today, he will show how much he has developed, saying he is playing at the peak of his powers.
"Yeah, I think I'm in the best form," he said. "The difference is I'm playing games; week in, week out. Fitness-wise it helps, and when you feel sharp, the rest takes care of itself."
The rest he refers to are his goals. A total of 14 have come so far this season in their pursuit of a Champions League place and he looks well on course to beat his previous best of 22 for Spurs during his first spell in 2005.
With a World Cup dream pushing him on, Defoe is determined to maintain his form. Like most footballers, he is a bad loser.
"Anything you do you should want to win. If you look at great players over the years: Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, Gazza [Paul Gascoigne] even. They're players that wanted to win. What's the point of playing football otherwise?
"If we got into the Champions League, I think everyone involved, all the players in the squad, would be remembered for years. This club have had great players over the years, but if you speak to any of them they'd say they'd have loved to get this club into the Champions League. So I think if we do it, it would be brilliant."
Defoe is desperate to succeed, driven by his desire - and family grief. The striker was at the bedside of his half-brother, Jade, when he died in April from injuries from an alleged assault.
"During the summer I said to my cousin, 'Right, next season I just want to make sure it's my year, because all the stuff we've been through as a family, something good has got to happen'," he said. "You want to make your family proud. You want to keep working hard because of them."
When he scored his memorable five goals against Wigan in the 9-1 league win last month, the first person he sought afterwards was his mother, Sandra.
Defoe will look to please the family again today when he returns to the Spurs starting line-up after making way for Robbie Keane for the 0-0 draw Fulham.
But Gianfranco Zola's West Ham want to build on their 2-0 win against fellow strugglers Portsmouth on Saturday. The Italian is looking for captain Scott Parker to provide more inspiration.
"For enthusiasm and the way he leads by example, the importance of Scott Parker I cannot even measure," said Zola.
akhan@thenational.ae
Spurs v West Ham, KO 4.45pm, Showsports 1&2
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
SPECS
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Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
