MX23RW : Friday, March 29 13:58:11| >> :60:619:619:

Gerard Houllier: 'Dele Alli can be England's Zinedine Zidane'

Former France boss Gerard Houllier believes that Dele Alli can have a similar impact at international level to the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Former France manager Gerard Houllier has claimed that Dele Alli could be the player to inspire England to success at major tournaments in the future.

The 21-year-old Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has established himself as a key player for club and country over the past two seasons, scoring 22 goals in 50 appearances for Spurs last term and two in 18 caps for England since his 2015 debut.

Houllier believes that the youngster could prove to be a "special" player and tipped him to have a similar impact on his country's fortunes to the ones Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona have had in the past.

"To win something you need to have a good team with an outstanding player. France had Zidane when he was playing. We haven't won since he stopped. Portugal, who with all due respect, are a good-to-average side that work hard, is well-organised and has a good coach... and have Cristiano Ronaldo. That makes a difference," Houllier told The Express.

"For France, Dimitri Payet was not exceptional enough last summer. Maybe in future we will have Antoine Griezmann. Look at the teams that win. Argentina with Diego Maradona. Portugal with Ronaldo. France with Zidane... you need a player like that. Even the Champions League final, Juventus and Real Madrid. Who won? The team that had Ronaldo. It is a collective sport where the individual makes the difference.

"You need to have a top, top outstanding player and Alli can be that for England. He is still young, but he is something special. England are on the right track. They are developing proper coaches and proper players at some point it will pay off. But it will only pay off if they find that bright spark who makes it all happen."

Alli scored his first England goal against France in November 2015, and the two sides will face off again at the Stade de France this evening.

ID:300378: cacheID:300378:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3441:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Tottenham Hotspur's Dele Alli following their 1-0 defeat to West Ham United on May 5, 2017
Read Next:
Alli: 'I will not change playing style'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!