“Balones al ten” is written in a kind of football Bible. As a solution to a whole, like the last drop of hope in front of a dizzying white canvas that asks. Marco Edwards answered. He took off from the sign, got between the lines and started running. He dribbled Dier twice, Perisic once and Hojbjerg didn’t reach his top speed. Edwards appeared on the balcony of the area, leaned on Trincao, the Portuguese returned the ball to the Englishman, dribbled ‘Cuti’ Romero and Lloris thwarted one of the goals of the year.
Like the revelation of Messi one summer night in that Gamper against Juventus, Edwards justified why Pochettino one day nicknamed him “mini Messi”. The comparisons with the Argentine have been innumerable. And more than a compliment, they become too heavy a label. The myth of Sisyphus.
Edwards was predicted as the player with the most potential in Tottenham’s youth academy. And curiously, he has played more minutes at Emirates Stadium than on the football pitch white lilies. This Wednesday he returns to the white side of north London.
“He must have patience and be told that he has the talent to be a great player”
Former Tottenham manager
Being part of the same club from the age of eight is the pretext of the romantic story. Edwards’s, on the other hand, broke. He barely played 15 minutes in a cup game with the first team. “He can be a great player, but he has to be patient and be told that he has the talent to be a great player. It is time to build his future,” Pochettino once commented.
Behavior problems prevented him from going into the future in the then still standing White Hart Lane. He chained several positions until he disappeared from the big centers in Portugal. With the Vitoria Guimaraes shirt he managed to score at Arsenal.
“It’s a simple decision,” Edwards said after signing for Sporting de Portugal. In Lisbon he made the leap to the Champions League. His life on the peninsula comes down to football, he hardly speaks Portuguese. With the ball, however, he is back to being what he once promised him. “He is one of the best at playing between the lines”Ruben Amorim explained. Sporting plays without an offensive reference, bets on Edwards as a false nine. It’s a loose and tough team. In that ecosystem, Edwards enjoys it. This season he has produced a goal every two games.
The game against Tottenham was presented as his last big chance to earn a spot on Southgate’s list, the one before the World Cup. With the shirt Three lions He has already won a sub-19 European in 2017. He shared a locker room with Mason Mount, Reece James, Ramsdale, Nmecha or Ryan Sessegnon. His electric start to the season wasn’t enough to bring him back to Wembley.
Dembélé, Vinicius, Kvaratskelia, Leao, Messi and Edwards. These were the Champions League top scorers before the penultimate matchday. Tottenham, on the return, left hints of regret. In Lisbon he forgot the three points and the feeling of having let a childish talent slip away. Edwards struggles to return to the Premier League one day. His path passes through Tottenham Stadium.
