Mousa Dembele (born Moussa Sidi Yaya Dembele; 16 July 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Belgium national team, for whom he has achieved over 60 caps. He is regarded as one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Europe due to his excellent dribbling skills and ability to maintain possession. Dembele started his career at Belgian Pro League team Germinal Beerschot before spells at Eredivisie sides Willem II and AZ in the Netherlands. He won the league title and the Johan Cruyff Shield with the latter in 2009. Dembele transferred to Premier League side Fulham in 2010 before joining current club Tottenham for a fee of £15 million in August 2012. He was ranked 91st in The Guardian's list of the 100 best current footballers in 2012. Club career
Early career
In 2005, he signed for the youth section of Willem II, despite apparent interest from Eredivisie giants AFC Ajax. Willem II
After the 2005–06 season, he was subsequently transferred to AZ in the summer of 2006. AZ
In 2006–07, Dembele was one of the most important players of Louis van Gaal's team. The season of 2007–08 was a very disappointing season for AZ. They finished 12th, but he was hailed as being one of the players of the season in the Eredivisie. Fulham
On 18 August 2010, Fulham announced that Dembele had joined from AZ on a three-year deal for a fee of £5 million. Tottenham Hotspur
Dembele transferred to Tottenham Hotspur on 29 August 2012 after Spurs triggered a £15 million release clause in his Fulham contract. International career
Dembele made his first international appearance on 20 May 2006 against Slovakia. He scored his first international goal in October 2006 against Azerbaijan. Dembele participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where he put on a remarkable show, being instrumental in Belgium's 3–2 win to Italy in the quarter-finals, scoring two goals, including the defining goal of the match. Belgium then progressed, losing to Nigeria in the semi-finals and Brazil in the third place play-offs. Dembele played in all six of Belgium's games at the Olympics. On 13 May 2014, Dembele was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Style of play
Having begun as a winger and played in that rôle until 2011, Dembele primarily plays as a central midfielder; he can, however, also operate as an attacking midfielder. He has been described as a footballer who is "big, powerful, technically gifted" and who has excellent "dribbling and passing abilities." His manager at Fulham, Martin Jol, said "Dembele is probably the best player on the ball I've ever seen." Former midfielder Jermaine Jenas, a teammate of Dembele's at Tottenham, praised his "passing ability", remarking that the Belgian is "very good technically", while also comparing him to a vacuum cleaner insofar as he "sucks in all the pressure and then releases the ball at the perfect time. If you try to get tight to him, he is strong enough to hold you off and has the ability to look at you and go past you in the blink of an eye. If you drop off him, he is happy too. He can sit deep in front of the back four and dictate the tempo from there". Dembele has stated Patrick Kluivert was a childhood hero of his and that his style of play was compared to Kluivert's. |
