William Gallas has hailed Harry Redknapp's "magic" as the inspiration behind Tottenham's fairytale first season in the Champions League.
Spurs sealed qualification for the knockout stages of the competition with a game to spare after they swept aside Werder Bremen. Reaching the last 16 is a remarkable achievement for a club whose last campaign among Europe's elite came almost half a century ago, and Gallas has no doubt the credit for their success lies at the manager's door.
"Maybe he has something magic, you know?" said the 33-year-old, who retained the captaincy after being handed the armband in Saturday's north London derby.
Redknapp returned the compliment by comparing Gallas to his legendary former West Ham team-mate Bobby Moore following another stellar display from the defender.
Redknapp was referring to a tackle made by Gallas on Marko Marin, which was reminiscent of Moore's famous challenge on Jairzinho at the 1970 World Cup.
Gallas' intervention, which helped Tottenham keep a first clean sheet for 17 games, saw the Frenchman treated to an affectionate chant from the White Hart Lane faithful.
Coming on top of his north London derby heroics, that moment appeared to demonstrate he had won over the last of the doubters following his summer defection from Arsenal.
Gallas refused to dwell on his own display on Wednesday night, saying: "It's very important for the team when you don't concede a goal.
"That means everybody works hard."
Source: PA
