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Jermain Defoe picks his greatest goal, teammate, opponent and dream five-a-side

sportsmole.co.uk, 17 March 2023, 14:16
Throughout a professional career spanning 22 years and 820 appearances, Jermain Defoe has a plethora of highlights to look back on.

A trophy-winner at Tottenham Hotspur, a league title winner at Rangers and a 57-time England international, the prolific striker established himself as one of the Premier League's deadliest marksmen during his time in the top flight.

Only eight players have ever scored more Premier League goals than the former Spurs, Sunderland and Portsmouth striker, so there is no shortage of goals to pick from when selecting his best ever.

The same is true for his best teammate and opponent, with Defoe either playing with or against legends including Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane at various stages of his career.

Choosing the best of the lot is no easy task, then, but that is the challenge Sports Mole set Defoe, with some eye-catching answers.

Best goal

"Probably the volley against Newcastle for Sunderland, because it was on my weaker foot, the magnitude of the game. It was just one of those goals, the volley was just perfect. I just connected with it perfect.

"If you practice that in training 100 times, only one will go in - the rest will be in the car park. It was just perfect contact and it was the best goal I've scored."

Favourite goal

"The fifth one... oh no, probably the one in the World Cup against Slovenia, the volley from the cross.

"Again, magnitude of the game, we had to win, it was at the World Cup - that's the pinnacle. You can't get any bigger than that in terms of football matches."

Best player you played with

"I'm going to say Luka Modric. Ballon d'Or winner, and still playing! He's 37 now and he seems even quicker! What a player, unbelievable."

Best player you played against

"Thierry Henry. I'm trying to think of players where I thought: 'Wow, you're on another level'. Premier League I think Thierry Henry just took the game to another level.

"He just made everything look so easy, he had everything. He scored goals, was quicker than everyone, stronger than everyone, was two steps ahead in his head. He was just on another planet."

Dream five-a-side of players you played with

"Hugo Lloris - when he first came to Tottenham, he was special.

"Ledley King, Rio [Ferdinand], Luka Modric and me up front - and if I'm the manager then Wayne Rooney up front.

"You need two defenders, and then you have Luka, and then Wazza because Wazza will just go out and score."

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