Tottenham Hotspur have had a number of players that have come to the club and fail to make a real impact, however, there will not be too many who failed as spectacularly as one man that had a really good start to life as a footballer.
Remember Iago Falque? You would be forgiven if you don’t. He had what can only be described as a forgettable time at Spurs, making just 11 appearances for the club during the three years he was at White Hart Lane – and managing to get on the pitch in the Premier League for just five minutes in 2012 when Andre Villas-Boas was in charge.
Originally signed on a season-long loan from Juventus in 2011, the former Real Madrid and Barcelona youngster was mainly handed his opportunities in the cup competitions, with the Europa League where he clocked up the majority of his appearances.
With the background he had, it would not have been difficult for many at the club to believe he could turn out to be a rather promising acquisition. Hell, it appeared he did enough to convince the Premier League outfit to sign him on a permanent deal in January 2012 for a figure of £900,000 under Harry Redknapp.
And, looking back on his time at Tottenham, Falque has since admitted that it was the wrong choice and chose the ugliest part of the game – although that is something many would have been able to work out for themselves.
“Tottenham was the wrong choice: I looked for the money and not the sporting challenge, I saw the ugliest part of the game,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport in February 2018.
“I was just a number, zero consideration, but that also made me stronger.”
Falque’s time at Tottenham had been hampered by injuries, whilst he was also competing alongside an emerging star in Gareth Bale at the time as well, which obviously did not help him. But things really had not improved for him up until recently.
He headed to Southampton, Almeria and Rayo Vallecano on loan before sealing a permanent move to Genoa, who then sold him to AS Roma, before joining his current club Torino. And, it would seem the 29-year-old has finally found his feet in Serie A as he has become a key figure for his current club.
Falque has four goals and seven assists to his name this season in his 24 appearances across all competitions, as they look to compete for European football next year.
Tottenham fans, do you remember Falque being one of your players? Or had you completely forgotten about him? Join in with the discussion below by sharing your thoughts with us.