Gattuso links Lazio star to playing for Real Madrid

Gennaro Gattuso knows how to keep his players motivated, and how to thrust them into the global spotlight. The Lazio coach did exactly that with Portugal's Nuno Tavares.

Heaping praise on the defender, Gattuso placed him firmly within Real Madrid's orbit, speaking on the pitch before Lazio's clash with Milan ended 2-2.

Tavares, of course, started at left-back and played the whole match.

Spanish newspaper AS carried Gattuso's remarks. "I have always said that Nuno Tavares is a player of Real Madrid's level," he said.

He continued: "I told my assistants: if the Tavares family had left him 100 million euros, he would have spent it all within five years."

"He should have been at Real Madrid," Gattuso added. "He has everything, the pace, the right foot and the left foot. It is unusual, but he needs some time to recover after a match, but he is a good lad, and you have to get inside his head and make him understand."

He stressed: "Tavares knows he has the talent, and he could have spent 10 or 12 years at Real Madrid thanks to his abilities. All you have to do is make him understand that."