Cristian Romero has been heavily criticised for something that he did away from Tottenham on Saturday.
The Lilywhites star was named as club captain by Thomas Frank at the start of the season, who opted to hand him a more important role after he was briefly linked with a move away during the summer transfer window.
Tottenham looked like they may lose Romero at one stage this summer, with the defender attracting sustained interest from Atletico Madrid, but they were eventually able to agree a new four-year deal with him.
He has proven his worth with his performances on several occasions so far this term, but that has not made him exempt from criticism on this occasion.
Cristian Romero ‘lost his head’ during Argentina vs Venezuela
Romero is one of several Tottenham players who are away from the club on international duty this week, as the World Cup qualifying campaigns take another step towards their conclusion.
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The centre-back has once again been part of Argentina’s squad during this international break, and he played all 90 minutes of his side’s 1-0 win over Venezuela on Saturday.
The two South American nations faced off in a friendly at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, with a first-half goal from former Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso the only difference between the two sides.
Romero played a key role in the team as usual, but his performance for Lionel Scaloni’s side has come in for criticism, despite playing his part in the clean sheet.
GOAL slammed the Tottenham star in their player ratings, saying that he was “up for the fight, but rather lost his head here and there.”
The former Atalanta man was handed a 6/10 rating, which was an identical rating to Bolavip Argentina’s assessment of his performance.
However, they were a little more appreciative of Romero’s efforts, saying he was “solid and reliable as usual.”
Tottenham captaincy has helped Cristian Romero
Romero has always toed the line at Tottenham in terms of the fiery nature of his game, but his role as captain appears to have helped him to cut the moments of madness out of his game in recent weeks.
The 27-year-old plays the game close to the edge, and that has boiled over at times, but it is becoming an increasingly infrequent occurence now.
Romero’s additional responsibility for his club has made him a little more placid on the pitch, which should help in terms of his consistency in the backline.
Significant mistakes were a big part of his game at one stage, but he has now formed what is arguably one of the Premier League’s best centre-back pairings alongside Micky van de Ven.
The assessment of his performance on the international stage is perhaps not the most surprising, but it is certainly not common to see him lose focus on the game for Spurs anymore.