Ball boy Callum Hynes has recalled the 'surreal' moment that earned him praise from new Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho.
The 15-year-old was on duty during the second half of the Champions League match with Olympiacos on Tuesday night. Spurs were trailing 2-1 at the time, but were pushing for an equaliser in the early stages of the second half.
With the ball out of play, the teenager's quick thinking meant that Serge Aurier was able to take a quick throw to Lucas Moura, who in turn crossed for Harry Kane to score the equaliser. A video showed Mourinho including Callum in his goal celebrations.
Tottenham went onto complete the turnaround by winning the game 4-2 and sealing their place in the last 16 of the competition.
While Mourinho praised his players for their performance, the Spurs head coach also singled out the ball boy for special praise.
“To do that you have to be a very good ballboy. I was, between 10 and 15, 16-years-old, a very good ballboy. He is a very good ball boy, understands the game, reads the game," he said.
“He's not there just to look to the stands, the lights or the scarves. He's there reading the game and playing the game very well. In the end, I wanted him to come back to celebrate in the dressing room with the players, but he had gone.”
The young Spurs fan has now talked about the events which put him in the public eye.
“It’s all a bit surreal,” he told the official Tottenham website.
“I was just doing my job and I still can’t quite believe what happened.
“I didn’t even see the goal! I was busy getting the ball that had come off (after Masouras tackled Serge) and then I heard the cheer. I turned around and Harry was celebrating.
“I looked at the replay on the screen and watched exactly what happened. You can see from my smile it was just unbelievable. Jose didn’t have to do that. It was really nice of him to come over to me. It’s made my day, my life, really! I love Spurs and it was an amazing moment I’ll never forget.”
Although, it was quickly back to reality for the schoolboy, who had an exam the following day.
“The whole way home I was using a torch in the car to go over my maths revision!”
