It is often said that one week is a long time in football.

But, five years on from Gareth Bale's hat-trick against Inter Milan, the memory of the moment that the Welshman announced himself to the world is still fresh.

The then 21-year-old came of age on the same night Argentine veteran Javier Zanetti became the Champions League's oldest goalscorer but the encounter had initially threatened to be forgettable, and at worst embarrassing, for Tottenham.

After all, Harry Redknapp's side had been put to the sword by the Italian outfit after the hapless Heurelho Gomes had been shown a red card in only the eighth minute.

The Nerazzurri sauntered into a four-goal lead, aided by their numerical advantage, and were in cruise control at the interval.

Pride was all that there was left to play for for the visitors and fans could have been excused for packing their bags, changing the channel or losing interest such was the unlikelihood of anything other than a procession in the second half.

Redknapp even toyed with the prospect of withdrawing Bale as part of a damage limitation exercise, but the Welshman had other ideas.

The midfielder, who was still not a master of his craft on the left flank, picked up the ball inside his own half in the 52nd minute, eluded two challenges, drove into the penalty area and rifled an exquisite left-footed finish past a stationary Julio Cesar.

It was playground stuff. The Spurs man possessed another gear that his opponents could not live with, but this was not a kick-around in any back yard.

This was the San Siro; a cauldron of a stadium and his opponents were the European Champions, who had lifted the title under Jose Mourinho's gaze and been defined by their defensive nous.

Bale had torn them apart. One of the men let in his wake was Maicon, the Brazil international many cited to be the best right-back in world football, but he had no answer to Bale's pace and power.

Yet, despite the pedigree of Bale's strike, it seemed destined to be a footnote on a chastening night for the north London club.

But, as the game ebbed into the closing stages and Inter had stubbornly nipped Tottenham's momentum in the bud, Bale's hunger and steely determination set him apart.

He raced forward from deep once more and slotted home a carbon-copy of his first goal; the resemblance was uncanny. Inter's defence knew precisely what Bale had planned to do, but simply could not stop his flawless technique and finish.

Bale had every right to enjoy his moment, but he barely broke stride, retrieved the ball and urged his side to rush back into position for the restart.

His machine-like athleticism is instantly recognisable now, but the moment he completed his hat-trick in stoppage time was made doubters begin to question themselves.

There was no sauntering run this time, but the finish was as composed and crisp as the previous two. Rafa Benitez scratched his head on the sidelines while Redknapp surely cursed his luck that the fourth official's board had not featured a higher figure.

“A year ago he was nowhere near that player we see now," Redknapp insisted.

"He is developing every game and improving. This is where he belongs and where he will progress.

“Tottenham is a club that is looking to progress, not sell their best players. If we sold Gareth Bale now it would send out the wrong signals.

"There is no way the club will contemplate selling him."

The widespread interest in Tottenham's new talisman was resisted for three years before a world-record fee was enough to tempt him to Real Madrid.

Bale's efforts at the San Siro were, arguably, his finest in a Spurs shirt, and they eventually echoed the last days of his White Hart Lane career as he emerged with his individual reputation enhanced but the club fell agonisingly short.

While a superb solo strike against Sunderland on the final day of the Premier League season was not enough to haul the north Londoners back into the big time, Bale's talent could remain on the outside looking in for no longer.