EXCLUSIVE

Failure to make an early impression after moving abroad would be enough to break the resolve of many footballers, but Benjamin Stambouli overcame a far tougher challenge when he had barely reached his teens

The Tottenham midfielder, who moved to White Hart Lane from Montpellier last summer, is from a well-known football family in France. His father, Henri, played for Monaco and Marseille and coached at club and international level, before joining the board of Montpellier last year.

Stambouli’s grandfather, Gerard Banide, and his uncle, Laurent Banide, both coached at Monaco. These relatives might have made Stambouli’s early life as a footballer a little easier. In fact, it was quite the opposite, as observers assumed he had benefited unjustly from his connections.

“For a period of my life, it was difficult, because in France, my family are quite famous,” said Stambouli. “So every time I played, people were watching me and saying: ‘Oh, it’s the son of Henri Stambouli. Maybe that’s the reason he’s here.’

“I had to do better than my team-mates, because I had to show people I was there on merit, not because my father had told someone to take me.

“It was sometimes difficult, but when I grew up, I realised it was a very good experience, because it made me stronger. When I was only 13, I already had some pressure, so I had to be strong mentally.

“Sometimes it wasn’t easy but it makes you stronger when you grow up. Now I have some good advice, I have a good way of playing and I know my family are proud of me, because they know it was more difficult for me than some others.

STAMBOULI: SPURS CAN WIN THE LEAGUE

“I always had football in my blood and I knew I wanted to play, but my family never forced me into it. My brother, for example, completed his studies and now works in marketing. They just wanted us to be happy.”

Stambouli has needed that strong mind during his early weeks at Tottenham. The £4.7million signing has played just 20 minutes in the Premier League, and has started only five matches in all competitions.

Hull v Tottenham - player ratings 24 show all Hull v Tottenham - player ratings 1/24 Allan McGregor: 8 Brave in coming out for crosses, particularly when Spurs brought on Aaron Lennon. Could do nothing about either goal. GETTY 2/24 Ahmed Elmohamady: 7 Never stopped running, particularly in the second half when Hull were forced onto the defensive. Getty 3/24 Andrew Robertson: 6 Could not continue his fine form for Scotland, struggling to contain Spurs’ attacking threat in the second half. GETTY 4/24 Michael Dawson: 6 A committed performance from the former Tottenham centre-back, who threw his body in the way of countless shots. GETTY 5/24 Curtis Davies: 6 Dangerous in an attacking sense at set-pieces, but should have closed down Eriksen better for the winning goal. GETTY 6/24 Tom Huddlestone: 7 Typically elegant in the first half, he struggled when Hull went down to ten men and was eventually withdrawn for Liam Rosenior. GETTY 7/24 Jake Livermore: 7 A thunderbolt of an opening goal against his former club, he flickered in and out of the game but did enough to impress overall despite being booked in the second half. Could have been sent off for a foul on Mason. GETTY 8/24 Gaston Ramirez: 5 He will rue kicking out at Vertonghen, though the sending off was harsh. Intermittently bright before that. GETTY 9/24 Hatem Ben Arfa: 5 Missed a fantastic chance on 20 minutes with the goal gaping. Flitted in and out of the game and was replaced by Meyler as Hull looked to close the game down. GETTY 10/24 Robbie Brady: 8 The former Manchester United trainee was a clever presence in the Hull midfield, and forced Lloris into a fine stop midway through the first half to keep the score at 1-0. GETTY 11/24 Nikica Jelavic: 7 Out of form, but still posed problems for the Spurs centre backs. Barely had a sniff in the second half but defended manfully from the front. GETTY 12/24 Hugo Lloris: 6 Might be slightly disappointed to have been beaten by Livermore’s long range effort but made a couple of good saves to keep the deficit at one in the first-half. Was fortunate to get away with a second-half spill. 13/24 Eric Dier: 4 Shown up by Robbie Brady on a number of occasions and withdrawn at the break after picking up a yellow card for a poorly timed challenge. Getty 14/24 Federico Fazio: 4 All at sea once again – certainly hasn’t adjusted to the Premier League yet as he continues to look calamitous. Getty 15/24 Jan Vertonghen: 5 The best thing he did was to con the referee into sending off Gaston Ramirez – can’t help but wonder if Spurs should have cashed in on the over-rated defender this summer when Barcelona were said to be interested. GETTY 16/24 Ben Davies: 5 Failed to stake much of a claim for the injured Danny Rose’s starting position – vulnerable defensively and uninspiring going forward. GETTY 17/24 Ryan Mason: 6 Provided a couple of bright moments as Spurs piled on the pressure in the second half but had failed to really impact the game until Hull went down to ten men. Getty 18/24 Mousa Dembele: 5 Another Spurs midfielder who once promised so much but now appears to be devoid of all confidence – he ran around for an hour before being replaced by Aaron Lennon. GETTY 19/24 Christian Eriksen: 8 Spurs best player on the day as he looked the most likely to make something happen for his side throughout before producing a real moment of quality in the 90th minute to snatch victory. He had already played his part in the first as his fine free kick rebounded off the post for Kane to finish. Getty 20/24 Erik Lamela: 6 One of his better performances in a Tottenham shirt but it still wasn’t great – spurned a great opportunity to give his side the lead as he cut in from the left. GETTY 21/24 Harry Kane: 6 Another hustling and bustling performance from the young Englishman which he capped with an opportunist goal as Eriksen’s free kick rebounded into his path – should have added a second as he spurned a real sitter with his head from close range. GETTY 22/24 Roberto Soldado: 6 He is linking the play well and picking up the ball in dangerous pockets of space in front of opposition defences but continues to look useless in front of goal – not what you buy a striker for. GETTY 23/24 Aaron Lennon: 7 Looked dangerous after his introduction on the hour mark – delivered a delicious cross from which Kane should have given Spurs the lead 24/24 Vlad Chiriches: 6 Despite right-back not being his natural position he did a better job than Dier in the first half and provided a couple of useful crosses into the box. 1/24 Allan McGregor: 8 Brave in coming out for crosses, particularly when Spurs brought on Aaron Lennon. Could do nothing about either goal. GETTY 2/24 Ahmed Elmohamady: 7 Never stopped running, particularly in the second half when Hull were forced onto the defensive. Getty 3/24 Andrew Robertson: 6 Could not continue his fine form for Scotland, struggling to contain Spurs’ attacking threat in the second half. GETTY 4/24 Michael Dawson: 6 A committed performance from the former Tottenham centre-back, who threw his body in the way of countless shots. GETTY 5/24 Curtis Davies: 6 Dangerous in an attacking sense at set-pieces, but should have closed down Eriksen better for the winning goal. GETTY 6/24 Tom Huddlestone: 7 Typically elegant in the first half, he struggled when Hull went down to ten men and was eventually withdrawn for Liam Rosenior. GETTY 7/24 Jake Livermore: 7 A thunderbolt of an opening goal against his former club, he flickered in and out of the game but did enough to impress overall despite being booked in the second half. Could have been sent off for a foul on Mason. GETTY 8/24 Gaston Ramirez: 5 He will rue kicking out at Vertonghen, though the sending off was harsh. Intermittently bright before that. GETTY 9/24 Hatem Ben Arfa: 5 Missed a fantastic chance on 20 minutes with the goal gaping. Flitted in and out of the game and was replaced by Meyler as Hull looked to close the game down. GETTY 10/24 Robbie Brady: 8 The former Manchester United trainee was a clever presence in the Hull midfield, and forced Lloris into a fine stop midway through the first half to keep the score at 1-0. GETTY 11/24 Nikica Jelavic: 7 Out of form, but still posed problems for the Spurs centre backs. Barely had a sniff in the second half but defended manfully from the front. GETTY 12/24 Hugo Lloris: 6 Might be slightly disappointed to have been beaten by Livermore’s long range effort but made a couple of good saves to keep the deficit at one in the first-half. Was fortunate to get away with a second-half spill. 13/24 Eric Dier: 4 Shown up by Robbie Brady on a number of occasions and withdrawn at the break after picking up a yellow card for a poorly timed challenge. Getty 14/24 Federico Fazio: 4 All at sea once again – certainly hasn’t adjusted to the Premier League yet as he continues to look calamitous. Getty 15/24 Jan Vertonghen: 5 The best thing he did was to con the referee into sending off Gaston Ramirez – can’t help but wonder if Spurs should have cashed in on the over-rated defender this summer when Barcelona were said to be interested. GETTY 16/24 Ben Davies: 5 Failed to stake much of a claim for the injured Danny Rose’s starting position – vulnerable defensively and uninspiring going forward. GETTY 17/24 Ryan Mason: 6 Provided a couple of bright moments as Spurs piled on the pressure in the second half but had failed to really impact the game until Hull went down to ten men. Getty 18/24 Mousa Dembele: 5 Another Spurs midfielder who once promised so much but now appears to be devoid of all confidence – he ran around for an hour before being replaced by Aaron Lennon. GETTY 19/24 Christian Eriksen: 8 Spurs best player on the day as he looked the most likely to make something happen for his side throughout before producing a real moment of quality in the 90th minute to snatch victory. He had already played his part in the first as his fine free kick rebounded off the post for Kane to finish. Getty 20/24 Erik Lamela: 6 One of his better performances in a Tottenham shirt but it still wasn’t great – spurned a great opportunity to give his side the lead as he cut in from the left. GETTY 21/24 Harry Kane: 6 Another hustling and bustling performance from the young Englishman which he capped with an opportunist goal as Eriksen’s free kick rebounded into his path – should have added a second as he spurned a real sitter with his head from close range. GETTY 22/24 Roberto Soldado: 6 He is linking the play well and picking up the ball in dangerous pockets of space in front of opposition defences but continues to look useless in front of goal – not what you buy a striker for. GETTY 23/24 Aaron Lennon: 7 Looked dangerous after his introduction on the hour mark – delivered a delicious cross from which Kane should have given Spurs the lead 24/24 Vlad Chiriches: 6 Despite right-back not being his natural position he did a better job than Dier in the first half and provided a couple of useful crosses into the box.

He would not elaborate on conversations with head coach Mauricio Pochettino, yet stresses that he has made the right decision to leave Montpellier for north London.

The 24-year-old already has a very good grasp of English and seems happy in his new life, taking time along with team-mate Nabil Bentaleb to visit disabled children at a college in Southgate, north London.

Stambouli added that he rejected other suitors, where he would have played more regularly, because he wanted to embrace the most difficult challenge – a decision he believes will make France coach Didier Deschamps look at him favourably.

“When I decided to leave Montpellier, I had other proposals and I could have chosen a club where I was certain to play,” Stambouli explained. “But I wanted a real challenge, somewhere I would be forced to raise my level.

“Tottenham was perfect. Maybe it’s not easy every day because I’m not playing a lot and I don’t play in the Premier League, but I play in the Europa League. I can show what I can do, I can progress. It will come.

“The Premier League is the best in the world and if I play here, Didier Deschamps will have another vision of me and I’ll have more chance of being in the national team.

“Deschamps played for Juventus, Chelsea and Valencia. He knows that playing abroad is difficult for footballers and if you are successful there, it means you a very strong. He will take that into consideration.”

That goal might appear distant, yet Stambouli is used to confounding convention. In 2012, his Montpellier side, which also contained Arsenal forward Olivier Giroud, produced one of the most significant upsets in recent times when they pipped wealthy Paris St Germain to the French title.

Tottenham have done nothing this season to suggest they can do the same in England. So what do Pochettino’s team lack that Montpellier had? “The best quality we had was solidarity,” Stambouli revealed. “If you are friends on the pitch, if you are ready to die for your team-mates, maybe you can do something you couldn’t have hoped for at the start of the season.

“At Tottenham, we have to believe in ourselves. We have so much talent in the squad, but now we have to think what we really want.

“Do we just want to play every game, or do we really want to finish third, second or first? Maybe we won’t be able to do it, but we have to believe more. We have to be more confident.”

Qualification for the knock-out stages of the Europa League would be a solid first step on that path.

Benjamin Stambouli and Nabil Bentaleb took part in a multi-sports session delivered by Tottenham Hotspur Foundation at the opening of the new Learning Disability Centre of Excellence at Barnet & Southgate College. The first purpose-built college centre in the area will create life-changing opportunities to 200 disabled students each year.