Phil Thompson shared his admiration for West Ham defender Pablo Zabaleta ahead of him potentially featuring against Fulham on Saturday.
The Sky Sports pundit admitted that he had total respect for the 33-year-old right-back as even when the Hammers were struggling, he still tried to be a positive influence.
Thompson then shared that he had been blown away by Zabaleta’s ability to continue to charge down the wing despite not having the legs anymore and claimed he was an absolute credit to the Premier League.
“Total respect for the guy, even when the team are having a hard time and getting criticised, he is always there and putting himself there so he’s always available for the ball,” said Thompson on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday (Sky Sports News, 13:44, Saturday December 15).
“He’s a fantastic professional, he gets an assist from this (while playing clips from this season) he has my ultimate respect.
“I know he may not have got the legs and Pep probably wanted a bit more energy but my goodness he is still racing down that wing, he’s a good defender, good at going forward and he has been an absolute credit to this Premier League.
“The guy’s brilliant, I’ve always been an admirer of him.”
OPINION
Zabaleta is on West Ham’s best players. The 33-year-old is a consistent force to be reckon with and even when times are tough he steps up and leads by example. This was the case last season and has continued to be the case in the current campaign under Manuel Pellegrini. Zabaleta may be nearing the end of his career, hopefully not too soon though, but has proven time and time again what a fabulous player he is. While the veteran’s teammates will no doubt be drooled over for their ability to help the Hammers go from struggling to win a game to stringing several good results together, Zabaleta’s part in the turnaround shouldn’t be undervalued. It’s no coincidence that the Hammers’ improvement was in line with Pellegrini opting to play Zabaleta ahead of summer signing Ryan Fredericks. Zabaleta is strong defensively and yet just like his younger teammates is able to be an attacking threat who can assist goals if necessary.
