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Alasdair Gold

When Tottenham found their next big star and Gareth Bale announced himself to the world

Gareth Bale will go down as one of the greatest to have pulled on a Tottenham shirt.

The Welsh wizard retired from football at the age of 33 this week, leaving many to debate his place in the pantheon of British footballers.

His big night for Tottenham Hotspur in the San Siro more than 12 years ago is a well read page in Spurs' history, but how did it feel for those with the Inter Milan badge on their chest?

In Milan ahead of Tottenham's first Champions League meeting with the Nerazzurri at the San Siro since that Group A game in 2010, football.london dug into the memories of Inter's legendary full-back and captain Javier Zanetti, who scored the first goal that night, and Giuseppe Baresi, who made more than 400 appearances for Inter himself and was among the coaching staff that evening.

READ MORE: Ledley King outlines Gareth Bale surprise following Tottenham return under Jose Mourinho

For those in a cave that October 20th night or for whom time has dulled their recollection of the goal-laden encounter in the Italian capital city, it all began with Zanetti's strike for the holders just two minutes into the encounter.

The then 37-year-old skipper finished off a fine Inter move with a clinical finish from 12 yards past Heurelho Gomes.

Matters got even worse on 11 minutes for Harry Redknapp's side as Gomes fouled Jonathan Biabiany in the Spurs penalty area and was shown a red card. Samuel Eto'o compounded Tottenham's misery by firing the penalty past substitute goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, who had replaced Luka Modric.

Spurs were collapsing quickly and three minutes later Dejan Stankovic fired home from the edge of the penalty area. On 35 minutes, a young Philippe Coutinho played a through-ball to Eto'o, who poked home the Nerazzurri's fourth goal.

Tottenham heads were down and an already embarrassing scoreline was looking like turning into a landslide in the second half.

Spurs had spent years away from Europe's elite club competition and this match was giving rival fans all the ammunition they needed to explain exactly why.

Nobody had told Bale though. The warning signs had been there for Inter in the first half, Peter Crouch heading over a gilt-edged chance inside the six-yard box.

The Italians stepped down through the gears in the second half and Bale would punish them in spectacular style.

Seven minutes into the second period, the 21-year-old sprinted almost 50 yards down the left past Zanetti before firing a shot across Julio Cesar.

The goal didn't have an immediate effect but the final two minutes of the encounter would essentially turn the match and leave the San Siro stunned.

It was Zanetti who was once again left trying to keep pace with a player 16 years his junior as Bale again flew down the flank and scored a near identical goal to his first.

Then in the final moments, Aaron Lennon split Inter open through the middle and passed for Bale to rifle home his third goal for ten-man Tottenham, past the despairing challenge of Zanetti. Although they lost 4-3 on the night, all the momentum was on Spurs' side and the travelling fans poured out of the stadium with their pride intact.

The two teams famously met again two weeks later at White Hart Lane and the Welshman was again on fire up against Maicon & Co as Spurs won 3-1 and ended up topping the group.

Gareth Bale scores his second goal on the night (Getty Images)

Zanetti told football.london that Inter always respected Bale and Tottenham even when they went down to ten men that night at the San Siro.

"I remember scoring my goal early on, and then even though we got the win they were very dangerous, especially through the pace of Bale," said the Inter legend.

"We all know what happened. They were better in the second game and deserved to get the win."

After that match in Italy, Bale's name was everywhere and Tottenham suddenly had a superstar on their hands, but Zanetti believes the Welshman - who went on to become a four-time Champions League winner at Real Madrid - would have soon stepped on to the world stage anyway.

"I think Bale established himself around the world after that game," said the former Argentina international. "Having said that, he would have made the step up sooner or later because of the quality he has."

Giuseppe Baresi was among the coaching staff at Inter back in 2010, having been Jose Mourinho's assistant manager before moving into a different technical role with Benitez's arrival.

The Nerazzurri were a different beast to the side who won the competition under Mourinho, with former Liverpool boss Benitez giving young players like Coutinho and Biabiany their chance to impress.

However, despite the years going past, there still seems to be a frustration for Baresi, an Inter defender with more than 400 appearances to his name, that they lost their concentration that night after what had been a good performance.

"We'd prepared for the game well and we knew all about the different players' strengths, including Bale," Baresi admitted to football.london.

"In fact, we played very well and dominated for most of the match. Then at a certain point we took our foot off the pedal and we all know what happened at the end."

He added: "We did have some young lads in the side but there were experienced players in there too.

"We prepared well during the week and you saw that for much of the game. I remember Coutinho played very well."

In the end, Inter Milan won the game but that fact is sometimes lost amid the excitement around Bale and the emphatic result in the return match at White Hart Lane.

Bale's 2010 heroics also overshadow the two meetings between the sides three years later in the Europa League, Inter again scoring four times at the San Siro but an extra-time goal from Emmanuel Adebayor, coupled with the earlier 3-0 win at the Lane, meant Spurs went through on away goals.

Inter are more than capable of scoring goals in their grand old stadium and Mauricio Pochettino's side will be wary of them on Tuesday night.

Equally the Nerazzurri will need to be on their guard because at least one of this current crop of Tottenham players will be looking to emulate Gareth Bale and become a San Siro superstar.

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