Rafael van der Vaart admits he enjoyed his time at Tottenham under manager Harry Redknapp.
The Dutchman's creative talents were allowed to blossom under Redknapp.
"What a manager, he just made us enjoy our games," Van der Vaart told PA Sport.
"Before Real Madrid, the team-talk I remember was similar to always - he just said, 'they are a great team, no doubt, we have a great team too. We have great players in here and on our day we can beat them'.
"That was how he looked at football and I like a manager who sees the game in that way. It was true but we also needed 11 against 11 to have a chance."