Redknapp compares ‘genius’ Taarabt to West Ham legend after Fulham double

By Nick Wright Monday, December 17, 2012
7:10 AM

QPR boss Harry Redknapp labelled Adel Taarabt a “genius” after his match-winning double against Fulham, comparing him to West Ham hero Paolo Di Canio.

The Moroccan scored two long-range goals at Loftus Road as QPR moved off the bottom of the Premier League table with their first win of the season at the Cottagers’ expense.

Redknapp lavished praise on Taarabt after the match, claiming he has the potential to play for any club in the world and describing him as similar to Premier League legend Di Canio, who he signed as West Ham boss back in 1999.

“He’s my type of player, I love people with that ability,” said Redknapp of Taarabt. “He’s a genius, he could play for anybody.”

“He can be a top, top player,” he continued. “He’s got ability like not many people you will ever see in your life.

“He’s like [Paolo] Di Canio, who I thought was a fantastic player, one of the all time great players at West Ham.

“This boy’s the same. He can do things that no one else can do. No one can do what he can does, he’s amazing.

“He nutmegs people and he goes past two or three who are hanging off him and can’t get the ball off him.”

Taarabt’s fiery temperament has often proved his downfall in the past but Redknapp says his talent makes him worth the trouble.

“A lot of talented people like that are difficult to handle,” he said.

“Paolo was like that, he was difficult to handle but he was a genius, he could win games on a Saturday, and that’s what this boy can do.”