New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has praised the ability and character of quarterback Tom Brady following his side's Super Bowl win.
The Patriots rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter of the match to secure their fourth Vince Lombardi trophy, and the duo join Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw to win four Super Bowls as a coach-quarterback partnership.
Belichick told reporters: "A lot of things have been said about him this morning and they're all true. He's a great player. It's been a great privilege to coach Tom for the last 15 years, 14 years as starting quarterback. We have a great relationship. We meet on a regular basis weekly several times.
"I can't think of a more deserving player than Tom to be the recipient of the accolades that he has this week, and particularly last night and today here. He's our leader. He competes as well as any player I've ever coached. He's well prepared.
"He has great poise and great presence. He may not always be perfect, as it is for any of us. We all have our moments, but Tom, like many other players on our team, is the guy that fights to the end and competes until the end. There's no player I respect more for that than Tom. That's been a great pillar of strength for our football team for the past decade and a half. I sincerely appreciate that."
Brady won the Super Bowl MVP award for the third time in his career, joining Joe Montana as the only players in the history of the NFL to achieve the feat.
Simon Sinclair
