'Made my life': The 'surreal' moment a ball boy became a cult hero

The Tottenham ball boy, whose decisive contribution in the Champions League went viral, says the special scenes with Jose Mourinho afterwards "made my day, my life".

Tottenham Hotspur's 15-year-old ball boy Callum Hynes said that helping his team equalise in their Champions League win over Olympiacos and being hugged by manager Jose Mourinho for his efforts was something he will never forget.

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The schoolboy was quick to react to the ball going out of play and threw another at full back Serge Aurier, whose throw-in to Lucas Moura allowed the Brazilian to scamper down the right flank and feed striker Harry Kane who scored to make it 2-2.

The goal just after the break was pivotal in a 4-2 win that secured a last-16 spot and images of Mourinho hugging Hynes and giving him a high-five were beamed worldwide on Tuesday.

He became an internet sensation in an instant, with some fans describing the quick-thinking youngster as a ‘tactical genius”.

"It's all a bit surreal, I was just doing my job and I still can't quite believe what happened," Hynes, in his sixth season as a ball boy, told Tottenham’s official website.

‘An amazing moment I'll never forget’

"I didn't even see the goal. I was busy getting the ball that had come off and then I heard the cheer. I turned around and Harry was celebrating, I looked at the replay on the screen and watched exactly what happened.

"You can see from my smile it was just unbelievable. Jose didn't have to do that. It was really nice of him to come over to me. It's made my day, my life... I love Spurs and it was an amazing moment I'll never forget."

Mourinho told the post-match news conference he wanted to bring Hynes to the dressing room to celebrate with the players but the teenager had left the stadium straight after the game because he had to study for an exam the next day.

"I love intelligent ball boys, like I was! I was a brilliant ball boy as a kid. And this kid today was brilliant, because he reads the game, he understands the game and he made an assist," Mourinho said after the match.

"He made an important assist. So it's a good moment for him and he'll never forget it."

Despite his "surreal" evening in the Champions League, however, things quickly returned to normality for 15-year-old Hynes.

"The whole way home I was using a torch in the car to go over my maths revision," he said.

His school played ball by agreeing to move his exam to Thursday after his heroics.

With agencies