THFC’s European adventure began in the 61/62 season as a result of winning the ‘Double’. Our first game was against Gornik of Poland and after the beautiful football that Spurs had displayed the season before there were great expectations of European success by an English club. We were drawn away in the first leg and lost the game 4-2, after being 4-0 down at one point.
The media in those days was little different from the media of today and Spurs were criticised by one and all. Europe was obviously a bridge too far for the English champions. Really? The return leg saw the first of many ‘glory’ nights that were to follow at WHL. Spurs won the game 8-1 and by half time had reversed the away result by leading 5-1. It was breath-taking stuff performed in an atmosphere that was unbelievable.
It was the time of the ‘Angels’, those iconic supporters that suitably dressed for the occasion. It was a time when Spurs adopted the all-white strip for future European games. I really miss that all-white strip! As we all know, this adventure was stopped in the semi-final against Benfica. Spurs lost, but were the better team. It happens. It was widely believed that whoever won this game would go on to beat Madrid in the final. Benfica did just that.
Of course, Spurs went on to be the first English club to win a European competition in 1963 when we beat Atletico Madrid 5-1 in Rotterdam. Even the neutral Dutch supporters gave Spurs a standing ovation at the end of the match. It was a complete performance. Spurs then went on to be the first English club to win two different European competitions. The legacy had begun.
But the European Cup/Champions League trophy has eluded us. It is the only major trophy missing from THFC’s cabinet. Of course if we want to be ‘picky’ we could say that we haven’t won the PL title …. but isn’t the PL just a new format of Division One, which we’ve won twice.
The current Champions League adventure started in a less than glorious manner. We struggled in the group stage, finally coming good against Dortmund to scrape through. However, subsequent ties against Juve, City, and Ajax were extremely glorious and unlikely to be forgotten for many years to come for many interesting reasons. Given the teams we have beaten to reach the final there can be little doubt that we deserve to be there.
The final itself has the potential to be just as exciting and competitive as the QF and SF. That’s how it should be. The issues affecting Tottenham’s performance on the park this season have been frequently discussed. Somehow these issues have been overcome to the extent that we are now part of the show-case game for European football. The world will be watching.
The final is arguably the most important game since 1882 when Tottenham’s history began. Win, lose, or draw, Spurs supporters can be proud of this team and its manager. The feat of achieving such a final game of the season can never be underestimated.