After watching Tottenham’s courageous fight back against Juventus at the Allianz stadium, It took Spurs fans mind’s for the first time that they have a genuine chance at going all the way in Europe’s elite club competition so with that in mind, Here are, six reasons why to justify why Tottenham can win the Champions League this season.
Six reasons why Tottenham can win the Champions League this season
The determination to come from behind
Tottenham usually do start their games with a hunger and determination which usually results in an early goal. However, the first leg was not the first time that Spurs have had to come from behind this season in Europe but also, domestically.
The first time being when they traveled to Signal Iduna Park to take on Borussia Dortmund, going behind to a first-half Aubameyang goal but with Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son guaranteeing their qualification from the group stage at the earliest opportunity, Tottenham prevailed against the 2013 finalists 2-1.
Spurs have also shown in the Premier League that they will fight until the final whistle. For example, at Liverpool a few weeks ago where Mohammed Salah twice put the Reds ahead, Spurs fought back twice to take a share of the points in the top 4 clash.
Lethal Attacking Threat
Mauricio Pochettino’s preferred formation at Tottenham really utilizes the fantastic attacking force that they possess. Between them, Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Heung Min Son and Christian Eriksen this season alone have scored sixty-fourgoals and contributed twenty five assists in all competitions.
Add in re-emerging Erik Lamela since his return from a hip injury and exciting new signing Lucas Moura, Tottenham are showing that their attacking threat is a force to be reckoned with and one of the deadliest in Europe at the moment.
The Group of “Death”?
Defending Champions; Real Madrid, German Heavyweights; Borussia Dortmund and Cypriot Champions; APOEL Nicosia were standing in Spurs’ way of the Last 16, however, the Lilywhites have exceeded all expectations, going unbeaten in all six group games.
Back in 2011, they played Real Madrid and got knocked out comprehensively, 5-0 on aggregate, now, they took it to Los Blancos in their own park and then, taught them a lesson at Wembley. The Dispatching of Dortmund, both home and away and easily dispatching APOEL on both occasions, scoring fifteen times in the group stage shows that on any day, Tottenham Hotspur can beat and are not scared of anyone.
No more Wembley woes?
Tottenham’s long-standing struggles at Wembley had worried a lot of fans coming into this season, with the last time Spurs winning being 2008 in the Carling Cup Final, they had a point.
For the first few games of the season, it seemed like the poor results would continue with draws against Swansea and Burnley early in the campaign, however since then, Spurs have grown and settled and made Wembley a fortress, albeit a temporary one, losing only once in the league and that was the first game against Chelsea.
The high pressing game that they played in such devastating fashion last season at White Hart Lane has now been adopted and they can give anyone a game at the National Stadium
Previous Underdog Stories
There have been previous occasions where underdogs have reached the final or even won the Champions League, Back in 2013, the pre-mentioned Borussia Dortmund reached the final, beating Real Madrid in the semi-finals, before losing a closely fought game against Bayern Munich. Dortmund have gone one step further and won the whole competition before, back in 1997.
There are other examples, in 2004, the final was determined between Monaco and Porto, two teams who you probably wouldn’t have put money on being in the final at the start of the season and one thing that the winners that year, Porto, and Tottenham have in common is the fact they have a young and fearless manager.
The Pochettino Factor
Mauricio Pochettino is one of, if not the best up and coming manager in the world at this moment. Just like Jose Mourinho at Porto in 2004, he is young, hungry and determined for success at the highest level, he is more like a brother to the players than a boss at Spurs, there is a genuine family-esque connection between him and the team and after every game, win, lose or draw, every player gets embraced by him.
The connection that they share is vital to Spurs and the transformation he has transformed them from finishing fifth every season to genuine title contenders for the past two seasons.
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