ClapAs reported by BBC Sport, Tottenham Hotspur are in the Champions League final. They put together a quite remarkable comeback in their semi final second leg against Ajax, scoring a 96th minute winner. Oh, and in case we didn’t mention it, Lucas Moura turned into the world’s greatest footballer for 45 minutes. Isn’t this a weird game?
The expectation in Europe this season for Spurs was probably to reach the knockout stages, and even then they were pretty fortunate to do so. They struggled in their group and required a late surge in order to qualify, and ironically enough, that kind of draws comparisons to Liverpool’s 2005 run in the competition. Where did the Reds end up that season, you ask? As champions of Europe, of course.
Here they come
But back to Spurs. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have showcased the kind of grit and determination necessary to thrive on this stage, and to be blunt, they really do showcase the very best that English football has to offer.
One of the ‘best’ that we’re referring to within Tottenham’s ranks is Harry Kane. The popular Englishman has been out with an injury for a few weeks now, which has raised concerns that he may not be fit enough to start the Champions League final. It seems as if, according to The Independent, it’s going to come down to the wire, which is going to cause more than a few heart attacks in North London in the next few days.
The status of his fitness could well determine whether or not Tottenham win the Champions League for the first time in their history, and that’s no exaggeration. He’s that much of a game changer and if they can implement him back into the starting XI, he could wind up causing some real problems for Liverpool’s back four.
We’d argue that Spurs can still get the job done even when they don’t have Kane in the team, and we’d argue that because we’ve seen it quite a few times in recent weeks – including in the semi final against Ajax.
It’s Harry time
The major thing to appreciate and adore in this final for neutrals is that it’s an all-English final, which is just fantastic for the state of the game in this country. Nobody would’ve anticipated that Liverpool and Spurs would be battling it out in Madrid when the competition began last year, and yet here we are.
Liverpool are still the favourites and we’d be foolish to suggest otherwise, but just think about what a win would mean for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. It’s one of the most remarkable underdog stories in modern day European football, and the most amusing part is that Liverpool fans are probably thinking the same thing about their own campaign after their comeback against Barcelona.
As we’ve said, though, we truly believe one man could make the difference in that game on June 1st – and his name is Harry Kane.
Will it come to fruition? Let’s wait and see.
