We got Real Madrid
Friday, March 18, 2011 at 7:23PM This is going to be epic.
The hard way is the only way is the Spurs way. Year ends in one. Chas'n'Dave reunited. Wembley final. Not so much about winning it, just creating crowing cockerels of history along the way. For as long as it lasts. And long may it continue. It's got to be enjoyed otherwise what's the point? It's a cliché, but anything can happen, which is why its better to believe and dream than to hide behind the fear. Even if it goes against our seasoned DNA as Spurs fans to be pessimistic. You can hardly not wear your heart on your sleeve for this particular occasion.
Wanted Madrid. Got them. Even managed to pencil in the potentially of Barca in the semi-final. The footballing Gods are either listening or mocking me, depending on how all this pans out. Romantic notions aside relating to glamour and Glory Glory nights, one thing is for certain, this is hardly going to be easy - which is when Spurs tend to deliver the unexpected.
Harry up against Jose. Zonal Marking might explode in it's preview. Away at the Bernabéu then back at the Lane. Madrid, flamboyantly brilliant going forward and expertly organised and drilled be it not the best defensively because of the offensive nature of their back four. But then when you power forward and score goals you hardly have to worry too much the defending. Something previous incarnations of Real Madrid teams basked in but often failed in the long run for their naivety and lack of emphasis on unity at the back.
Talking of their offensive nature; Marcelo, Di Maria, Ozil, Benzema, Ronaldo. Hardly a yard off the pace are they? Not too shabby with their set-pieces either.
What do we do to compete?
No containment, no deep lying soaking of pressure. We have to attack with intelligence, with bravado and belief. Bale, Modric, vdV - all key, as much as the player(s) who take responsibility with defensive duties in the middle. Enter the Sandro. Possession also vital. Madrid are no Barca but they will tear you up if you invite.
What makes it altogether more tricky is Jose is no mug to the English game and our players and has a 5-0* record against Redknapp. Be it in the EPL. This is where we find out aplenty regarding tactical astuteness and how much lady luck plays a part. He'll know exactly how to set up his team and what tempo to play the game at, both home and away. And no doubt if he gets the result he wants in Spain then he might go all Chelsea cira Jose in the return. Tactics aside, the true battle for me is man-management. And Harry v Jose is a colossus battle between two men who know how to get the best out of their players.
*Correct me if I've got that one wrong.
Also, keep a keen eye on the battle within the media. I expect overdrive in the stories linking Bale to the Bernabéu.
Teams? Possibly...
Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo, Di Maria, Alonso, Khedira, Ozi, Ronaldo, Benzema
v
Gomes, Corluka, Dawson, Gallas, BAE, Lennon, Modric, Sandro/Hudd, Bale, van der Vaart, Crouch
Some of that. It's finally happening IRL rather than a Football Manager save game.
Play to our strengths Tottenham, play with width, pace and venom. The latter something we've lacked since Bale was injured but thankful he's returned just in time. They're going to come out wanting to hurt us and put the game beyond our means for the return visit in North London. So hurt them back we must. Midfield is the key and the less time players like Alonso have on the ball the better. We're going to have to be offensive by being defensive thus allowing for the offense. I'll work out exactly what I mean by that and come back to it in the build up to the game.
This is not a free-flowing finished article side we're up against. They have, much like us, imperfections. They just happen to have a tad more high end quality players. Just a tad. Enough to see off most of La Liga and Europe with inspirational moments of genius and cheek and devastating play at pace. Hard to beat, they can also dig out a result thanks to aforementioned genius with some added grit. Which is obviously a trait that Mourinho has added, that hard to beat quality. Something we're not too bad at either.
What allows me to have some faith in our chances is that because of expectations the pressure mounting on Jose and because of the style of play expected from their side - they can't shut up shop and play effective bland football much like we become accustomed too when he plied his trade in England. I know I'm slightly boxing in Chelsea of old there but his sides tend to be shrewd and cunning and ultimately frustrating for the beaten opposing side and sometimes the home fans too. Park the bus anyone?
Madrid are not bland but very much effective and as mentioned 'drilled'. They work more cohesively as a unit under Jose. Hence the reason why they are in the QF's for the first time in a number of seasons. They will attack. And that will suit us, as long as mental-shut downs like the one experienced against Inter in the Giuseppe Meazza are no more. Although - it pains me to even reference it - if we are finally out of our depth, it's no failure or disgrace to hold up our hands and gracefully accept our departure from this magnificent journey.
Concluding thoughts?
Loved Lineker during the draw. Made up for Rafa and his return. Not so made up for the colour shirt, shorts and socks we'll have to wear in the first game. We'll be drenched in history when we play all white in the second game under the floodlights back on home territory. A tradition inspired by that famous Madrid side that won it 5 times on the trot.
Simply put - we need to score away from home. And I reckon we will. Hold it together at the back. Frustrate them, get the home support on their backs. How did I start this article off?
Anything can happen.
Two weeks to go and the hairs on the back of my neck have already ripped themselves away leaving broken skin behind and dancing their way to the top of my head.
It's going to be fantastic.
In other news. Apparently we've got a game on Saturday.
Reader Comments (35)
You called it Spooky :)
This is going to be glorious.
I'm soooo excited already, just the thought of this does'nt only make the hairs at the back of the neck stand up. As you say spooks away goal absolutely vital, as is the home leg advatage for the return,,,, can you imagine the atmosphere at the Lane OMG, this is what its all about, this is exactly where we wana be, I just hope to god we make the top 4 coz the thought of playing Europa League after this actually turns my stomach. COYS !!!!!!
Real are there for the taking. Struggled to get past a very ordinary Lyon. All the pressure is on them. Second leg at the Lane.
Taxi for Ramos!
Lovely honest talking article. It is and has been an amazing journey. Lets enjoy it & not freeze. Get at them down the wings & play the Spus way.
With you now & forever, come on u spurs.
I think it will be Real-Spurs 2-2 and Spurs-Real 1-1.
One of those ties where you fear the worst and hope for the best. Should be magnificent.
Can't wait. I think we're better than Lyon in attack, and if they can push forward and shoot several times at Real's goals, so can we - and we can do even better. The crux lies in central midfield and defence: I hope Kaboul is back to backup Gallas or Daws and Palacios for Sandro (who must start). We must be as solid as we can be - we can do it.If we win this tie I think I will cry. COYS.
Called it you did. Spooky indeed.
This is the culmination of a quartet century of dreaming, dyed in the wool Spurs but also Real fan since the age of six! Don't worry, loyalties in no way divided but I simply cannot wait for this, so excited I think I may spontaneously combust!
Tottenham Hotspur Vs Real Madrid in the CL quarter final.
Does life get any better than this?
Was over on the official site to get the dates of our matches (need to schedule those half vacation days now...have to be in the pub with fellow fans for this one).
Real Madrid, UEFA Champions League in APRIL!!! I got a happy little frisson up my spine, followed by a rather smug smile. Who'd have thought we'd still be in with a chance this far down the line? What an excellent adventure we're having!
Totally agree about playing to our strengths. If we go out, let's do it in a blaze of glory, glory.
Best Spurs blog...ever! Thank you Spooky.
The gods must have heard you.
I'm actually more scared of Harry handing this tie to his favourites than I am of the legendary Real Madrid. If we play our best players and best game we will be in the semis.
COYS.
Like you spurs61 this is a dream come true. Spent 4 years in Madrid with work back in the early 90s. Can remember flying home to watch the gazza semi final then flying back and watching Madrid all in the same day. To see our boys walk out onto the bernabeu will just be amazing. VDV to score in both legs and take us through . COYS
I agree.
For various reasons i preferred none of the rest. Schalke are hungry and have nothing to lose. Inter will be out for revenge. Shaktar well I didn't fancy a trip to Siberia.
Even if we went out which is still a possibility we can say it has been quite a ride. I beam with pride to see the likes of Bale Lennon Dawson pit themselves against and stand out the supposed cream of Europe. I only have to see the result in Munich to realize the significance of our home win over Inter.
Well done Harry and the team please give them a run for their money.
Absolutely mammoth, this is a superb tie, absolutely perfect, I can die happy now.
This is going to be epic. Best of all we're laughing right now. Further along than anyone expected. We are in the quarter finals with Real FFS. No fear for us as Pleat said. Whereas I imagine that Real might have a bit of trepidation about us with our beanpole freak tormentor, lightning fast wings and other unknown entities.
I love this so much. I fear Hammers more than I fear Real.
Honestly it may be years before we make CL again but no matter what happens we are rolling in style right now and writing history as we go.
Brilliant stuff.
COYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep doing what you do Spooky, 'cause you are without doubt the best at it.
Cheers mate.
COYFS
Its half time against West Ham. Defoe is dreaming of his 100th goal... I say dreaming coz, so far, he might as well be in bed. He's sooo asleep!
Unfortunately VDV can only play with the horrific 3MP. Pavlyuchenko is required but I dont see Harry not handing his tall baby some minutes :-(
Second half. COYS.
Defoe is so unbelievably fucking useless, absolute waste of oxygen. We are going to pay a dear, dear price for not bringing in a half-decent striker.
shocking display from defoe........how he can bleat about not playing in the big games when he can't score open goals is beyond me. I fear that docomospur is right........What about that freekick from bale tho........awesome........it is slipping away this fourth place of ours.........:$
Can we dedicate the lost points & with them our top4 ambitions to Harry's eternal love for Defoe? He was really poor today.
Harry's really got to make a decision, he can use the rest of his time at Spurs winning games and achieving legendary status, or he can use it to market the unmarketable Defoe & Crouch. His babies.
Otherwise, great game to watch...pity I've missed the last five minutes and dont know the final score.
West Ham played well, no argument there. But Christ, even with their clear cut chances, we should have had them buried and dead. JD too concerned about his t-shirt me thinks.
Sandro and Modric were excellent today, but our refusal to play with goal scorers is starting to hurt us.
defoe should stick to the whores. Harry should stick to his performers and not his favourites. How the rest of the team must feel to be playing well, working hard and supplying strikers who cant score game after game is beyond me????
On a side note- I think that t-shirt of defoes read 100 misses
Should have played Crouch.
lets not stretch it that far spooks lol. How about pav from the start and defoe from the rafters?
2 up top from the start - that's how we should have lined up. This was WH not Real Madrid.
exactly and one of those should have been pav and the other ermmm not defoe crouch or vdv
Apparently , they said on Talksport that JD's grandmother died last night and he still wanted to play today, in hindsight he shouldn't have , but on his performance today maybe he had other things on his mind, today was just not his day
Granddad.
Hammers were good. They were disciplined and organized and Green was fantastic. We had a lot of opportunities and were unlucky. Yes, in retrospect 4-4-2 and starting Pav would probably have been way to go given VdV's less than 100% performance but we did get a clean sheet and defended well for the most part.
JD is just lacking that critical confidence that I hoped he would have regained from his goals against Wolves.
It ain't over yet people.
Forgot to say, while we're on the subject of hindsight, Krancjar should have played instead of VdV.
Forget Defoe, Shocking display from HARRY! Defoe should have been taken off at half-time. I was so happy to see Pav ready at the sideline after an hour, but then he came on and Defoe stayed on! I feared for the worst. When a team wastes easy chances like his, they usually get punished.
I am shocked and disappointed that Harry did not bring Kranjcar on to replace VDV.
I am shocked and disappointed that Harry thought that the best, final solution was to bring Alan Hutton on for some MORE wing play.
Defoe has not suddenly become a useless striker. He just had a bad game. Torres and Rooney have had much much worse days. But it is the job of the manager to quickly observe the situation and take him out of the game otherwise the team strength is affected. We were lucky to escape with the draw. Victor Obinna was/is fully capable of destroying Hutton and scoring against us.
VdV must go to the bench for Wigan match, play a 4-4-2 with Crouch and Defoe. Sandro must play vs Real, maybe play Palacios against his old team.
the world would be a better place had Dawson scored with that glorious curled effort
sun shining, birds twittering and such
WH aside , we are going to play Real f'ing Madrid , does not get any bigger than this does it ? Cant see us progressing but as Spooky said , this kind of game only happens on FM (and after saving , restarting , saving and restarting again) ...
Very excited and a bit scared , after all its Jose - the man who stopped Barça last year