The first nine minutes had been a shambles. Tottenham Hotspur were 2-0 down to Juventus, bereft of ideas and seemingly overawed by the occasion. Nervy defensive errors had gifted both goals to the hosts, and with Juventus having lasted over 1,440 minutes of football without conceding it seemed inevitable that a long and arduous night lay ahead for Spurs fans. What happened next was pretty extraordinary even by the standards of Mauricio Pochettino’s brilliant young side.
As Tottenham restarted the match following Gonzalo Higuain’s penalty they had held just 39% possession, taken a solitary pot-shot at goal, attempted zero tackles, and made just 10 passes in the Juventus half. But Harry Kane kicked off to Jan Vertonghen with the clock at 8:53 and for the next 136 seconds Spurs calmly held the ball, pinned the hosts back into their own third, and flipped the entire statistical pattern of the game on its head. Spurs held 76% possession and completed 20 passes in the Juve half over the next two-and-a-half minutes. Going 2-0 down hadn’t discouraged them at all. It had somehow inspired them to systematically take Juventus apart.
Put simply, in pegging the Italian champions back to 2-2 Spurs showed the kind of maturity and self-belief that wins trophies. Much has been said about the lack of silverware accrued under Pochettino (the debate between Spurs and Arsenal fans strikes at the core of the modern dilemma of cup wins versus top four finishes; of open top bus parades versus optimism borne of steady financial progress) but performances such as the one on Tuesday evening surely end any squabbling from within the club itself. Pochettino might not have won anything yet, but the sheer speed of his players’ progression suggests mainstream success is very close. It might even come in this season’s Champions League.
Pochettino’s tactical coaching is arguably the most precise and richly detailed of any Premier League manager. Having spent four years exclusively signing intelligent, selfless footballers the Argentine has built a system that is sophisticated almost to a fault. Seeking absolute control of central midfield, Spurs’ tactics can often lack the chaotic edge needed to break down the league’s most stubborn defences; the complex passing angles and pressing zones too rigidly demarcated for a moment of maverick genius.
Eriksen catches Buffon cold with a cheeky free-kick!
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But it is precisely this fine-tuned tactical preparation that prevented Spurs from panicking when they went 2-0 down in Turin – and that allows them to so often control the rhythms of the most high-pressured matches. The 2-0 victory over Manchester United, the 2-2 draws at Liverpool and Juventus, the stunning victories against Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid: these are all examples of how Pochettino’s tactical preparation frees his young side to play with confidence, intelligence, and maturity.
It also makes them one of the favourites to win this season’s Champions League. Juventus, Real, and Dortmund have all been outplayed by Tottenham this season, which arguably just leaves Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona left to conquer on the continent, both of which are too top-heavy to assert authority in central midfield. It is easy to envisage Moussa Dembele – frighteningly good against Juventus – running rings around the league leaders of France and Spain.
And then there’s the English clubs, all of which fear Pochettino by now. Granted, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City beat Spurs 4-1 at the Etihad in December, but Pochettino will have learnt from his mistakes that day (namely deploying an unusual 4-4-2 diamond formation). Certainly if Tottenham can avoid City before the final they stand a good chance of beating the English champions-elect.
Spurs traditionally get stronger as the season draws to a close, winning 12 of their final 13 league matches in 2016/17, and for the first time under Pochettino Spurs are competing in the knockout stages of the Champions League during this period. The fans are starting to believe this is their moment, and who can blame them? Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, and Moussa Dembele are all peaking, while Spurs have already produced five special European performances this season against Real, Dortmund, and Juve. Five more and they’re in the final.
