Tottenham face Juventus in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie on Wednesday hoping to announce themselves on the European stage.
Tottenham welcome Juventus to Wembley on Wednesday with an opportunity to take a huge step toward establishing themselves among the European elite. The match comes seven years after Spurs’ last appearance at this stage of the Champions League, when they knocked out another giant of the Italian game, AC Milan.
That European run should serve as a cautionary tale, however, given the stars of that team, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric, both left the club shortly after. Mauricio Pochettino has done an outstanding job to turn Tottenham into a consistent Champions League side, but Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and co. are, like Bale and Modric, too good to keep settling for a seat at the table.
Juventus, in that sense, are ideal opponents. Despite the difficulties that have held back the Italian game since the turn of the century, the Old Lady remains one of the true European giants, as evidenced by two trips to the Champions League final in three seasons and an extraordinary run of six consecutive Scudettos.
Like the Real side that beat them in last year’s final, Juve may be reaching the end of a cycle, but they remain a major scalp, the sort that would vindicate Pochettino’s work at Tottenham even in the absence of any trophies this season. Indeed, their performance in the first leg only strengthened the sense silverware is on the way in the near future.
Spurs earned a 2-2 draw at the Juventus Stadium, despite going down 2-0 inside the first 10 minutes. They didn’t waver or lose confidence in the face of one of the most experienced, defensively savvy teams in Europe. They stuck to their game plan, took control of the game and mounted a comeback.
Kane, Eriksen, Dele Alli and, in particular, Mousa Dembele were all superb, pressing high, linking up well in the final third and, ultimately, ensuring they enter the second leg knowing a clean sheet will see them through to the next round. It was an impressively mature performance from what remains a relatively inexperienced group of players.
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It also helped emphasize just how crucial this second leg is. In the opening stages of the first leg, as Juve raced out to the lead, it felt as if we were seeing the same old Tottenham, the mental weakness Pochettino was supposed to have eliminated. Talk of Kane’s and Alli’s and Eriksen’s futures increased. All was in doubt, until it wasn’t.
Still, the stakes remain high. Spurs did the hard part, ensuring they go back home with an advantage to protect. To fail the (comparatively) easy part will only raise the same old questions about whether north London is the best place for their young stars to win trophies. Their loyalty to the club may persuade them to stay in the short-term; the long-term is harder to predict.
Tottenham are unlikely to win the Champions League — and it would be unreasonable to expect them to dominate the likes of Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich — but beating a side with the pedigree of Juventus would help persuade Spurs’ key players Pochettino’s project is everything the first leg promised it could be.