Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham project is running ahead of schedule

Tottenham’s run to the Champions League final has come well ahead of schedule in their longer-term project.

Tottenham weren’t mean to be here. Their half of the Champions League draw should have sent one of Atletico Madrid, Juventus or Manchester City, all deemed competition frontrunners, to the final. Even Ajax at a point seemed set for their date with destiny. And yet Spurs established their own narrative, their own route.

In an ordinary Champions League season, Spurs’ ascendency would be the defining storyline. Of course, this particular season has packed more plot into the past four months than the final few episodes of a certain fantasy TV series. Their semifinal comeback against Ajax, fighting back from a 3-0 aggregate deficit at halftime of the second leg, might not even have been the most remarkable semifinal comeback this season.

Nonetheless, Spurs’ appearance in the Champions League final, their first European final since 1984, provides a compelling edge to this season’s biggest club fixture. What Mauricio Pochettino has done over the past five years is nothing short of astonishing and this, clinching the greatest honor in the club game, would be the ultimate crowning achievement.

If Spurs win the Champions League this season it’ll be a somewhat premature triumph. This is a club with long-held designs on becoming a bona fide member of the European elite, but this was a project with a long-term vision. The culmination wasn’t mean to arrive for years and yet here they are, just a matter of weeks after the opening of their new stadium, built as a catalyst for bigger and better things, at the crossroads of all their dreams.

Lifting the Champions League could come at a cost for Spurs. Pochettino has already suggested he could leave the club if he gets his hands on the famous old trophy, a near admission this is as good as it gets for the north London outfit. Like a single issue political party after that single issue has been resolved, Spurs could, in a strange sort of way, find themselves directionless in the wake of European glory.

Of course, winning the Champions League could feasibly give Spurs a platform to stay at that level for a generation. They are, after all, still without a league title in 58 years. As has become the case with Liverpool in recent years, that could be the flame that lights the way forward, pushing the club to better itself even after Champions League success.

Indeed, this season’s fourth place Premier League finish hints at an element of fluke at worst, good fortune at best, about Spurs’ run to the Champions League final. On another night, Manchester City’s late fifth goal against Pochettino’s side would have stood. On another night, Ajax would have held on to their commanding advantage. On another night, going all the way back to the group stage, Mauro Icardi would have finished late on to give Inter Milan a win over PSV Eindhoven, sending Spurs out.

For decades, Tottenham were derided as little more than a cup team. For all the undeniable progress made in becoming a permanent fixture in the top four of the Premier League, that might still be true. The only difference is that the cup now spoken of is the most prestigious in club soccer.

In almost every way, Liverpool will be favorites when they meet Spurs in Madrid this Saturday. Jurgen Klopp’s team are fresh from a league season which saw them register 97 points, suffering just one defeat in 38 games. Their demolition of Barcelona in the semifinal second leg also made a statement of just how strong the Reds are right now.

But Spurs have upset the odds and the overwhelming narrative all the way through this season’s Champions League to the point where that has become a narrative in itself. If Tottenham win in Madrid, if they are to bask in the glory of their greatest ever victory, nothing else will matter, least of all thought the culmination of a greater vision has been achieved ahead of schedule.