SOCCER: Tottenham (0) v Real Madrid (4):YOU HALF expected the Hot Chocolate tune to crank up in the background. Harry Redknapp believes in miracles and so does Luka Modric. We know this because they told us so again and again.
Tottenham Hotspur may start the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid 4-0 down but football’s a funny old game, you never know, you never say never and so on. It will be difficult, of course, to borrow a phrase from Redknapp, but no one at Tottenham intends to allow the visit of Europe’s most decorated club to fall flat.
And even if the feeling persists that Tottenham’s biggest battles lie ahead, in the shape of their remaining seven Premier League fixtures, which will determine whether they qualify for next season’s Champions League, Redknapp and his players are determined to make this a night to go down with the best.
They like their history at White Hart Lane, and such teams as Gornik Zabrze and Benfica will always stir special memories for their supporters. In the years to come, Redknapp believes Young Boys and the Milan clubs can do likewise. Why not Madrid, as well? No team in Champions League history has overturned a four-goal first-leg deficit and only three teams in Uefa competitions have managed the feat – Madrid themselves, the Portuguese side Leixoes and Partizan Belgrade.
Redknapp will prioritise balance and control, and he hopes his side can win the game on the night. If they can score the first goal, though, the dreamer inside him will leap to the fore. “We are looking to win the game and see where it takes us,” Redknapp said. “You can’t be too open otherwise you can get smashed to pieces. Madrid have got amazing players on the break, with pace. But we want to have a real go and see what comes.”
Modric articulated the belief that has built inside the Tottenham dressingroom over the course of a thrilling campaign. The Croat, who is a target for several leading clubs, insisted he and his team-mates would remain together for next season, regardless of whether Champions League football remained on offer.
“We are coming as a force and we have a great future,” he said. “We can become one of the best teams if we all stay together for a long time. We all have long contracts and it doesn’t matter if we qualify or don’t qualify for the Champions League . . . the team will stay together.”
Redknapp will pick his strongest team. He is helped, perhaps, by Spurs having no game at the weekend. They had been scheduled to play at Manchester City but the match has been set back due to City’s FA Cup semi-final date with their neighbours United.
Spurs’ win at Eastlands last season sent them on their Champions League adventure and there is the feeling the fixture could prove decisive again. Redknapp, though, is keen to paint his side as the underdogs. “When you have spent that sort of money, from their (City’s) point of view, if you don’t get a top-four finish, well . . . it’s not going to be good for them,” he said. “They are definitely stronger so if we can finish in the top four, it would be a bigger achievement than last year. But we’re still in the race.”
Redknapp does not want his team merely to flicker on Europe’s grandest stage. “Tony Parks (goalkeeping coach) told me Tottenham have one year and then it’s another 12 years before you see them again,” Redknapp said. “We want to be in there scrapping every year.”
Karim Benzema has been included in Real Madrid’s squad. The striker is back in contention after missing the first-leg with a hamstring injury, while Sami Khedira is also available after sitting out Saturday’s 3-0 Primera Division win at Athletic Bilbao due to flu. Twenty-one-year-old centre-back Nacho Fernandez has been named in Jose Mourinho’s squad, with Portugal defender Pepe suspended. Lassana Diarra will play no part because of a hip problem as will Pedro Leon (knee) and Fernando Gago (groin).
* Guardian Service
