Once again, Spurs Odyssey has been given exclusive access to the latest edition of the club's official magazine - "Hotspur", which is published and available in all good newsagents this Friday 23rd November.
Articles this month include Phil Cornwell, comedian and Spurs fan (he usedto sit near me!); the story of the 1994-5 Famous Five season; Ledley King answering your questions (let's hope he's on the pitch really soon!); and introducing new coach Juande Ramos.
Finnish midfielder Teemu Tainio is the featured player this month, and reference is made to his homeland also being home to a certain Mr S. Claus. Once that issue is out of the way, Teemu answered a few more meaty questions.
Tainio on Spurs
“Tottenham Hotspur was always my favourite team,” he smiles. “I know a lot of players say that kind of thing, but in my case it was true. I remember watching players like Gazza and Gary Lineker, but the era I liked most was when Jurgen Klinsmann and then David Ginola played for the club. Don’t ask me why I chose Spurs, I just did. Maybe it was the exciting players they always had and the fact that they always set out to play attacking football.”
Teemu on National Service
“..... it was not a hardship for me because I actually enjoyed my time in the army. My main job there was as a postman. I never went out posting letters, it was just to the captains around the camp – it was ridiculous really.
“But I did learn how to use a gun and we often went out into the forest, so I got a lot of fresh air and plenty of exercise. We also had an army football championship and I was voted the player of the tournament. They knew I was an up-and-coming player and even allowed me out to go training before I returned to camp.
“The army also helped me become far more disciplined and mature as a person. When I see young people of the same age in England and France, who haven’t gone through national service, I see many differ-ences between them and me. It helped me grow up and that definitely helped when I moved abroad.”
Playing for Auxerre
The highlight of his time was a Champions League victory four years ago against a certain club from North London.
“Although I picked up medals in the French Cup, the highlight was definitely beating Arsenal at Highbury,” he smiles. “I was up against Patrick Vieira and Gilberto and I put in one of the best performances of my ca-reer – I played very well that night. I also did well when we drew there with Tottenham, so I had a good re-cord at Highbury. Being a Spurs fan, it really meant a lot to do well against them.”
Tainio on Kaboul
“Younes came into the first team during my last season at Auxerre, and you could tell then that he was going to be a good player,” Teemu recalls. “When he was in the youth team he was always bigger and stronger than the other boys and once he got into the first team his career really took off. It hasn’t surprised me to see him come to Tottenham because he is a talented player who has a great career ahead of him.”
Spurs season so far
“It’s hard to put my finger on why we started so poorly, but we have lots of games coming up to make a real charge up the table. We have the squad to do it and we have to believe we can improve on what we did last season. Let’s not forget there are also cups to play for, so we still have a lot to look forward to and everyone will play their part.”
You can read the full article in the magazine, and you can subscribe to "Hotspur" here - wherever you are in the world!
Spurs Odyssey is not being paid a commission by THFC for this feature, but the content and picture are used with the kind permission of THFC
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