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· Last Week's Game - Lost 4-0
· See the current injury list for all Premiership Teams
· All the Spurs Stats you could hope for here! THFC6061 Sports Stats
Spurs record in Europe:-
U.E.F.A Champions League
P W D L F - A
11 5 3 3 25 -18
European Cup
P W D L F - A
8 4 1 3 21 - 13
(Semi-Finalists 1962)
European Cup Winners Cup
P W D L F - A
33 20 5 8 65 - 34
(Winners 1963)
UEFA Cup
P W D L F - A
85 51 20 15 182-71
(Winners 1972, 1984
Finalists 1974)
Total
P W D L F - A
137 80 29 28 291-133
Champions League Group A
P W D L F-A GD PTS
1.Spurs 6 3 2 1 18-11 7 11
2.Inter Milan 6 3 1 2 12-11 1 10
3.Fc Twente 6 1 3 2 9-11 -2 6
4.SV Werder Bremen 6 1 2 3 6-12 -6 5
Round of 16
A.C Milan 0-1 Spurs
Spurs 0-0 A.C Milan
Champions League Group G
P W D L F-A GD PTS
1. Real Madrid 6 5 1 0 15-2 13 16
2. AC Milan 6 2 2 2 7-7 0 8
3. Ajax 6 2 1 3 6-10 -4 7
4. Auxerre 6 1 0 5 3-12 -9 3
Round of 16
Lyon 1-1 Real Madrid
Real Madrid 3-0 Lyon
A tilt at the windmill
In the Plaza de Espana in central Madrid is a monument to Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the early 17th Century opus Don Quixote. A statue of Quixote on his horse with his lance is in front of the monument. Quixote was of course famous for his love of chivalry and a belief that windmills were ferocious giants to be conquered. Hence the phrase "having a tilt at the windmill".
Well, after last week's 4-0 pasting, Spurs certainly need some heroics in the face of a giant of football with such a goal advantage. Never has the phrase "To dare is to do" carried so much meaning. A full week after the depressing events and result in The Bernabeu, there are people around who do seriously believe that with an early goal, Spurs could achieve the impossible.
The word is that Corluka is doubtful, along with Kranjcar. Crouch of course is suspended, and Palacios, Hutton, Ledley and Woodgate are definite absentees. Aaron Lennon should be okay as well as Steven Pienaar. In the case of the latter, I suspect a place on the bench may be all there is for him.
There has also been a suggestion that Spurs might go three at the back, but I think they'll need a fully-manned back four if Real are anywhere near as rampant as they were last week. Whilst we want to "go for it" it's no use embarrassing ourselves with another heavy defeat.
Real won 3-0 at Bilbao on Saturday. Kaka scored two penalties, and Ronaldho scored the third goal. They are still 8 points behind Barcelona, who they play this Sunday (at home), and next Wednesday (away) in the Copa del Rey. Whilst Mourinho might have an eye on those games, he has enough in the bank and strength in depth to keep Spurs easily at bay, doesn't he?
No team has ever overcome a four goal deficit in either The Champions League or European Cup. A number of teams have come back from a three goal deficit, including Real Madrid. In October 1975, Dave Mackay's Derby County beat Real Madrid 4-1 at The Baseball Ground in front of a crowd of over 38,000. Former Arsenal striker Charlie George got a hat-trick, including two penalties, and David Nish scored the other. Pirri got the Real goal. The return was played on fireworks night in front of a 120,000 Bernabeu crowd, and the home side won 5-1 to take the tie 6-5 on aggregate. George got Derby's only goal, and Pirri scored again for Madrid, this time from the spot whilst Roberto Martinez and Santillana both got two goals. Real went on to lose to the eventual winners - Bayern Munich - in the semi-final. These were the days of Beckenbauer, Rummenigge, Muller and Hoeness, to name just four of the German stars.
Incidentally, the final that year was played at Hampden Park. With Wembley playing host this year, could there be a co-incidental precedent for a dramatic turn-around? We'll all be there to see "Don Quixote" Spurs take a tilt at the Real Madrid windmill tomorrow!
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