Well
it`s here again! admittedly not in the CL, but never the less it`s a
fixture that still stirs the blood. The question is; is today`s Spurs
team as good as the one that won in November 2010? The team that night
was: Cudicini, Hutton, Bale, Kaboul, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto, Huddlestone,
Lennon (Palacios), Van der Vaart (Jenas) Modric Crouch and then
(Pavlyuchenko). Milan that night were littered with stars; Muntari,
Sneijder, Maicon and of course Eto`o.
BBC Headlines……"Gareth Bale produced a master class to torture
Champions League holders Inter Milan as Tottenham took a giant stride
towards the last 16 on a memorable night at White Hart Lane" .....
No it`s not a prediction it`s the headlines from the 2nd November 2010
when Spurs beat Inter Milan 3-1 at White Hart Lane.. "Bale scored a
hat-trick in a losing cause when Spurs met Inter in the San Siro, but on
a tumultuous occasion that rekindled golden memories of the famous
'Glory Glory' nights in north London he was arguably even better as
Spurs made it a miserable return to England for former Liverpool boss
Rafael Benitez" ......Probably the best night of football at White
Hart Lane I have ever witnessed. The Lane just rocked that night and the
hair still stands up on the back of my neck when I think about it.
For me the only difference
between what walks out on to the pitch at White Hart Lane on Thursday
night and who we had in November 2010 is Luka Modric. Luka ran the
midfield and he let Bale loose to terrorise Maicon. Can Dembele, if fit,
do the same? Our tactics this time around will be very different. HR
played 2 meter Peter up front with VDV in the pocket but VDV pulled a
hamstring and at half time Pav came on and scored.
AVB is quoted as saying that, "if we beat Inter Milan we will go on to win the Europa League!"
It`s certainly a very different Inter Milan to the one three seasons
ago. Benitez, who was their coach that November night, is now currently
building a fan base at Stamford Bridge. The chosen one of course took
Inter to Winners of the CL and now just 3 years later they find
themselves out of the CL and in the Europa league.
The man in
charge now is Andrea Stramaccioni who is said to be relishing the
prospect of meeting Spurs. Inter however are having an up and down
season currently 5th in Serie A after being 2nd they have now achieved
19 points from their last 15 matches, beaten heavily by Fiorentina in
Florence 4-1 and then drawing 1-1 with ACE Milan and then winning away
on Sunday 2-3 against Catania .
They have picked up a few
injuries too. They have lost defender Andrea Ranocchia and striker
Milito`s injury at Cluj in the last round of the EL has ended his
season. Inter have always been a physical side to play and very mobile
but their current form shows that they are probably not the unit they
were when we played them in the CL 3 years ago. Italian pundits and fans
have criticised Stramaccioni for his tactics and his style of play
stating it is "too provincial" for a club of the stature of Inter and
his negative style is the reason why they are not picking up wins.
Spurs
are now 12 matches unbeaten and Sunday`s performance against Le Arse
showed that Vert and Daws are becoming a tight unit at the back with
Parker breaking up play and protecting the back four. Siggy, despite his
lack of finish in front of goal, looks to be growing into his midfield
role. His work rate on Sunday was exceptional and it gave Bale the
chance to find more work through the middle.
AVB however may
change the team on Thursday with Defoe getting a start over Ade who
really has taken two steps back to the point that the papers are saying
he will be sold in the summer. Dempsey could also be fit but Kaboul
still needs another week.
Whoever AVB picks the confidence in the
squad is plain to see and the Lane will once again be rocking for this
fixture. It`s good to be a Spurs fan right now and you can`t help
agreeing with AVB that if we do get past Internazionale we must become
one of the favourites in the competition
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