A.C Milan fall short as Tottenham make their mark on the UEFA Champions League
In a match that will forever be remembered as the encounter in which Tottenham Hotspur finally came of age, A.C Milan failed to breach the resolute Tottenham defence as the Italian giants were knocked out on an aggregate score line of 1-0.
It has truly been a remarkable journey for Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League. After winning the first leg of their round of 16 matchup against A.C Milan, Harry Redknapp’s team held on for a scoreless draw at their home stadium to seal their spot in
the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.
In the early stages of the UEFA Champions League when Tottenham were going through the qualification stages of Europe’s premier club cup competition, many stated that Spurs did not stand a chance to make it as far as the last eight of the tournament in question.
Many pundits based their expert opinions on the belief that Tottenham were devoid of the necessary experience that is required by teams to do well in the UEFA Champions League. Some also expressed that the London club had a squad that fell short of the standards
that are needed to matchup against the likes of A.C Milan and Inter Milan in the tournament.
Now as Harry Redknapp’s team wait for the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal draw, one can consider them as the competition’s underdogs. Coming in as the minnows, Tottenham definitely did not disappoint in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. They
were paired in group A with Inter Milan, F.C Twente, and Werder Bremen. In reality this group was only second in terms of difficulty to group G, which boasted the likes of Real Madrid, Ajax, Auxerre, and A.C Milan.
Bremen qualified for the group stages after defeating a Sampdoria side which was influenced by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Antonio-Cassano-c6302 and Giampaolo Pazzini‘s fire power. Inter Milan qualified as a virtue of their triumph in the final of the 2009-2010 UEFA Champions League, whereas
F.C Twente were given access to the group stages due to their Eredivisie title win in the 2009-2010 season.
Tottenham who finished fourth in the English Premier League not only held their own during the group stages but also stunned Inter Milan by defeating the European Champions at White Hart Lane by a resounding score line of three goals to one. In doing so,
Harry Redknapp’s team ended the group stages as the top ranked team in Group A.
When the round of 16 draw was made in December, the Italian press built Milan up as the European behemoths that they are, whilst the English press focused on bigger names such as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786, Manchester United and Arsenal. Nonetheless, Tottenham silenced their
critics once again as Aaron Lennon’s pace reaped rewards for the London outfit as the Englishman assisted the goal, which was scored by his compatriot http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Peter-Crouch-c29741 at San Siro.
With the rest of the UEFA Champions League, round of 16 matches taking place next week only Tottenham, Shaktar Donetsk, Barcelona and Schalke 04 have confirmed their place in the last eight thus far. Regardless, you can be sure now that no one will want
to draw Tottenham. Harry Redknapp’s team has already showed that they are only to be counted out contention at one’s own risk. A risk that http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan took in the group stages and A.C Milan took in the round of 16.
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