English Premier League: Ardiles thinks Spurs can go a long way in Europe
The legendary Argentinean footballer, Ossie Ardiles has come out and stated that Tottenham can go a long way in the modern version of the European Cup. Tottenham qualified for the UEFA Champions League after they finished as the fourth placed team in the English Premier League.
Spurs, who are based in London, have yet to play in the UEFA Champions League and have never won the European competition in their long illustrious history. Last season, Tottenham’s manager used players such as David Bentley, Peter Crouch, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermaine Defoe to compete against the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa for the fourth placed spot in the English league.
Since the English Premier League took its new shape in 1992, Tottenham have strived to compete in the top half of the table but have never won the League itself. Spurs last achieved a European triumph in the defunct UEFA Cup competition; this win came back in 1984 and before that in 1972. In 1972, Tottenham won the inaugural UEFA Cup competition after they defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers in the away leg of the final match of the tournament.
However, there is a fear growing inside Tottenham that their UEFA Champions League commitments might stretch the squad beyond the limits of control and induced unwanted injuries and fatigue. Such unfortunate injuries can not only derail Tottenham’s UEFA Champions League bid but also their hopes to finish in the top four once again. Spurs have yet to do business in the transfer market and have thus far failed to land any big name signings. Their pursuit of Joe Cole, who left Chelsea as a free agent, failed as the English international footballer joined Liverpool instead of the London giants.
Tottenham are currently speculated to be linked with Luis Fabiano, the Brazilian striker has also expressed his desire to play in England, so there is a possibility that Harry Redknapp might add to the growing list of strikers at the club. Osvaldo Ardiles, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 1978 also played for Tottenham from 1978-1988. With him in the squad, Hotspurs won the 1982 UEFA Cup and the 1980-1981 F.A Cup as well.
Ardiles is considered a legend at Tottenham because of his success with the club. His recent words of encouragement for the current Spurs manager will be soothing to the fans of the club, who are frustrated by the lack of transfer activity emerging from white hart lane.
As far as the new season is concerned, Tottenham play their first league match against fellow rivals Manchester City at the White hart lane on Saturday, 14th of August, 2010. Talking about Tottenham’s chances in the UEFA Champions League, Ardiles said that according to him Tottenham have the capacity to do well in the Champions League. He said that he is confident about his belief in Spurs ability.
Next week, Spurs kick off their UEFA Champions League campaign as they travel to Switzerland to play Young Boys F.C in the first leg of their qualification play-off match. Ardiles further added that, Tottenham are in a top level European competition after a long time, thus it will be a good season for the club. He also stated that, Tottenham can go far in the UEFA Champions League and the fans should be positive about things at the club. He also expressed his thoughts regarding the current transfer window situation by stating that, Harry is still looking for ways to improve the Tottenham squad.
Osvaldo went onto say that, he is sure that Tottenham will soon sign a player who is very good and is better than the current players at the club. Ardiles spoke at length about the Hotspurs during an interview about Sporting Memorabilia and Collectibles. He also added at the end of the interview that he would love to own something which belongs to his favourite sportsman, Mohammed Ali.
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