UEFA Champions League preview: FC Twente versus Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur have had a remarkable season of UEFA Champions League football so far, despite the team playing for the first time in the competition. The Spurs have topped their Group A table on goal difference with ten points, one spot above Champions
League title defender Inter Milan. Both Inter and the Spurs have secured progression into the next knockout round of sixteen in the competition and the focus of both clubs will be to top their Group table. Harry Redknapps team will maintain their position
at the summit if they manage to get the same result or do better than Inter Milan’s can against bottom-of-the-group Werder Bremen. FC Twente have secured a position in the Europa League for next year’s season.
The London based club have found exceptional form of late in the Premier League and Champions League. The Premier League outfit have managed to top Group C through defeating the Champions League winners of last year Inter Milan and Dutch champions FC Twente
at White Hart Lane. Redknapp’s men have also managed to score three goals against German giants Werder Bremen but endured conceding three goals against Young Boys in one of their preliminary round matches.
A closer look at Tottenham’s substitutes for their match against Liverpool may reveal one of the reasons the Spurs have had a spectacular run in form. Jermaine Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Carlo Cudicini, Niko Kranjkar, Vedran Corluka and Sebastian Bassong
proved that the Spurs squad have immense depth and substance excluding the starting eleven of that match. Redknapp’s team have used the attacking approach to their maximum benefit, and their play has seen them fight back to claim wins or come close despite
going into a goal deficiet. An example of their mettle can be found in their game against Rafael Benitez’s men on 20th October, when the Premier League club found themselves four goals down by half time. Tottenham sustained a narrow defeat at the
San Siro, with Gareth Bale managing to score a hat trick against Inter Milan.
Tottenham player Luca Modric has backed his team to win at the Arke Stadion in tonights fixture. Securing the top spot would mean not facing any other group toppers in the next round. Modric knows the importance of not being drawn against any other of Europe’s
heavy weights. The midfielder gave a statement to his club’s official website, saying “We just need to carry on, to try to beat Twente because if you finish first in the group, you can have a better draw.” He was modest when explaining Tottenham’s intentions
by saying “We know it's not easy, but it's important to try to finish first” and he praised his team’s debut for the European competition by explaining "We are playing great football and everyone likes to watch us because we play to score more goals than our
opponents and everyone enjoys that.” The Tottenham player further stated “confidence” and “big belief” as one of the reasons his team are “doing so well at the moment.”
FC Twente will prepare to compete in the Europa League next season and their coach Michel Preud'homme believes his team have shown a remarkable performance in the UEFA Champions League this season so far. The manager said “I think we can speak of a successful
debut, we already have five points and, apart from the match against Inter in Milan, we've always scored.In short, we have competed. They can't say that about all newcomers.”
Tottenham boss, Harry Redknapp’s superb managerial skills have been taken note of by the English FA who claim that his name is on the list of the possible options to replace current England manager Fabio Capello, whose contract will expire soon. Tottenham
striker, Peter Crouch has praised his manager, by saying “it's inevitable, to be honest, he's been fantastic at Tottenham, ever since he came in.” A win at Holland will strengthen the belief many hold concerning Redknapp ability to steer the English squad
to success.
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