Spurs have made it two wins out of two in the Europa League and are so far proving their worth as one of the favourites to win the entire competition in seven months – but how far can Tottenham really go?
Tottenham do hold a strong history in the Europa League, winning the competition twice, in 1972 and 1984, when the cup was named the UEFA Cup – but Spurs’ involvement in the modern competition has been less impressive.
Since 2011, Tottenham have been involved in UEFA’s second-tier European competition seven times. The furthest Spurs have gotten is the round of 16, where they were infamously knocked out by a Dynamo Zagreb side that comically were managerless for their second leg 3-0 victory due to the Croatian side’s head coach being in prison. (The Athletic)
It’s those types of storylines that have coloured Tottenham fans’ recent memories of the Europa League.
Ange Postecoglou wields the chance to change the attitude of fans towards the Europa League. Winning your first two games and blooding some of the club’s most exciting young players while still showing sincerity towards the competition is certainly a good way to start.
A dimension that often can be the determining factor as to whether a club lifts the Europa League is depth of squad, and the quality of that depth.
The evidence is clear to see. Take last season’s final for example – Bayer Leverkusen were almost definitely the best team in the competition, but once they’d reached the final, Xavi Alonso’s side looked leggy and as though the treacherous German league season had left their tanks on zero as Atalanta shockingly swept aside the Bundesliga champions.
Chelsea are one of the clearest examples of squad depth playing a key part in winning the cup. They had the luxury of rotating Gonzalo Higuain and Oliver Giroud throughout the 2018/19 season, with the latter starting the final and getting his name on the scoresheet.
The Blues also had incredible depth on the wings with Pedro, Hazard, Willian and Hudson-Odoi who were key in ensuring that Sarri’s side not only won the final but reached it undefeated.
Tottenham, unlike perhaps in previous years, do have enough strength in depth to go all the way in Europe, although it does obviously depend on how long Spurs last in the two domestic cups also.
Ange Postecoglou has been able to make six changes in his first Europa League game and seven in his most recent and Tottenham have comfortably won, a statement that couldn’t be made when Spurs faced Mura and Dynamo Zagreb only a handful of years ago.
The emergence of young stars such as Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear should only help lighten the load for Postecoglou’s squad with only a seismic injury crisis such as the one Spurs suffered against Chelsea last season, able to affect Tottenham’s squad depth that appears to currently be providing Postecoglou’s first-choice eleven rest bite – in the group stage at least.
Tottenham were widely touted as the favourites to win the tournament before a ball was kicked, with Spurs already potentially proving their worth not only with their two wins. The fact that Postecoglou’s men comfortably swept aside one of the fiercest rivals for the Europa League, Manchester United, 3-0 last weekend will only enhance their credentials.
Ajax and Roma are two other sides that join Spurs at the top of the list of fancied sides to win the Europa League, but Tottenham have the potential to already have the upper hand against Roma on match week 5 of the competition when they host the Italian giants.
The most important change to the newly formatted Europa League that works in Tottenham’s favour is the fact that UEFA altered the competition to mean that Champions League sides can no longer drop down into the second-tier UEFA cup.
Of the last five Europa League finals, three of them have contained a team that has dropped out of the Champions League. (Europa League)
Spurs therefore won’t face any surprises should they progress to the knockout stages and can remain confident that they will be the pacesetters of the competition, with many fans likely believing that Tottenham hold the capability to beat any team in the Europa League.
Spurs biggest threat to Europa League success may be themselves, with a race to finish inside the top four perhaps taking precedence over a Europa League campaign.
The Europa League has often been a sweetener for sides who’ve had poor domestic seasons. Sevilla are serial winners of the competition and it’s understandable why, the Spanish side are always a way off winning the title which is dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Sevilla also finds themselves frequently out of touching distance from Champions League qualification too, allowing the Spanish side to pour all their efforts into lifting the Europa League yet again.
Tottenham may face an issue that Sevilla have benefitted from. Should Postecoglou’s side only rack up enough points to teeter just in or outside of the top four, it’s conceivable that importance and focus may be placed on Champions League qualification through the league – however, as earlier stated, the hope will be that Spurs’ depth will help see them through even if they chose to rotate.
The biggest attractor of the Europa League is also the reason why so many Spurs fans may dismiss their chances of winning the competition; the fact it involves winning a trophy – something Tottenham haven’t done for over sixteen years.
In recent times, Spurs have continually fallen agonisingly short when they are offered a glimpse of silverware in a wait that has started to agitate fans.
Ange Postecoglou, who has famously reminded people that he is always successful in his second season, could be the man to change Tottenham’s final fate.
Apart from Heung-Min Son and Ben Davies, there aren’t any Tottenham first-team players who have experienced some of Tottenham’s most ‘Spursy’ moments in recent memory with new players providing new hope for fans.
The former Celtic manager has often been accredited with breathing belief into players and utilising the pain that players suffered in their first season under him to achieve success in his second.
Ange Postecoglou’s former assistant coach at Yokohama Mariners put it best, explaining:
“Some players loved that and others were fearful. That is normal. That’s part of developing a brand of football. We had to break down barriers, give them confidence and coach them in ways that gave them solutions and helped them to improve. The tough moments are the most important because you grow”. (The Athletic)
The hope will therefore be that Ange Postecoglou’s winning mentality could well provide Tottenham the edge they lacked under Mauricio Pochettino to lift an elusive piece of silverware with a final in Bilbao next May feeling a more realistic possibility with every impressive performance under the Australian.
So, can Tottenham actually win the Europa League this season. The simple answer is they can. The more optimistic Spurs fan would argue they should.
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