Mauricio Pochettino had spent the previous evening exchanging gifts and good wishes with those from the land of his fathers.
The mayor of Virle Piemonte was down at the team hotel, bestowing upon the Tottenham manager an honorary citizenship and handing over a framed aerial photograph of the small town, south-west of Turin.
The mayor’s deputy tagged along, too, and he was a Pochettino himself, by the name of Daniele and a distant relative of the clan which had set sail for new frontiers in 1867.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino acknowledges the fans after the draw with Juventus
Christian Eriksen completed a fine comeback from Pochettino’s team in Turin on Tuesday
Pochettino spoke of his spiritual connection to a region he had never visited before and gave them a signed copy of his book, which reflects his rural upbringing on a farm in Murphy, Argentina, and a Spurs shirt.
When the game started against Juventus, a first competitive meeting between two grand clubs, it seemed as though his players had been infused by the same generosity of spirit.
Perhaps it was contagious. Gonzalo Higuain was awarded the freedom of the penalty box for the first, an exquisite volley, followed by the gift of a couple of penalties in the first-half.
Hugo Lloris might as well have handed over a sealed parchment entitling the bearers to a place in the quarter-finals of the competition as he went up for the coin toss.
Tottenham were error-strewn as Juventus hustled and Pochettino looked on thoughtfully and paced around his technical area.
Gonzalo Higuain gave the home side a two-goal lead inside the opening 10 minutes
Pochettino shows his frustration after his team’s poor start in the Champions League clash
These were not familiar characteristics of the team he has been forging and yet this was unknown territory for his players.
It is eight years since Tottenham’s last taste of Champions League knock-out football.
Harry Kane was still at school when they beat Max Allegri’s Milan with a Peter Crouch goal in the San Siro and made it to the quarter-finals of the competition before succumbing to Real Madrid.
This time, they beat Real to top the group although the achievement brought little reward from the seeding process as they were drawn against the Serie A champions for the last six years.
Pochettino seemed delighted, not simply to be heading for his ancestral home, but because he thought his team were ready to face a different test.
Spurs striker Harry Kane reduces the deficit with a cool finish in the first half
Higuain (right) blasts his penalty onto the crossbar in the final action before half-time
Not only against opponents of quality, which they can find regularly in the Premier League, but to tackle European veterans and address the unique pressures of European football at this stage of the season.
Tottenham swaggered into Turin in confident form and high spirits. Kane spoke in the build-up of his visualisation process, scoring in the stadium, lifting the famous trophy.
Then they froze when Juventus turned on the bright lights.
Within eight minutes Pochettino’s were searching for two goals to get back into a tie against team which had conceded only once since the middle of November.
Juventus had them where they wanted them, defended deep, invited Spurs on and sought to punish them on the break.
Eriksen draws the visitors level with a low free-kick midway through the second half
It would take some bottle to get back into this tie and Pochettino swelled with pride as his team made the necessary adjustments and fought back.
Of course, they rode their luck in a big way. Had Higuain buried a glorious chance to make it 3-0 on the half-hour, any hope of recovery would surely have been gone.
Similarly, it would have been a tall order had he converted the second penalty, smashed against the bar at the end of the first half.
By this time Kane had found the net and Tottenham were into a better rhythm with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli on the ball in dangerous areas, becoming more influential.
In fact, they opened up the Italian champions with surprising regularity and might have scored more.
Pochettino applauds his team after coming from behind to secure a positive away result
In the second-half, they engaged with Juventus and were prepared to make it uglier and Eriksen excelled, even before he scored the equaliser from a free-kick.
Spurs, to their credit, proved they could learn on the job and had as much bottle as they had quality inside the team.
Having survived a night they began atrociously, they have put themselves in a position to finish the job at Wembley, a venue where they have been getting stronger with each game.
Pochettino meanwhile emerged with his reputation enhanced on an emotional homecoming and the travelling fans sang his name as they headed into the night.
Real Madrid already like his style. Maybe, now, Juventus will, too. He is after all, one of their own.