Mauricio Pochettino hailed Tottenham’s efforts in defeat as they crumbled against Juventus and became the first English team to crash out of Champions League.
Son Heung-min gave Spurs the lead but the Italian champions struck twice in three second-half minutes to win 2-1 on the night, 4-3 on aggregate, and move into the last eight.
‘I feel very proud, we played well against a very good team,’ said Pochettino, refuting the theory that his dreams of glory had been transformed into a Wembley nightmare.
Mauricio Pochettino said he was ‘very proud’ of his Tottenham players on Wednesday night
‘Why a nightmare? This is football. I still am a dreamer. We dominated. Overall in two games we were much better. But at this level in three minutes the tie turned for Juventus.
‘If you don’t create, don’t play, don’t dominate and you lose to a team that is better than you, you can say we need this and that.
‘But when you show similar qualities and compete on the same level against a team who played in two finals in the last three seasons, you can feel proud and happy.
‘You must understand in football you cannot always win. Only one can go to the next stage. Unfortunately for us, we are out.
‘Now we try to see the future in a positive way and improve. We must keep going and try to see the future and play again in this competition. In football you can’t stop.’
Juventus boss Max Allegri, however, insisted his team’s experience helped them keep their nerve and turn the tie, scoring with their first two attempts on target.
‘We are used to these games,’ said Allegri. ‘That’s why we go in with a clear head and feeling calm.
‘We have been in eight or nine finals and we are part of the history of this competition.
‘Sometimes you can be negative and say yes but you’ve lost some of those finals but we are improving as a team. It is great to walk away from this temple of football with a winning feeling.’
Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini echoed the thoughts of his manager and claimed Tottenham’s reputation for crumbling kept his spirits up.
‘It’s the history of the Tottenham,’ said Chiellini. ‘They always create many chances and score so much but in the end they miss always something to arrive at the end.
‘We believe in the history. The history is important and the experience is important and tonight we used our skill and arrive at the win. ‘We have been in knockout stages and two of the last three finals and, sure, four years ago we did not have this experience but growing up year by year and match by match we improve with many players.
‘It is very difficult we know because this year there are all the big clubs and but we are here and we believe until the end.’