Ahead of what feels like a pivotal night at Wembley, Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Llloris suggested it was time for Tottenham to show their ‘real face’.
It was a nice line and we know what Lloris meant. But it also begged the question about what this Tottenham team actually look like, or should look like.
Close your eyes and you can imagine Tottenham sweeping Juventus off Wembley’s green expanses on Wednesday evening. So far this season, they have done it to Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and, most memorably, Real Madrid. When their blood is up, Mauricio Pochettino’s team are a rare old sight.
Harry Kane looks on during the Tottenham training session on Tuesday morning
Mauricio Pochettino’s team know how to win big matches, now they must win big trophies
However, there remains a flip side. There remains something else to achieve and that involves winning. Not just big matches but big trophies.
Thus far Pochettino’s Tottenham have come up short against the truest barometer of all so on Wednesday there is more than just another memorable scalp to take, another memorable night to enjoy. There is another step to be taken towards what really matters. ‘Which people say that (we need to win a trophy)?’ asked the Spurs manager on Tuesday. ‘If you think that, I respect your opinion. You are entitled to give it.’
Yet the improvement Pochettino believes he has seen year on year at Tottenham must surely lead to at least a major final before long. Tottenham have the players, the manager and, crucially, the confidence.
Madrid were not just beaten at Wembley in the group stages but left a little embarrassed.
Spurs looked focused on the task at hand as they prepared for Wednesday’s clash at Wembley
BEWARE DYBALA!
After missing the first leg with injury, Paulo Dybala will be eager to make up for lost time. The Juventus forward has one of the best minutes-per-goal ratios in Serie A…
In Turin three weeks ago, Tottenham recovered from a cataclysmic start and showed themselves to be the better team on the night.
If people insist on talking about silverware it is only because Spurs now look perfectly set up to take a step through that doorway.
‘After four years here, the next step is to try to be consistently in the top four and fight with these big sides who were once on another level, by trying to be competitive with different tools,’ Pochettino said.
‘Trying to win one title would be fantastic for everyone and mean a lot because if we can win some trophies along the way it will be complete.
‘We are going to compete, and at the same time try to enjoy, because it’s a game to enjoy.
English striker Kane plays a pass on the eve of the Champions League clash with Juventus
‘If we are capable of performing in the way that we are normally used to doing, I’m sure tomorrow we will be close to a win and advancing to the next stage.’
The performances of English teams in Europe last month seemed to point to a return to eminence on the wider stage. Four goals for Manchester City, five for Liverpool.
Tottenham, too, wrote some headlines after conceding two early goals in Turin and they have every right to feel they are in the vanguard of English progress.
Juventus have appeared in two of the last three European finals, though were reasonably well beaten in both. They sit second to Napoli in a two-horse race at the top of Serie A and have lost only twice in 26 league games.
Gonzalo Higuain (left) and his Juve team-mates during Wednesday’s pitch inspection
But we remember what City did to Napoli — beating them 2-1 and 4-2 in the group stages — and wonder if the return to prominence of Italian football — a nation that has not qualified for the World Cup — has been exaggerated. By the same token, Pochettino’s description of Juventus as ‘one of the best teams in history’ seems a little top-heavy.
So maybe Wednesday evening will tell us much, about Tottenham and about Juventus.
Needing to win the game — or engineer a high-scoring draw — to progress, Juventus will have to take the game to Tottenham and that should suit Pochettino and his players perfectly.
‘I am a dreamer,’ said Pochettino. ‘This will be a fantastic battle with Juventus but we must not think too much about the consequences of the result.
‘We need to feel free. If we do that we will perform and we will have the chance to win. Then, at the end of the season, we will assess what we have done.’
Pochettino must surely lead his continually improving team to at least a major final before long