Spurs squad boasts 15 more trophy wins than Liverpool counterparts

A lot is made of the fact that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino have yet to win a trophy with their current clubs.

Spurs have not lifted a piece of major silverware since beating Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup final, while Liverpool’s last trophy win came in the same competition in 2012.

But one of those barren runs will end in style on Saturday night when the two clubs meet in an all-English Champions League final in Madrid.

Klopp walked past the trophy after Liverpool lost last season’s final against Real Madrid

Saturday’s all-English final will take place at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium

It will be Klopp’s fourth cup final with Liverpool and a second in the Champions League, after seeing his side lose 3-1 to Real Madrid in last year’s Kiev showpiece.

Klopp also lost a Champions League final as manager of Dortmund — to Bayern Munich in 2013 — but he did guide the Westfalenstadion outfit to two Bundesliga titles and one German Cup before moving to Anfield.

Pochettino has never won a trophy as a manager. The closest he came was in 2015 when Spurs were beaten by Chelsea in the League Cup final. 

But Spurs do have 11 players who know what it feels like to win major silverware. Tottenham’s current squad includes 23 players who have featured in their Champions League campaign to date and, between them, they have won 52 career trophies.

Liverpool have used 18 different players in Europe this season and that group has won 37 major titles.

Lucas Moura, who scored a stunning hat-trick in his side’s semi-final win over Ajax, is the most decorated player in Tottenham’s squad with 12 titles — 11 of which came during his time at Paris Saint-Germain.

Lucas Moura scored a stunning hat-trick to help Tottenham beat Ajax in the semi-finals

Brazilian Moura won 11 trophies during his time with former club Paris Saint-Germain

Liverpool’s most prolific winner is Swiss playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri. He has 10 winners’ medals, including one courtesy of Bayern’s 2013 Champions League victory.

Daniel Sturridge has also won the Champions League — with Chelsea in 2012 — but neither he nor Shaqiri played in the final.

When it comes to European final experience, Liverpool have the edge.

Not only did 11 members of their current squad feature in last year’s Champions League final, seven of them started in the 2016 Europa League final defeat by Sevilla.

Ten of Liverpool’s starters from last season’s Champions League final are still at the club

Seven players who started for Liverpool in the 2016 Europa League final could play in Madrid

Spurs have just three players who have played in a European club final. Toby Alderweireld came off the bench for Atletico Madrid in the 2016 Champions League final, which Real won on penalties. 

Davinson Sanchez played the full 90 minutes for Ajax in 2017 when they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United in the Europa League finale.

Fernando Llorente has final experience in both the Champions League and UEFA Cup, losing both times he stepped on the pitch. He was introduced as an 85th-minute substitute for Juventus in their 2015 Champions League loss to Barcelona in Berlin. And he played the full match for Athletic Bilbao when they lost 3-0 to Atletico in 2012’s sidekick final.

Llorente does have a Europa League winner’s medal though, having been an unused substitute for Sevilla against Liverpool in 2016.

The only player currently at either Spurs or Liverpool who can boast about playing in and winning a European final is Reds left back Alberto Moreno. He was on the pitch for all of Sevilla’s 2014 Europa League triumph — which saw Benfica defeated in a penalty shootout after a goalless 120 minutes.

Defender Alberto Moreno (left) played in and won the 2014 Europa League final with Sevilla