Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy scoured the sporting world in search of inspiration for the never-quite-ready-to-open new stadium at White Hart Lane and decided he would try to create something akin to Borussia Dortmund’s imposing Sudtribune of the Westfalenstadion.
The ‘Yellow Wall’ as they call it can hold nearly 25,000 fans in a single tier stand but it is not the capacity or the design which intimidates it is the noise and energy so often generated from behind the goal which was defended by Spurs in the second half last night.
This was the challenge for Mauricio Pochettino and his players in Germany: to silence this din and, although there were heart-stopping moments in the first half, this was a night when his ‘White Wall’ was strong and simply refused to yield in the face of a fast and fluent attacking side.
Tottenham Hotspur keeper Hugo Lloris was magnificent in keeping a clean sheet
The Spurs captain made a string of superb first half stops to deny Borussia Dortmund
Jan Vertonghen delivered a message of intent with a brilliant early tackle to halt Marco Reus, and his Spurs team-mates hurled bodies into the line of fire as Hugo Lloris produced flying saves when all else failed.
It was a few minutes before half-time when a chorus of ‘come on you Spurs’ cut through the air and offered a clue that this was going to be a good night for Tottenham.
Only those who follow Spurs, with their unwanted reputation for failure clinging stubbornly despite all the good vibes of the Pochettino era, could be anxious about a three-goal cushion, but there was nothing to fear with Pochettino’s team learning and maturing nicely in this competition.
Those 45 minutes when Dortmund threw all they had at Lloris’ goal and still could not reduce the deficit – was the key passage of play and the manager deserves credit for tweaking his formation to a 4-5-1 shape, pulling Heung-min Son into midfield to reinforce the defensive shield.
Dortmund’s ‘yellow wall’ unveiled a mosaic of their 1997 Champions League win before kick-off
But Tottenham’s resolute defending managed to stand firm against the wall of noise
Dortmund supporters’ attempts to rally their side came unstuck against Spurs in the last-16
The Londoners disturbed the rhythms of the game, frustrated their hosts and Harry Kane’s nerveless finish stunned Dortmund into silent surrender. It was an immaculate European performance in every sense and three-and-a-half thousand fans started to celebrate.
‘Where’s your famous Yellow Wall?’ they crowed, a sliver of white, high in one corner of this yellow-and-black box. Then: ‘Is this the Emirates?’ And: ‘Auf Wiedersehen, Auf Wiedersehen,’ which even raised a titter among the home fans.
Spurs really are developing a taste for the high life, and stride into the last eight with reason to believe they are getting the hang of Europe’s most prestigious cup competition despite teetering on the brink of an exit since the first game when they lost to Inter Milan in stoppage time.
Lloris and Ben Davies both made crucial blocks in a solid defensive display for Tottenham
Julian Weigl could only look on as Dortmund failed to make a breakthrough before the break
At the end of October, Luuk de Jong’s late equaliser in Eindhoven left them with one point from three games. Then in December, they trailed 1-0 in Barcelona with 84 minutes gone and were booking into the Europa League.
Pochettino has bemoaned his ill fortune after nearly two years without a home game and those pesky fixture schedulers ganging up on Spurs. ‘Circumstances,’ he usually calls it, but this European campaign has been blessed with good fortune, right up to this draw against Dortmund, a team losing their way with just one win in eight.
He faced Barcelona without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, and even after Lucas Moura’s thrilling equaliser in the Nou Camp, a helping hand came from the Dutch as PSV held out for a draw in Milan as Inter peppered their goal with 23 shots, scoring only once.
Jan Vertonghen made a superb sliding tackle to deny Marco Reus a goal scoring chance
It has not all been a question of luck, of course. Pochettino’s chest has swelled with pride at the fighting qualities on display as they found late winners against Inter and PSV in London.
Late Wembley goals gave them a grip on this tie on a night when they were without two key goal-getters Kane and Dele Alli but they knew they faced a test of nerve in Germany.
Reus lit the fuse on the eve of the game, summoning the Westfalenstadion to do its thing and Norbert Dickel, former Dortmund striker turned legendary warm-up man on the mic, revved up the home crowd.
Tottenham supporters soon took over making the noise once Harry Kane scored
Lucien Favre laced his team with goal potential and the Bundesliga leaders came out at a breathless tempo. Favre’s team score goals at home with three or more in their previous four home games and an early one would have preyed on Tottenham’s worst fears.
Jadon Sancho flickered on the right, Mario Gotze drifted between the lines and Reus was the real threat, mobile and intelligent but only just back from injury and unable to keep it going into the second half.
Tottenham had drawn the sting like European veterans. Dortmund were unable to generate the same energy after the interval and Kane’s clinical finish killed the contest.
The away end went up like the Boxpark in Croydon during a World Cup summer. Hundreds plastic cups of German ale sailed into the night sky and the celebrations began.
Tottenham’s professional display earned them a famous win on their way to the quarter-finals