Football Trip to Tottenham

About Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

In 1899, Tottenham moved their home games to White Hart Lane. At this time, Tottenham did not have room for many fans and it is said that their first home game brought in 5000 fans. Major renovations began and by the start of World War I, the stadium could hold around 50,000. In the 1930s, the renovations continued and White Hart Lane could now accommodate around 70,000 fans. Over time, most stadiums in England were changed from standing to seating, which had consequences for the number of seats Tottenham could offer. Before White Hart Lane was demolished in 2017, it had approximately 36,000 seats.

Construction of the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium began in 2017. It was important that the new stadium be located in the same area as White Hart Lane. Most of the old site, where the 118-year-old White Hart Lane was located, was used for the new stadium. The first game saw Tottenham defeat Crystal Palace 2-0 in front of 59,215 spectators.

As a football fan, it is highly recommended to visit the new stadium. It has an impressive south stand with seating for 17,500 fans and is the country’s third largest club stadium, surpassed only by Old Trafford and London Stadium. It is also worth noting that the new Bottoms Up technology can fill 10,000 beers per minute at the stadium. Overall, an impressive stadium.

How to get to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:

Metro: The two closest stations to the stadium are White Hart Lane and Northumberland Park, both of which are a short walk from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Both stations can be reached via the Victoria Line, which can be boarded from, for example, Seven Sisters, Tottenham Hale or one of the more central stations in London.

Bus: There are various buses that run from Seven Sisters metro station and stop in front of the stadium. The following bus routes are recommended: 149, 259, 279, 349 or W3.

Taxi: From central London, you can take a taxi to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This can take between 35-45 minutes or more depending on traffic.

Tottenham reached their first ever Champions League final, but it was anything but easy. There was drama, excitement, and hat-trick heroes. Read the story of one of the greatest underdog stories in Champions League history.

Tottenham’s Champions League schedule was anything but easy. They were drawn in a group with Barcelona, Inter Milan, and PSV. The group was dubbed the “group of death” and with good reason.

Inter Milan vs Tottenham

Tottenham’s first match was against Inter Milan at San Siro. Tottenham had full control of the game and it looked like they would easily win the match. Tottenham went ahead in the 53rd minute when a shot from Christian Eriksen was deflected and went into the net. For the first 85 minutes of the game, Tottenham appeared to completely dominate the match without any response from Inter Milan. But Mauro Icardi finally scored for Inter Milan in the 85th minute, with their first shot on target. Tottenham players began to panic and the misfortune happened in the 92nd minute. Matias Vecino scored for Inter Milan with a header. Inter won the game 2-1 and Tottenham returned to London without any points.

Tottenham vs Barcelona

Tottenham’s schedule included FC Barcelona on matchday 2 at Wembley. This match was anything but easy. Two fantastic goals from Phillip Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic gave Barcelona an early lead. However, Harry Kane got Tottenham back on track when he scored in the 52nd minute. Unfortunately for Tottenham, Lionel Messi was on fire that evening. With two goals from Messi, Barcelona won 4-2 over Tottenham. It looked completely hopeless for Tottenham, with 0 points after 2 games, it seemed to be an early exit for Tottenham.

PSV vs Tottenham

PSV vs Tottenham was the game that many expected to be the easy game for Tottenham. But like the other games, Tottenham had problems. PSV’s Lozano scored 30 minutes into the game and things looked bleak for Spurs again. But two goals from Harry Kane and Lucas Moura quickly put them ahead in the game. Everything seemed to be going well for Tottenham, they kept creating chances, but it was not meant to be. Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris received a red card. Now Tottenham had to manage the last 15 minutes with one man down. Unfortunately for Tottenham, PSV scored in the 87th minute. The game ended 2-2.

Tottenham got their first point in the group stage, but according to statistics, it did not look very good for them. No team had ever advanced from the group stage with only 1 point after 3 games.

Tottenham vs PSV

Back to Wembley, Tottenham finally got their first win. They won 2-1 over PSV. But as always for Tottenham, it had to go (almost) wrong. PSV scored already in the 2nd minute of the game, and it looked like Tottenham would finally be out of the tournament. But striker Harry Kane had other thoughts. With two goals from Harry Kane in the 78th and 89th minutes of the game, Tottenham finally won their first game in the group stage and were still alive.

Tottenham vs Inter Milan

Once again, Tottenham had to beat Inter Milan to have any hope of staying in the Champions League. However, Inter Milan made life difficult for Tottenham, as they only needed a draw to advance. As always, Tottenham had to wait until the last few minutes to win the game. Christian Eriksen scored in the 80th minute and won the game 1-0. Now Tottenham had to go to Camp Nou. All they needed to do to advance in the Champions League was to emulate whatever Inter gets against PSV. If Inter Milan won 2-0 against PSV, then Tottenham had to win 2-0 against FC Barcelona.

Barcelona vs Tottenham

The Europa League seemed to be on the cards for Tottenham as Ousmane Dembele scored an early goal for Barcelona. But Lucas Moura came on and scored for Tottenham in the 85th minute. The match ended 1-1, and all Tottenham needed to advance in the Champions League was for PSV and Inter Milan to draw 1-1. Luckily for Tottenham, the match between PSV and Inter Milan ended in a 1-1 draw and miraculously, Tottenham advanced to the round of 16 in the Champions League.

Tottenham vs Dortmund (Round of 16)

Tottenham vs Dortmund was probably the first challenge for Tottenham, which they won convincingly. In the first match at Wembley Stadium, Tottenham won 3-0 with an early goal from Son Heung-min, Jan Vertonghen, and Fernando Llorente. In the return match between Dortmund and Tottenham, Dortmund was up for it. With many great chances on goal, it looked like Dortmund was out to do the impossible and try to win the match. But a heroic performance from Hugo Lloris prevented Dortmund from scoring. Harry Kane crushed Dortmund’s hopes when he scored to make it 1-0 in the second half.

Tottenham won 4-0 overall against Dortmund.

Tottenham vs Manchester City (Quarter-finals)

The match between Tottenham and Manchester City had everything any football fan would want to see. Tottenham played their first match at their new stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Early in the match, Manchester City was awarded a penalty. Sergio Aguero stepped up to take the penalty. But luckily for Tottenham, Hugo Lloris saved the penalty. Manchester City, however, continued to press. It looked like Manchester City would score the first goal. Tottenham’s star striker, Harry Kane, suffered a long-term injury and had to be substituted. Luckily for Tottenham, they had Heung-min Son. 12 minutes before the end of the match, Son scored for Tottenham. Tottenham won the match and could take a 1-0 lead to Etihad Stadium.

Second leg

The second leg between Manchester City and Tottenham is probably the game everyone remembers. Tottenham’s game plan was to play defensively and defend their 1-0 lead. That plan was ruined as early as the 4th minute. Raheem Sterling scored early in the match. Once again, Tottenham needed Heung-min Son. He scored two goals in the 7th and 10th minute, and now Tottenham led the English champions by two goals. The lead did not last long, as Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling scored two quick goals. In 20 minutes, the score was 2-3 to Manchester City, which is super unusual.

Tottenham, however, still had the lead because they had more away goals. In the 59th minute, Tottenham fell behind in the match for the first time. Sergio Aguero scored a fantastic goal from a difficult angle. Now Tottenham had to score a goal, or else they were on their way out of the Champions League. Fernando Llorente came up. The striker who started the match, because Harry Kane was injured, had an important role to play in the match. In the 73rd minute, Tottenham was awarded a corner kick, and of all the people who could have scored, it was Fernando Llorente. Tottenham players and fans started to cheer, while Manchester City players started to complain to the referee, as they believed that Fernando Llorente scored with his arm. The referee went to VAR and got the goal approved. Tottenham was back in the game and had the lead.

Now to the most dramatic moment of the game. In the very last minute of the match, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling scored. Manchester City celebrated wildly, thinking they had won the game. But this was the first time VAR (Video Assistant Referee) was truly involved in a controversial way. VAR determined that Aguero was actually offside and the goal should not have been allowed. This meant that Tottenham won the game and advanced to the semi-finals.

Tottenham vs Ajax (Semi-finals)

Once again, as always, Tottenham had to do it the hard way. The first match between the two teams was at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Ajax played impressively in the first leg and won the game 1-0. In the second leg at Johan Cruyff Arena, Ajax once again dominated Tottenham. Ajax scored two goals within the first half hour, meaning that Tottenham needed to score three goals to advance to the Champions League final. Tottenham’s squad was not at its strongest, with Harry Kane still injured and the other players not in top form. However, at the 55th minute mark, Tottenham, and especially Lucas Moura, began to play well. Lucas Moura scored two quick goals, leaving them only needing one more to reach the Champions League final. The goal had to come in the very last minute, as it always seems to. Dele Alli made a clever pass to Lucas Moura, who was left completely open in the penalty area. Lucas Moura scored the goal, sending Tottenham to their first Champions League final. Lucas Moura’s heroic hat-trick earned him a rare 10/10 rating from L’Equipe.

Tottenham vs Liverpool (Final)

The final between Liverpool and Tottenham in 2019 had high expectations. People expected great things, as both teams won their semifinal matches in dramatic fashion. However, the game was not as interesting as expected. Liverpool was awarded a controversial penalty in the first minutes, which Mohammad Salah converted. Liverpool then went into defense mode, and Tottenham could not break through. In the end, Divock Origi scored in the last minutes, which sealed the game and gave Liverpool their first Champions League victory in 14 years. Tottenham was, of course, disappointed with the result, having fought so hard to get there.