Nestled between the usual posts from the defeatists and doomsayers was a curious report on social media. Huddled in a Frankfurt pub before kick-off, a small group of Tottenham Hotspur supporters reached way, way back into their songbook.
“I’m loving Big Ange instead,” they sang, to the tune of Robbie Williams’ Angels. You may remember this little ditty from Ange Postecoglou’s famous 10-game start to life as Spurs boss, back when optimism outweighed cynicism across north London.
That feels like a long time ago. No doubt this rendition was delivered more out of forlorn hope, as a musical prayer of sorts, rather than an expression pride or confidence. The post was, of course, promptly ridiculed.
But those old vibes are threatening to come back.
That’s how fickle football can be – particularly in England, and particularly when it comes to this club. One result can change the outlook. One performance can reset the mood of millions. One night can save a bloke’s job. For now, at least.
Nobody gave Tottenham much of a chance against Eintracht Frankfurt, which was always a bit silly. They were the vastly better side in the first leg but went unrewarded, so they needed to win in Germany to keep their Europa League ambitions alive. But so intimidating was the atmosphere that awaited them, so mentally fragile is this Spurs team supposed to be, and so dark are their fans on their own team, that the occasion was widely expected to swallow them alive.
Instead, they ate.
Ange Postecoglou celebrates with Guglielmo Vicario after Tottenham’s win over Eintracht Frankfurt.Credit: AP
Tottenham won 1-0 and progressed to the semi-finals, 2-1 on aggregate. And now a berth in the final – and a chance to end the club’s 16-year trophy drought – is within reach.
The scenes at full-time said it all. After Spurs were forced to withstand immense pressure through a late onslaught from the hosts, Postecoglou fist-pumped the air at the final whistle and then was immediately mobbed by his support staff. Guglielmo Vicario jumped on the pile. One by one, the rest of his players embraced him, with feeling.
You could see it. The conspiracy theorists will do their thing, and chairman Daniel Levy’s opinion is another matter entirely, but it was abundantly clear that the football-facing elements of Tottenham Hotspur are 100 per cent behind their leader. This was unity in full display, total focus and maturity in the face of adversity and relentless outside noise, from the media and their own supporters.
Postecoglou before the Europa Cup quarter-final in Frankfurt.Credit: Getty Images
Postecoglou last week lamented a lack of attention from the “football gods” but in Frankfurt, they were blessed. It’s been overdue. Instead of them losing key players to injury, it was their opponents, whose talisman Mario Götze was forced off after just 17 minutes, clutching at his hamstring, instantly disrupting their rhythm.
Instead of them giving goals away, they were the recipients, thanks to the clumsiness of Frankfurt goalkeeper Kaua Santos, who had a blinder last week. This week he ironed out a brave James Maddison as he tracked a ball into the box from Cristian Romero; the resultant penalty was expertly slotted home by Dominic Solanke.
Instead of wasting chances, they watched Frankfurt’s Rasmus Kristensen burn three in quick succession late in the second half.
These bits of good fortune shouldn’t detract from the reality: Spurs were the better team, and deserved to win.
Dominic Solanke.Credit: AP
Postecoglou’s critics will say that if they played like this more often, they’d be less critical. In fairness to them, they’d be right, but in fairness to him, they ignore a lot of mitigating circumstances.
And it’s worth noting that he perhaps conceded some ground to them: in the second half, he ditched some of his textbook tactical traits and ordered his team to dig in. There were more long, aimless goal kicks and clearances to nobody than you might see in full seasons of Angeball. His two second-half substitutions were to replace their two wingers with a defensive midfielder and a third centre-back.
Call it what you want – pragmatism, adaptation, self-preservation – but it worked, and that was all that mattered here.
Next up is Bodø/Glimt, champions of Norway in four of the last five seasons, after they beat Lazio in the other quarter-final on this side of the draw in a dramatic penalty shootout. They are based in a small town just north of the Arctic Circle, with a population smaller than Tottenham’s stadium capacity – and they play on an artificial pitch, so making the most of the first leg in London on May 1 will be crucial.
The instinct will be to write them off immediately, but Postecoglou knows that will be a mistake: his Celtic side was humbled by the Norwegians in the knockout round play-offs of the UEFA Conference League in 2022. As compelling as Ange’s personal redemptive arc is, Bodø/Glimt’s is the true underdog story of this tournament. Spurs are the big dogs who should be winning it all.
Post-match, Postecoglou was reminded about his notorious second-season trophy record, a fact – not a boast, not a promise, not a vow, but a fact, despite how it has been twisted – which has become a stick to beat him with.
“People like to mock and ridicule and diminish my achievements,” he said. “That’s fine. I’ll keep doing what I do.”
He had more to say to the written press.
“I am the same manager today that I was yesterday, so if people think us winning tonight makes me a better manager, or whoever thinks I wasn’t doing a good job yesterday, should be feeling the same way,” Postecoglou said.
“I don’t care, it doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t affect what I do.
“For me, it’s always about the dressing room. Do the players believe? Do the staff believe? That’s much more important than what others may make of me.
“So, unfortunately for a lot of you, you’re going to have to put up with me for a little bit longer, mate, so let’s see how that goes.”
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