Flashback: Last time we faced a European champion Part 1

Tottenham take on Real Madrid in the Berneabau tonight, but it isn't the first time Spurs have faced the reigning European Champions in the group stage of the Champions. It happened in 2010 when Spurs played then Champions Inter Milan at the San Siro and then a return at White Hart Lane. In today's piece I will look back at that night in the San Siro, when a certain Welshman stole all the headlines.

20th October 2010

Spurs visit the San Siro on the back of a draw away to Werder Bremen on opening week and an impressive 4-1 home win v Fc Twente.

Spurs are without the suspended Rafa Van Der Vaart after the Dutchman was dismissed against Twente.

Inter came in to this game with sort of similar results but opposite teams. They had drawn 2-2 away to FC Twente in matchday 1, before demolishing Werder Bremen 4-0 at the San Siro. 

The game started horribly for Spurs. Javier Zanetti opened the scoring for Inter before Heurelho Gomes was given his marching orders for bringing down Jonathan Biabiany in the box. Samuel Eto'o doubled the lead from the spot before Dejan Stankovic added a third. The first half demolition was completed when Eto'o added his second of the game, 10 minutes before half time. Things looked really bleak for Spurs.

Then came a the savior from Wales. Gareth Bale, announced himself to the world in the second half. Bale scored his first shortly after the interval, as he rips past Maicon, which might become a theme i think, and waltz's past Zanetti before burying it in the bottom right corner.  His second towards the end of the 90 was very similar but his third was a classy finish after Lennon had sped into the box and played it across to Bale who slotted it again into the bottom right. 

Bale's hat trick may not have been enough to get Spurs any points, but it laid the foundation for what was to come in the return leg, which i will save for another time. 

5 things we learnt from London Bees v Spurs Ladies

Spurs are superb going forward

Spurs Ladies have a forward line which I feel could rival any in the league. Wendy Martin was on form again, more on her later, but the support behind her were excellent throughout. Bianca Baptiste, Sarah Wiltshire and Sophie Mclean created so many opportunities both for Martin and other team mates on the field. Wiltshire was brilliant throughout the first half regularly giving the Bees right
back issues throughout the first half and did the same to the left back until she was substituted mid way through the half. Spurs will be strong force going forward this season and if they can keep the defence secure they can go far.

Ashleigh Neville was incredible as LB/LWB

Neville was a revelation today against the Bees. She was as good going forward as she was at the back. Neville was tackling hard and strong throughout and it was her dispossession of the Bees right
midfielder that led to the second goal. Her determination to win the ball back was brilliant to see and exactly what you want from your defender. Neville linked up brilliantly with Wiltshire throughout the first half and Spurs could have a really strong partnership in future games.


London Bees struggled to find a cutting edge
A quick note on the hosts today. The Bees started off really brightly, but were deflated when the first goal went in. They created chances for themselves but lacked that killer instinct in front of goal. They had a lot of chances towards the end of the game but couldn't get that vital equaliser. Jo Wilson made
the game more of a contest by scoring before the break but the Bees really looked lackluster in front of goal, but were excellent in their build up.

Spurs got exposed on the right 

Lucia Leon I feel had a hard afternoon as the Bees left midfielder ran her ragged throughout. She was obviously under the same instruction as Neville of getting forward and helping the attack as much as
possible, but at points she was caught out of position and had to rely on either her partner down the right or Renee Hector at CB. It helped that Hector was solid in CB and quashed the Bees attacks immediately. Leon was solid but i worry against the better sides in this division her weaknesses will be exposed.


Wendy Martin is so calm in front of goal

Martin as hinted at before was in brilliant form once again. Her two goals won Spurs the game and were of varying quality. Her first was a real poachers finish as she capitilised on poor Bees defending after ball in from the left was poorly dealt with. Her second was more self created, Neville won the
ball back on the left and played it into Martin who calmly took it around the keeper and smashed it into the Bees net. Martin will be vital to Spurs' success this season and if she keeps firing who knows where they could go.

Who are the USSF and what do they do

Football or Soccer across the pond has gone through many changes since the formation of its governing body in 1913.

The United States Soccer federation was originally named United States Football Association when it was formed in 1913 in Chicago, Illinois. The Association was one of the first member states of FIFA when it was given provisional membership in August 1913. The USFA was given full membership at the FIFA congress in Oslo on June 24 1914.

The USFA brought together the first USMT (United States Men’s Team) in 1916 for a tour of Norway and Sweden, the side ended the tour with a respectable 3-1-2 record.

In 1921, the USFA sanctioned the creation of the first American Professional Soccer League. There were eight franchises for the league which were Fall River, Mass.; Philadelphia; Jersey City Celtics, N.J.; Todd Shipyard of Brooklyn, N.Y.; New York FC; Falco FC of Holyoke, Mass.; and JP Coats of Pawtucket, R.I.

The USA were among the teams to play at the first World Cup in Uruguay in 1930, Bert Patenuade was the tournament’s third top goal scorer and was the first player to reach three World Cup goals.

The rebranding of the association happened just after the Second World War. The association is now called U.S Soccer Football Association. It was then changed once again in 1974 dropping the word Football from the title.

The rebranded association sanctioned the transfer of one the biggest names in the game, Pele, when he joined the New York Cosmos in April 1975.

They then, made their first World Cup bid when they went for the 1986 World Cup but ultimately lost out to fellow CONCACAF members Mexico.

There was a minor crisis in 1985 when the two professional soccer leagues in the Country ceased their operations, but there was light at the end of the tunnel as after an all-star game in Pasadena California, FIFA officials recommended that the USA make another bid for 1994. At the second attempt they were successful and would now bring the world to America in 1994.

The association had to form a new league and gather the resources to compete at their own World Cup. They formed the MLS on 17^th December 1993, to give the country credibility in the eyes of the footballing world. The 1994 World Cup was a huge success and if it wasn’t for Diana Ross’ dreadful penalty at the opening ceremony the association would have had one of the best tournaments ever. That World Cup made a star of defender Alexi Lalas, as a side from his magnificent beard and hair, he was the USMT shining star. The side went out to eventual winners Brazil.

It isn’t just the mens game where the association govern, the USWT is arguably the more successful of the two. The USWT won their first World Cup in 1991 which prompted the USFA to bid for the 1999 Women’s World Cup which was successful. The USWT won the tournament on home soil after beating China Women 5-4 on penalties. After a medical outbreak prevented China hosting the tournament in 2003, the USFA had the huge task of hosting another tournament with just four months prep time. They would go onto lose to Germany in the semi-finals.

The association received major boosts when teams in the MLS went out and signed some more of the

worlds biggest names when L.A Galaxy signed English superstar David Beckham from Real Madrid in 2007. This opened the door to other stars crossing the Atlantic like Robbie Keane, Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard.

In June 2017, FIFA approved the association’s fourth name change to the United States Soccer Federation

That brief history of the United States Soccer Federation, hopefully gave a better understanding of where football came from in the USA. Now it’s time to look at what the USSF do now in terms of governance and how it acts when any controversies come their way.

The USSF is still based in Chicago, Illinois. The president is Sunil Galati and he is supported by Carlos Cordeiroa and Dan Flynn.

The USFF oversees and promotes the development of national teams starting from the age of under 14’s to the senior teams of both men and women. They also develop the U.S Paralympic national team for when they compete in the Paralympics and World championships.

The USSF strive to push the development of young players, this is exemplified in the state of the art training facility at the StubHub Center in Carson, California which was opened in 2003. The USSF is has also commissioned the building of a National Training and Development center in Kansas City which is set to open December this year.

They also govern the biggest youth league in the country which is the United States Youth Soccer Association. They preside over the MLS which is now in its 24^th year and the newly rebranded National Women’s Soccer League which is now in its fourth term.

The USSF isn’t safe from controversies as quite a few have happened over the last five years. As in 2014, parents and former players filed a class action law suit against the federation, FIFA and other soccer organisations for failure to implement policies to prevent, evaluate and manage concussion injuries sustained by players. As a result, in 2015, the USSF unveiled a new safety initiative aimed at addressing head injuries in the sport. The new policies include, eliminating headers in players aged 10 and under, whilst reducing heading practice in 11-13 year olds. Other rules included modifications to the substitution rule to allow those suspected of a head injury to be taken off without it weakening the team in question.

The USSF have also been questioned by the lesser soccer leagues as to their protection of the MLS to maintain its position of the number one league in the country. Their issue came from the USSF benefits from the financial dealings with the MLS, which it doesn’t have with other leagues. This is seen as an incentive to preserve the MLS from competition. In 2015, the NASL took issue with the fact the USSF made rule changes to make it harder for the league to gain division one status with the MLS.

There has also been questions of the competitiveness of the MLS. As former USMT coach Jurgen Klinsmann said that American players need to move to Europe to further their careers. He said this is due to the top down structure the USSF implement which puts pressure on the best American players to stay in the MLS which he believes hampers the national teams’ competitiveness in international competition. This could mildly be proven in the fact that some of the country’s best players over the last few years like Clint Dempsey, Christian Pulisic and Tim Howard all had to move to Europe to further their careers.

Well, I hope this covers where the USSF came from and what it does now. 

Where are they now: Spurs 125th anniversary game

10 Years ago today, Tottenham celebrated their 125th anniversary with a breathless 4-4 draw with Aston Villa.

In this article, I will be looking at what happened to that starting XI in the 10 years that have gone by.

GK- Paul Robinson
This turned out to be Robinson's last season at the Lane. The former England no.1 joined Blackburn Rovers for £3.5 million in July 2008. Robinson had a solid couple of seasons with Rovers, but he was unable to prevent the sides relegation in 11/12. After being dropped by Rovers in December 2012, Robinson couldn't fight his way back into the team due to new signings and injuries. In January 2016, Robinson joined Burnley, originally till the end of the season. His contract was renewed due to Burnleys promotion back into the big time. Robinson announced his retirement in July 2017

RB- Pascal Chimbonda
A journeyman of English football. This was Chimbonda's first spell with Spurs. After this game Chimbonda, starred in Spurs' League Cup final win, he also missed a vital penalty in the UEFA Cup
against PSV. He joined Sunderland in July 2008. His stay on Wearside was short lived as he returned to North London after only six months. Chimbonda only played a further five matches for Spurs before moving onto Blackburn in 2009. He was with Rovers till 2011 when his contract was mutually terminated. Chimbonda went on to play for: QPR; Doncaster; Market Drayton Town and Carlisle. He unofficially retired after a spell with French side AC Aries-Avignon came to an end in February 2015.

CB- Younes Kaboul
The scorer of the late equaliser on the night, Kaboul had a spotty season of starts for the first team that season. This saw him move to the Portsmouth in the summer of 2008. He would return to Spurs in January 2010. He stayed at Spurs for 5 years scoring some memorable goals including the winner at the Emirates in Spurs' comeback in 10/11. He also assisted Crouch's winner against City to get Spurs into the Champions League. Kaboul was made club captain for the 14/15 season. He moved onto Sunderland the next season, under Allardyce he formed a good partnership with Lamine Kone to keep the club in the Premier League that season. Kaboul signed for Watford on a three year deal and is currently still playing for the hornets.

CB- Michael Dawson
One of the nicest men in football. Dawson played for Spurs for another six years. He was made club captain after the retirement of club legend Ledley King. Dawson moved onto Hull City in 2014. He
captained Hull throughout the 2015/16 season. Dawson got injured at the start of the 16/17 and was unable to prevent the Tigers going down that season.





LB- Gareth Bale
Possibly the most famous name on this list. Bale had the horrible curse that he couldn't win a league game he started in for his first few years at Spurs. Once Harry Redknapp came in, Bale's career would never be the same. He was pushed further forward to LM to allow his explosive pace more
freedom. He had the magical night in Milan when he scored a hat trick to make the score more flattering to Spurs. In the return fixture he again dominated the show, Maicon probably still has nightmares of that night over and over again. Under Andre Villais-Boas, Bale became the focal point for Spurs, single handily getting them within a whisker of the top four and a Europa League quarter final. Bale made a then world record transfer to Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 and the rest as they say is history.

RM-Aaron Lennon
The speeding English winger was a mainstay in the Spurs side until the 14/15 season when he had a falling out with then new Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino. Lennon was dropped into the U23's at that time till he secured a loan move to Everton in January 2015. He made the move permanant in the summer. Lennon has recently had a successful battle with mental illness and is back playing in the
Everton side, which is a great sight to see. Lennon was always rated by Spurs fans for scoring and assisting some memorable goals. The one most Spurs fans remember is him running the length of the field to feed Crouch at the San Siro.


CM- Didier Zokora
Zokora was ever present in Spurs' midfield for the whole of the 07/08 season but unluckily never scoring a goal. He was again ever present till January 2009 when the club signed Wilson Palacios.
Zokora signed for Sevilla in the summer of 2009, he lasted in La Liga for two seasons before a move to Trabzonspor. During a match with Fenerbache, Zokora was racially abused by former Newcastle midfielder Emre. In the return fixture Zokora got his revenge by kicking Emre with the full force of his right boot in the groin. Zokora moved to India in 2014 and has been playing for: Pune City; North East United and most recently Semen Padang.




CM- Tom Huddlestone
The Englishman with a rocket of a right foot, was a fans favourite for many years at the Lane. Huddlestone left Tottenham in August 2013 for Hull City alongside captain Michael Dawson. Huddlestone acted as an emergency goalkeeper when Alan McGregor was sent off against Crystal
Palace and Hull had used all three subs. Huddlestone helped Hull to a FA Cup final appearance in 2014. Huddlestone left Hull in August 2017 to return to his boyhood club Derby County.




LM- Teemu Tainio 
The Finnish midfielder moved on from Spurs in the Summer of 2008 for Sunderland. He became the club's first ever Finnish player. In his time at Sunderland, he had a loan spell with Birmingham in September 2009 for that season but had no remarkable moments for either club before his contract
was terminated by Sunderland in 2010. Tainio signed a deal with Ajax to link up with former Spurs boss Martin Jol, he made five appearances for Ajax before moving onto New York Red Bulls. He became a fan favourite whilst in New York for a number of good performances. He ended his career after a brief spell at HJK Helsinki in 2014.




ST- Robbie Keane 
A Spurs Legend, Keane was an integral man for the club for the 07/08 season before one of his many 'dream' move to Liverpool in July 2008. Keane failed to settle in Merseyside and found himself back in North London in February 2009. Keane went on loan to Celtic in February 2010 which he said gave him his hunger for football back. He had a further loan spell at West Ham the following season. Keane moved to LA Galaxy in 2011 where he would stay for six years with a loan spell at Aston Villa fitted in there as well. Keane is currently plying his trade in India with Atletico de Kolkata.





ST- Dimitar Berbatov
A Spurs hero, Berbatov made a then British record transfer to Manchester United in the summer of 2008. Berbatov stayed in Manchester for four seasons, in which time he won two Premier League titles, a League cup and a Community Shield. In August 2012, Berbatov moved to Fulham and helped
Fulham stay in the Premier League before a move to Monaco in January 2014 to replace the injured Radamal Falcao. He decided not renew his contract with the club in June 2015. He joined Greek side PAOK in September 2015 where he only played for one season before being released. Berbatov has recently signed for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.