When Tottenham Hotspur line up at the Bernabeu on Tuesday
night, they will be greeted by two familiar faces in the Real Madrid ranks.
Luka Modric and Gareth Bale both made their name in
Lilywhite, before swapping London for the Spanish capital.
Both played for Spurs on their last visit here, in the 2011
Champions League quarter final.
They epitomised Harry Redknapp’s swashbuckling side – Bale’s
pace and power, Modric’s guile and artistry.
Yet when the two Madrid players look at this Spurs side, they
will see a very different team to the one they left.
That side, vaunted at the time for its attacking flair, was
also erratic.
In a season memorable for the 3-1 'Taxi for Maicon' victory
over Inter Milan at White Hart Lane, and a backs-to-the-wall two-legged victory
over their city rivals AC, they also lost at home to Wigan Athletic, and away
at Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool.
That Champions League campaign, which ended with a tame 5-0
aggregate defeat at the hands of Real, arguably marked the apex for Redknapp’s
Spurs, and put their best players firmly in the shop window.
Bale’s heroics papered over the cracks of Modric’s departure
in 2012.
Almost single-handedly, the Welshman took Spurs to the brink
of a return to the Champions League, only to miss out on the final day of the
2012/13 season.
When Madrid returned that summer with a world-record bid,
Bale left, and Spurs, now under the stewardship of Andre Villas-Boas, withered.
A side that had been built around Bale, and that had failed
to replace Modric, floundered without them. It seemed that Spurs' quest to
establish themselves as a Premier League and European force would fall short.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, they have risen from the ashes of
that former side, a younger, more rounded, and arguably more talented force.
The Argentine has delivered Premier League era-best finishes
of 3rd and 2nd in consecutive campaigns.
Last season, Spurs amassed 86 points, comfortably surpassing
the previous club record of 72 set, incidentally, in Bale's final season.
This is a side bristling with talent, but one also endowed
with a steeliness and work-ethic that eluded its predecessors.
The attacking flair remains - the team led the Premier
League scoring charts last season - but it is now underpinned by a miserly
defence that has conceded the fewest goals in the league for two years running.
There are certain similarities in personnel.
Harry Kane has taken on the talismanic role once occupied by
Bale. The England captain has scored at least 25 goals for the club in each of
the last 3 seasons – the first player to achieve that feat since Martin Chivers
in the early ‘70s.
Christian Eriksen is the heartbeat of the team, much as
Modric was.
He exerts a more attacking influence than the Croat – only
Kevin De Bruyne registered more assists than the Dane in the league last season
– but as was often said of Modric, Spurs are a better side when Eriksen is on
form.
Dele Alli, too, bears a certain resemblance to Rafael van
der Vaart in his spatial awareness and talent for arriving, unmarked, in
goal-scoring positions.
Yet where Redknapp’s squad thinned noticeably beyond those
stars, the current side boasts a remarkable parity of talent throughout.
Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld have formed an
imperious partnership at the back.
Together with Hugo Lloris, and often supplemented by a third
centre-back in the shape of Eric Dier or new signing Davinson Sanchez, they
provide an assured bedrock that was often lacking with popular but error-prone
players such as Michael Dawson, Heurelho Gomes, or William Gallas.
Mousa Dembélé and Victor Wanyama bring bite and drive to the
midfield, equally adept at breaking up opposition attacks or starting their
own, and are clear upgrades on the likes of Wilson Palacios and Tom
Huddlestone.
Heung-Min Son, who has struggled to get into the starting XI
in the opening weeks of this campaign, scored 14 times in the league last
season – more than any Spurs player managed in 2010/11.
This wealth of talent has brought with it an added
resilience when the team faces setbacks.
Many suspected that Spurs would fall apart when Harry Kane
suffered injuries last season.
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