Football’s Unfortunate Fortune | Tottenham Hotspur

 Champions League is perhaps the most prestigious award in club football, dating its history for nearly half a century, and moments that made certain clubs in football, icons; only commoners relating to the event with the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Bayern Munich; however, in 2019, something extraordinarily helped change the face of football for the time to come and elevated them as the unluckiest underdogs of the following story. Nothing comes close to the sheer willpower, luck, and determination of what was to come, nor there would be a replica of what Tottenham Hotspur created in the corresponding season.

By the barest of margins: Spurs having a terrible start, conceding 8 goals as opposed to 5, sparing only a point from their 3^rd encounter, they saw themselves at the bottom of the table, barring them from qualifying further or into a secondary premier-club competition. Forcing them to change their tactics, toppled Inter Milan, toppled PSV, with only Barcelona and Inter Milan on their way from their last remaining game against the former to seek second in the group, while conceding in the early stages, Inter Milan losing their respective match would mean Spurs only required a draw to advance despite having equal points, which they ultimately did as Lucas Moura bagged in a 1-1 equalizer against the unlikeliest of odds, they saw themselves witnessing a miracle that just might not have been over just yet.

By the barest of all margins: After being qualifying for the next round after thrashing Borussia Dortmund, had the fortune of drawing with their fellow countrymen competitors and ultimately champions in the form of Manchester City, well, to be the best, you must beat the best, and to beat the best, you just need to be just that, the continuous cycle that just keeps on turning. After beating them in the first stage, it was up to the Spurs to maintain that lead. 20 minutes in, 5 goals from each side, where only 1 separated them as City took the lead, while Spurs had the sole goal advantage. That is until acclaimed striker, Sergio Aguero doubled the lead with 30 minutes left to play, only for Fernando Llorente, with a controversial finish, to find the net moments later. 20 minutes left to play; City is on the verge to masquerade yet another late-minute wonder which led them to the title 6 years prior. Kevin De Bruyne to Aguero to Sterling, the passes are sticky, as the final pass reached to the latter who buried it under the titular protagonist of the story’s goalkeeper, celebrating as they had any right to be after a hard-fought battle, cruelty at its peak, where no side deserved to lose, despondency rose upon the defendants faces as the final whistle approached and seeing no way near to get another chance; not for long as the Turkish referee, Cüneyt Çakır, checked into the much recent intervention of VAR gave in favor of Spurs as Sterling was deemed offside, resulting in a 4-4 aggregate as by the barest of all margins, Spurs advance.

All things, good or bad, must come to an end: After a 3 goal deficit against the competition’s second underdog, Ajax, Tottenham had the tedious of all jobs to turn the tie around in no less than 45 minutes with their key striker out of the game. As per the indication of this story revolves around in, yes, that is what happened during the semi-final closing stages as Lucas Moura, yet again, proved to be pivotal in the 5^th additional minute, of what could probably be the final kick of the game if it has missed, as luck might have it, the opening kick-off to resume play replacing it was ironic enough. Coaches, players, and staff workers gathered around and invaded the turf as for the first time in their history, they managed to do the impossible and defy all odds as they destined to meet the more experienced Liverpool at the final, where sadly, their tremendous triumph reached its climax as they succumbed to their opponents much more vigorous attack and deep-lying defense in a 2-0 defeat. That’s the thing about football sometimes, the deserving one does go through, yes, but that does not diminish the efforts the teams pull off, sure Liverpool made history yet again; however, their win is not the only positive prospect that would be remembered that night, the underlying resiliency of Tottenham is perhaps I would never have to leave this sport as just another pastime let alone for that night, clearly being more than emotion, cruel at times, yes, but it’s drama, it’s tragedy and tales of prosperity, these are moments of Euro 2004, Leicester in 2016, Chelsea in 2012, Dortmund in the following year, this is Tottenham in the story, the moments that makes football great, this is football’s unfortunate fortune.