How Harry has got Spurs fans dreaming of a Wembley Champions League date with destiny

By Martin Lipton in Laptop with Martin Lipton

Published 11:30 10/03/11

• 

Did they deserve it? Probably not.

Does that matter? Not in the slightest.

Tottenham's progression to the last eight of the Champions League was still one of the greatest feats the club has ever produced, a tribute to the desire and determination Harry Redknapp has instilled in his players.

More importantly, it was a triumph of the spirit; a victory that, despite the first leg events in the San Siro, shook European football.

A team of rookies in their first season in the competition are supposed to know their place.

Okay, they can do better than expected in the group stage, although finishing ahead of the holders was taking liberties.

But once the knockout phase comes around, it is time for them to withdraw, with heads held high - especially when they are drawn against a team that has lifted the "Cup with the Big Ears" seven times before.

Spurs, though, did not care about reputations, did not understand the rules. They played by their own.

In Milan, they accomplished that by passing the Serie A leaders to distraction, standing firm when they had to and then hitting with devastating efficiency on the break to chisel out the priceless advantage.

And at White Hart Lane last night, it was a very different Spurs, a very different performance, but just as much a night for every Tottenham supporter to want to yell out "I was there" for years.

In Michael Dawson, William Gallas and, above all, Brazilian midfielder Sandro, Redknapp had three men who encapsulated everything about the drive behind his team.

Gallas has been there, done it and got the t-shirt - but has never won European football's biggest prize of all.

Now, frustrated in that desire at both Chelsea and Arsenal, he is wondering whether it could come true at the club he joined almost as an afterthought when a move to Greece fell through after he was jettisoned by Arsene Wenger in the summer.

Watching Gallas hold firm against Pato, Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic made Wenger's decision to release the Frenchman even harder to understand.

Surely Arsenal could have done with him in the Nou Camp on Tuesday?

But Arsenal's losses have never been a source of concern for Tottenham - even if Gooner-baiting became a joyous pastime for the home supporters at the final whistle.

To think that some of those Spurs fans were outraged that Redknapp would even consider signing Gallas at the start of the season, because of his Arsenal links.

I bet most of them are now denying they ever harboured such thoughts, that to the last man of them they jumped to their feet to roar their approval as Gallas switched his feet to clear Robinho's deflected shot off the line - with maybe an inch and a half to spare - in the first half.

Dawson, too, came through his ordeal with real credit.

Only two years ago, the engaging, ever-smiling Yorkshireman, appeared to have lost all confidence in his own ability, paying the price of being asked to carry a series of sub-par partners in the long absence of Ledley King.

Now, Dawson is commanding and terrific, a better player and a first choice, no matter which of the club's other five top-class centre-halves is fit.

There was not a tackle, header or block that Dawson was not prepared to make for the cause - not bad for a player who feared his season might have been finished by that knee ligament injury sustained on England duty against Bulgaria in September.

And in front of the pair, Sandro, the Brazilian who was left out of the original Champions League squad of 25 for the group stages because Redknapp did not think he was ready.

He is now - showing why he has been Brazil Under-21 skipper, why he was a mainstay of the Internacional side that won the Copa Libertadores (a run which delayed his arrival at Spurs) and is now set on a unique double of conquering South America and Europe in the space of 10 months.

As Redknapp pointed out: "Sandro was immense. Like everybody, he needed a little run to get used to playing here. But he's powerful, strong, aggressive, has the ability to run and work for 90 minutes.

"It was a great performance and he's a young player with a big future. Maybe he's a typical Brazilian player with the silky skills, but he has so many other great attributes."

Attributes that helped Spurs over the line on a night when they needed a bit of luck.

But in football you do make your own luck.

Spurs have more than manufactured their fortune this season, bringing a breath of fresh air to a great competition, with the supporters now starting to believe that a place at Wembley on May 28 is a genuine possibility.

And that says everything.

Fancy winning £3,000 for FREE this month? Play Mirror Football Streak for your chance to win cash prizes! Start predicting now!