FCBARCELONA.CAT

11.06.2009 13:03

Tottenham Hotspur the first opponent

Jordi Clos

Barça 2009/10 will kick off a series of preseason matches against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. The Spurs are one of the historic teams in the English league and have a squad with a lot of attacking potential.

Over the next few days, www.fcbarcelona.cat will be analysing Barça’s preseason opponents. First up is Tottenham Hotspur on 24th July in the Wembley Cup. Founded in 1882, the north London club is one of the oldest and most successful in England. However, in recent years the club has fallen behind the Premier League’s most powerful sides, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and bitter north London rivals Arsenal.

Big money and big names

Spurs are coached by veteran English manager Harry Redknapp, who replaced Juande Ramos early on in the season. The squad boasts some outstanding players, above all in midfield and attack. Last summer, Spurs spent a lot in the transfer market on players such as Modric, Pavlyuchenko and former Barça forward Giovani dos Santos in an effort to compete with the Big Four of the Premier league.

Steady improvement

Despite the strength of the squad, the results were disappointing at the start of the season and led to the sacking of Spanish coach Juande Ramos. Redknapp was brought in to steady the ship and succeeded in taking the club to a highly respectable eight place finish. Also, after a premature exit from the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup, Tottenham came within a whisker of winning the League Cup but were finally overcome by Manchester United in the penalty shootout.

One previous meeting

Barça and Tottenham have met just once in a competitive tie. This was in the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1982. The first leg at White Hart Lane finished in a 1-1 draw, thanks to a goal by Olmo after a serious goalkeeping mistake by Ray Clemence. In the return leg, a goal from Simonsen classified Barça for the final which they won against Standard Liege in the Camp Nou.