Tottenham Hotspur are just hours away from taking on Liverpool in the biggest match in the club’s recent history, the Champions League final.
The match has been billed as an all-Premier-League shootout, but also a tactical battle between Pochettino and Klopp, two of the brightest managers in world football, both looking to win their first trophy at their current club.
Poch has actually yet to win a trophy as a manager, from his time at Espanyol, Southampton, and Tottenham, while Spurs haven’t lifted a trophy in over a decade.
Klopp has been in two Champions League finals in his time, once with Borussia Dortmund and once with Liverpool last year, but lost them both.
Both managers and both sets of players will be determined to get those winners medals around their necks, cementing their incredible journey into the history books.
Pochettino believes he has one good advantage over Klopp, his age (Football London): “I have a good advantage over Jürgen as I’m younger than him… Of course, it’s amazing to go back, ten months ago, when we started pre-season, and I said to believe that one day we could be here. And to be here in ten months…Of course, for me, Jürgen is a very successful manager and I admire him a lot. He’s great; he’s great, he’s always happy, he’s optimistic, he’s a really good example for… I think he’s spontaneous, he’s natural. I like [him] a lot. [He’s been] a little bit unlucky. But, I think, the people… Just because you lose a final, for me, you need to just… It’s the third time that he’s going to [be] in the final. I think the most difficult thing is to [get] to the final. And then, [there are] a lot of circumstances, how you get there for example, that are going to be decisive, things that you cannot control [as] a manager, you know, and you need to trust that fate works in your favour and makes you, yes… lift the trophy.
“Sometimes it’s with you, and sometimes it’s against you, but it is obvious that Jürgen is a fantastic coach and to [get to his] third personal final in the Champions League, I think is… chapeau [hats off] and, of course, congratulations. Whatever happens, for me he is always going to be one of the best managers. I admire him a lot. For me, that is the most important [thing], of course, but we all want to win. We are in football because we want to win and because we need to feel that adrenaline. But I think to get to the final of the Champions League, [the] journey is the most important and the most difficult thing – to devise a plan to get here. That is the most difficult thing.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
It will certainly be an intriguing tactical battle between the two gaffers, particularly as they each have 12 subs to choose from. However, it will likely come down to which team plays at their full potential on the pitch, and which dips a little below par on the day. Fingers crossed that Spurs can get the win that they deserve.
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