Five special moments that Tottenham Hotspur fans would love to relive again
2017 seems to be a good time to be a Tottenham Hotspur fan – not only are the club firmly embedded as perennial challengers for the Premier League title, but they have one of the most highly rated managers in the world in Mauricio Pochettino, and a handful of the hottest young talent in the world too with the likes of Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Davinson Sanchez and Christian Eriksen.
Given the financial constraints that come with building a new stadium – as well as chairman Daniel Levy’s general tight wallet – how much longer Tottenham’s rise can continue for is anyone’s guess. But as one of the most storied clubs in England – even in the past decade or two – their fans will always have some golden moments to hold onto even if things do go wrong. Here are five of them.
#1 Gazza’s free kick
These days Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne only hits the headlines when his mental health issues cause him to have another meltdown. Unfortunately, Gazza is now a punchline to some and a cautionary tale to many, but in his heydey around fifteen years ago, it could be argued he was one of the best players on the planet and perhaps the most naturally gifted player produced in England since the stars of the 1966 World Cup winning side.
Gazza’s best years were spent at Tottenham, the team he’d signed for in 1988 prior to his meteoric rise to fame following the 1990 World Cup, and 1990-91 – the first season Gazza spent as the most famous player in Britain – was arguably his absolute peak. He led Spurs to the FA Cup final that season by scoring goals against Oxford, Portsmouth and Notts County on the road to Wembley – a road that ended with a semi-final showdown with bitter rivals Arsenal.
It took Gazza a matter of minutes to make his mark on the game. From a free-kick 35 yards out, the England midfielder hit an unstoppable shot into the right-hand top corner, past the dive of the despairing David Seaman in the Arsenal goal. Spurs went on to win the game 3-1, and while the final against Nottingham Forest ended up going wildly wrong for Gascoigne due to a severe knee injury (even if Spurs did win the trophy in the end), his free-kick that shot down their most bitter rivals remains one of Tottenham’s most beloved memories.