{"id":179841,"date":"2024-05-08T13:00:50","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/05\/08\/lost-in-complete-ecstasy-an-oral-history-of-ajax-2-3-tottenham\/"},"modified":"2024-05-08T13:00:50","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T13:00:50","slug":"lost-in-complete-ecstasy-an-oral-history-of-ajax-2-3-tottenham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/05\/08\/lost-in-complete-ecstasy-an-oral-history-of-ajax-2-3-tottenham\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Lost in complete ecstasy\u2019 \u2013 An oral history of Ajax 2-3 Tottenham \u2013"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>From generation to generation, Tottenham Hotspur supporters have passed on stories of \u2018glory glory\u2019 nights.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Those tales were much more glorious in years past. The 1951 and 1961 Division One titles. The 1972 and 1984 UEFA Cups. The various FA Cups that Spurs used to win at a canter barely breaking into a sweat.<\/p>\n<p>Tottenham in the 21st century have been known for their over-performance in the Premier League rather than their tangible success. Always good enough to compete, not good enough to get more trophies into the cabinet.<\/p>\n<p>Qualifying for the Champions League became the obsession of modern Spurs. In recent months, former manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed the club\u2019s prioritisation of that in order to make their billion-pound stadium transition smoother.<\/p>\n<p>His first interview also wildly differed from that of his predecessors and successors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will try to give everything to make you proud of this football club.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No talk of trophies. No talk of top-four.<\/p>\n<p>This sentiment fittingly summed up Pochettino as a man and what his five-and-a-half year reign at Tottenham represented, culminating in reaching the 2019 Champions League final after completing a 96th-minute comeback against Ajax.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone connected with Tottenham \u2013 and Ajax, for that matter \u2013 remembers where they were that night, how they felt, the pain and the agony, the joy and the ecstasy.<\/p>\n<p><em>90min<\/em>\u00a0exclusively spoke to those there in Amsterdam, those in the stadium, the pubs, cowering behind their sofas, and the last two players at Tottenham who were on that pitch when Lucas Moura sent Spurs through.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cast<\/h3>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f \u2013 Son Heung-min, Tottenham forward<br \/>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f \u2013 Ben Davies, Tottenham defender<br \/>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/robtdaly\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rob Daly<\/a>, SpursTV commentator<br \/>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Flav_Bateman\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Flav<\/a>, podcaster for The Fighting Cock<br \/>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IngmarV89\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ingmar Verhoeff<\/a>, Ajax fan of over 25 years who also follows Tottenham<br \/>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LeeTomlinson_\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lee Tomlinson<\/a>, Tottenham fan of over 20 years<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chapters<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Chapter 1 \u2013 The season<\/li>\n<li>Chapter 2 \u2013 A Champions League run of legend<\/li>\n<li>Chapter 3 \u2013 An Ajax brotherhood<\/li>\n<li>Chapter 4 \u2013 The first leg<\/li>\n<li>Chapter 5 \u2013 The hottest ticket in town<\/li>\n<li>Chapter 6 \u2013 The first half in Amsterdam<\/li>\n<li>Chapter 7 \u2013 Half-time<\/li>\n<li>Chapter 8 \u2013 15 manic minutes<\/li>\n<li>Chapter 9 \u2013 Clinging on<\/li>\n<li>Chapter 10 \u2013 Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"_y8ozbebz3\">Chapter 1 \u2013 The season<\/h2>\n<p><em>Tottenham planned to move into their new stadium in September 2018, but this move was delayed until April 2019. Meanwhile, Spurs became the first team in Premier League history not to sign or sell a player in the summer transfer window, despite Pochettino calling for a rebuild of his squad. A late end to the 2018 World Cup and early start to the 2018\/19 Premier League season brought about an injury crisis.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/01hx79j8stzbzn81r85f.jpg\" alt=\"FBL-ENG-PR-TOTTENHAM-CARDIFF\" title=\"FBL-ENG-PR-TOTTENHAM-CARDIFF\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Wembley fatigue set in \/ ADRIAN DENNIS\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cI remember just being fed up with it from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cThe club hadn\u2019t made any signings but the team was performing well until about Christmas, and then my memory of that season was after the turn of the year, we started to see the team lose its way a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cThe domestic form, as everyone will remember, wasn\u2019t great. The cracks in Pochettino\u2019s Tottenham were evident in that season.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cThe ball-ache of having to go and buy your ticket and sort out the credit with the club. It was a season I barely went to Wembley.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"_aprznp48d\">Chapter 2 \u2013 A Champions League run of legend<\/h2>\n<p><em>Reaching the Champions League semi-finals was a miraculous achievement for Tottenham, let alone getting to the final. They accrued only one point from their first three group stage games and needed down-and-out PSV Eindhoven to get a draw at Inter to secure progress to the last 16. From there, Spurs eliminated Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund 4-0 on aggregate and caused an upset against favourites Manchester City, prevailing on away goals after Raheem Sterling\u2019s winner was chalked off by VAR.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/01hx7at0f4t89pymv1mm.jpg\" alt=\"Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: Second Leg\" title=\"Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: Second Leg\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>One of VAR\u2019s better moments \/ Marc Atkins\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cTo get through, to get out of that group stage which was difficult enough, it included Barcelona, Inter and PSV. We had to go to Camp Nou to get out of that group and not lose \u2013 we managed to do that, which is an insane ask.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cThe European season was just mad that season in general\u2026the European season was the only thing that was interesting that year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cI think you could start to see in the second half of that season the performances that would bleed into the start of the next one under Pochettino that would lead to him departing. Things were already starting to slow down or something, it\u2019s hard to really articulate properly. It only makes the Champions League run all the more extraordinary, because that run was not the peak Pochettino Tottenham. And yet that\u2019s the team that somehow made a Champions League final.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cWe beat a decent Dortmund side, but from that point onwards we had no real right to be in the final. It was a miracle. People don\u2019t talk about that Manchester City game enough and that\u2019s because of what happened in Amsterdam. But what happened in that Manchester City tie was insane! That in itself we could\u2019ve made a film about, it was madness.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"_94x4flb72\">Chapter 3 \u2013 An Ajax brotherhood<\/h2>\n<p><em>And so Tottenham advanced to the semi-finals to face Ajax, who caused a couple of upsets themselves with the eliminations of Real Madrid and Juventus. Spurs and Ajax were previously viewed as semi-linked clubs, partly due to the shared history of players and managers, their roots in London and Amsterdam\u2019s Jewish communities, and a shared hooligan-hatred of Rotterdam outfit Feyenoord.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/01hx9r68ze97ne5mbknp.jpg\" alt=\"Lyon's French forward Bafetimbi Gomis (2\" title=\"Lyon's French forward Bafetimbi Gomis (2\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Three future Tottenham stars in Ajax colours \/ PHILIPPE DESMAZES\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3Verhoeff: \u201cI know that for some Ajax fans it [this relationship] is indeed present. I thought this was mainly of the older supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cThis video [<em>NINETY + FIVE<\/em>] that The Fighting Cock made five years ago just after Ajax\u2026the plan was to make this video about the \u2018friendship\u2019, in inverted commas, between Ajax and Tottenham, the kinship between the two clubs, because there was previously a history of there being an affinity between them. We ended up beating them 3-2 and all of our contacts with the Ajax fanbase just blanked us! They didn\u2019t want to talk to us. And for obvious reasons \u2013 if it\u2019d happened to Spurs, I wouldn\u2019t have wanted to talk to them, it\u2019s the last thing you\u2019d want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 Verhoeff: \u201cMy first Ajax match was in 1997 against De Graafschap, 1-0, a late Richard Witschge goal. I actually started supporting Spurs when Jan Vertonghen left for them. Before that, I followed a bit, including for Rafael van der Vaart, but then it really became serious. Jan was one of my favourite Ajax players, his defensive play was fantastic, the passion he gave made him a real Ajax player.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"_o5f1plho7\">Chapter 4 \u2013 The first leg<\/h2>\n<p><em>A patched-together Tottenham without the injured Harry Kane and suspended Son at least had home-advantage for the first leg of the semi-final. However, Spurs were incredibly flat and barely threatened, with Donny van de Beek scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win for the visitors.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/01hx7b81fbrsazng7m2e.jpg\" alt=\"Tottenham Hotspur v Ajax\" title=\"Tottenham Hotspur v Ajax\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Spurs lost at home \/ Tom Jenkins\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 Verhoeff: \u201cI was happy and stressed, a dream come true for Ajax and Spurs to play each other. All my friends were making jokes. \u2018Ah, it doesn\u2019t matter as you support both so it\u2019s win-win\u2019! But I have always said Ajax is my number one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cAjax had been unbelievable that season. Their win at the Bernabeu was remarkable. That Ajax team\u2026there are some teams where you look back in hindsight and go, \u2018I can\u2019t believe that group of players was together at that club at that time\u2019. I think of it like Porto in 2004, of Monaco in that breakout 2016\/17 season for Kylian Mbappe, where they had Fabinho, Falcao, Bernardo Silva, just an incredible team. I felt like Ajax were like that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cThe atmosphere was incredible even before the game. It was one of those games like Arsenal in 2022, you could tell\u00a0<em>everyone<\/em>\u00a0was up for it. The High Road, there\u2019s normally not much going on, but everyone was up for it. And then we lost.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f Davies: \u201cIt was a tough game when we played them at home. They were very good and we knew we had an uphill battle when we were behind in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cThis was Ajax\u2019s moment. They had built this amazing team. After the first leg, you\u2019d wondered if Spurs were actually the characters in their story, Spurs were going to be a chapter in their European Cup success. I\u2019ve worked in the Champions League a long time \u2013 a 1-0 home-leg defeat is death. That\u2019s how it certainly felt after the first leg.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cI remember saying to my dad on the platform, \u2018they were good but they\u2019re beatable\u2019. I went away from that seeing why people were so in awe of them\u2026but they were beatable.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"_07otjdd5l\">Chapter 5 \u2013 The hottest ticket in town<\/h2>\n<p><em>Tickets to the return leg came and went within minutes of release on the part of both clubs. It\u2019s estimated up to 10,000 Tottenham fans made the trip to Amsterdam, many of whom did not have tickets.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/01hx9sbpj1mf0f2jgy2x.jpg\" alt=\"FBL-EUR-C1-AJAX-TOTTENHAM-FANS\" title=\"FBL-EUR-C1-AJAX-TOTTENHAM-FANS\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Ajax fans brought the noise \/ NIELS WENSTEDT\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cI\u2019d arrived in Amsterdam a day before the game to meet up with my five brothers and my dad and a couple of mates, we were all out there together. We were drinking, singing songs, other bits and pieces, it was great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cI got offered \u00a31500 for my ticket. Definitely at half-time I was thinking, \u2018you should have taken the money\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cI had to be there, there was no other place in the world I was going to be, and I didn\u2019t have a ticket and I knew I wasn\u2019t going to get a ticket. We saw tickets changing hands for ginormous amounts of money, talking thousands and thousands of pounds. Seeing deals happen in the pubs that we\u2019re sitting in, where two tickets are handed over and thousands are given back to the person selling the ticket. I would estimate up to ten grand. It was an insane amount of money. We were just sitting there going, \u2018this is mental, we\u2019re never getting a ticket\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cIt wasn\u2019t really until I got outside the stadium that the enormity of it all\u2026that this was the best chance we were going to get to go to a Champions League final. You walk out of the station and the crowds are just massive. There\u2019s just a sea of people like it\u2019s a concert next to the stadium. And it was just like\u2026f***ing hell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cThe pub we were in was packed full of Tottenham. When I say there was no one else in there \u2013 no locals, the Ajax fans who tried to get in before the game started weren\u2019t allowed in. Spurs fans had become bouncers, we took over the pub, it was our pub.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cThe atmosphere out was there was amazing, and then you walk round to the ground, you got in and it was full \u2013 it was full 45 minutes before kick-off.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"_tgvsffosu\">Chapter 6 \u2013 The first half in Amsterdam<\/h2>\n<p><em>Ajax sought to kill the tie for good back at the Johan Cruyff Arena. An early goal from Matthijs de Ligt put them two to the good on aggregate, before a special strike from Hakim Ziyech appeared to have sealed their place in the final.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/01hx9rzt1xvzgm07vkc9.jpg\" alt=\"FBL-EUR-C1-AJAX-TOTTENHAM\" title=\"FBL-EUR-C1-AJAX-TOTTENHAM\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Ajax went 3-0 up on aggregate \/ JOHN THYS\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f Son: \u201cThe semi-final, I didn\u2019t know how long it was ago! It was a crazy night. I still think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cI remember Pochettino saying before the game saying \u2018we have to come out quick, it can\u2019t be like the first leg\u2019, and they didn\u2019t. Ajax came out all over Spurs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 Verhoeff: \u201cIt was an incredible feeling\u2026could it be that Ajax would reach a Champions League final again?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cI\u2019m relatively pessimistic anyway. I\u2019m comfortable in the fact that Spurs might never win anything and that\u2019s my starting position. So if we don\u2019t, I can never be disappointed, and I think through decades of following Spurs, the moments of us winning have been fleeting. So I\u2019ve always had that position, and for me it wasn\u2019t about going and hoping Spurs win, it was about being out there as a Spurs fan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cIt was loud. So loud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cYou\u2019re genuinely thinking it\u2019s done. It\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cBefore that, you were thinking, \u2018just put in a good performance so you can come away with your head held high\u2019. They score after five minutes and you just think, \u2018f*** sake, here we go again\u2019. It was almost funny, that first goal. You were just laughing thinking, \u2018typical Spurs\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 Verhoeff: \u201cTo be very honest, it didn\u2019t seem like it could go wrong for Ajax anymore. We were already looking for an overnight stay in Madrid for the final. I had a day off to use that year and it worked out fine. It was going to be a road trip to Madrid.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"_jxj869vd5\">Chapter 7 \u2013 Half-time<\/h2>\n<p><em>Tottenham went into half-time knowing they had to score three without reply in the second 45 minutes if they were to realise their dreams of reaching a first-ever Champions League final. The injured Harry Kane came down from the stands and gave his honest opinions, with Kieran Trippier later revealing the England striker went \u2018mental\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/01hx9tb6achxjpx7mmjg.jpg\" alt=\"Mauricio Pochettino\" title=\"Mauricio Pochettino\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Pochettino needed one hell of a team talk \/ Soccrates Images\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cI was thinking, \u2018come out and show us something\u2019. That was all I thought at half-time. There was no chance we were going to get through here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cWe walked out of this pub we were in, my brother was sitting across from me and we were having a cigarette and we didn\u2019t say anything. And then after about ten minutes I just looked over to him and he said \u2018let\u2019s just go in and get it done, it\u2019s over but let\u2019s get it done\u2019. That was the attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cAt the time, I had a message from my wife saying, \u2018how\u2019s the game going?\u2019. She was out, she couldn\u2019t see the score. I phoned her and said, \u2018I\u2019m going to be free on June 1st\u2019. When you work in football, you find time to try and maybe go on holiday, and maybe I wasn\u2019t going to be needed on June 1st.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cThere was this famous story of Harry Kane saying \u2018is this how you want to be remembered? Is this what you want? Is this how it ends? Are we going to go out like this or are we going to go out on our swords?\u2019. And there was an uptick in performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f Davies: \u201cI can\u2019t remember what was said, but all I can say is we came out for that second half like a different team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f Son: \u201cI think I\u2019m the type of guy who never wants to give up and tries to work as hard as possible until the last result of the game. I think when you don\u2019t believe, these things don\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"_pay6yb17e\">Chapter 8 \u2013 15 manic minutes<\/h2>\n<p><em>By the time the second leg reached the 60th minute, Tottenham were level on the night thanks to a stunning brace from Lucas, including a silencing second in which he weaved his way through three defenders before shooting without even looking towards goal. All of a sudden, the vibe had shifted on a tectonic scale inside the Johan Cruyff Arena.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/01hx9v03gcaz14j1jtny.jpg\" alt=\"UEFA Champions League&quot;Ajax v Tottenham Hotspur FC&quot;\" title=\"UEFA Champions League&quot;Ajax v Tottenham Hotspur FC&quot;\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Lucas dragged Spurs level \/ VI-Images\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\u26aa\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cYou were happy, but I don\u2019t think anyone was thinking of properly coming back at that point. I certainly wasn\u2019t. I was happy. We came out in the second half immediately like a completely different team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 Verhoeff: \u201cThe beginning of the second half\u2026Ajax started so weakly. That remains incomprehensible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cThe Ajax team, their arses just dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cSuddenly it\u2019s on, and Ajax wobble. They had a huge wobble from that point on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f Son: \u201cWe were believing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cThere must\u2019ve been 50 Ajax players around Lucas in that box, that\u2019s what it felt like. The sound of the ball hitting the net, it was like there was a vacuum in the stadium and it went silent. You could hear that ball go *chhh* in the net. And obviously the explosion and the commentary, but more so the explosion of the players and the fans because suddenly it\u2019s on. Suddenly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cIt was silent. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever been in a stadium quite like that before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cThat second goal you feel the chance is gone but he produces something crazy,\u00a0<em>crazy<\/em>\u00a0to score.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"_g3c074s1t\">Chapter 9 \u2013 Clinging on<\/h2>\n<p><em>The game was now a back-and-forth contest more reminiscent of Erik ten Hag\u2019s out-of-control Manchester United than his Ajax maestros. Ziyech hit the post for Ajax, while Vertonghen rattled the crossbar late on for Tottenham.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/01hx9vmv1e0fw0svzjc6.jpg\" alt=\"Hakim Ziyech\" title=\"Hakim Ziyech\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Ziyech and Vertonghen both missed huge chances \/ Matthew Ashton \u2013 AMA\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cI started to believe, then when it got to 80 minutes, I started to not believe again. We weren\u2019t getting the ball, we weren\u2019t putting the ball in the net, we were missing chances. You\u2019re thinking it\u2019s not going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cI was s***ing myself. That was when the nerves hit. That was the bit. You\u2019ve got something to hold onto.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 Verhoeff: \u201cI was afraid Jan would score the decisive goal, then he would immediately no longer have been my favourite!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cThey were getting louder, they\u2019re getting closer, and we\u2019re getting more anxious because we\u2019ve only got 10 minutes. They\u2019re starting to sing again. It got quite quiet for a while and maybe only their ultras were singing, but then the whole stadium was standing and so loud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cYou normally get that one chance, and it\u2019s a horrible old cliche, but you have to score them. You have to score that, really.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f Davies: \u201cIt felt like our chance had gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cBut I think what was encouraging was that Ajax\u2019s game management had completely fallen to pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"_ehj1t9wol\">Chapter 10 \u2013 Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur<\/h2>\n<p><em>The chance for Tottenham to win the tie appeared to go when one last corner sailed over. Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana picked up a yellow card for time-wasting on the resulting goal kick, with four minutes and 38 seconds of the five added minutes up by the time he finally took it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>And what happened next was history.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/01hxa7gw84bmwypcz2b6.jpg\" alt=\"Lucas Moura\" title=\"Lucas Moura\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>A complete contrast of emotion \/ Matthew Ashton \u2013 AMA\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cThe long ball from Moussa Sissoko.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cFortunately, Llorente wins the header. One of the best subs Pochettino ever made for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 Verhoeff: \u201cI saw De Ligt misstep\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201c<em>They\u2019re slipping\u2026<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cIt was this combination between Dele Alli and Lucas Moura.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cI seem to remember the ball rolling really slowly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cIt was one of them ones where you go, \u2018go on\u2019\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201c<em>\u2026they\u2019re sliding\u2026<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cIt was like time stood still.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cAnd then\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/giphy.gif\" alt=\"Come On You Spurs Champions League GIF by UEFA - Find &amp; Share on GIPHY\"\/><\/figure>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cAnd then the most intense euphoria that cannot be created by anything else on this planet \u2013 and I\u2019ve done a lot of things to achieve euphoria artificially in my life. That feeling is something that cannot be replicated. That third goal was one of the most\u2026I\u2019ve never felt so good in all my life, so much so that I wasn\u2019t sure if it was real.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cThe ball goes in and you\u2019re celebrating, going mad, and then you still can\u2019t believe it. You\u2019re in this delirious celebration where you know you\u2019ve scored, but you\u2019re thinking you haven\u2019t scored. You can\u2019t believe what\u2019s just gone on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cIt was the most tense room I\u2019ve ever been in, but also the most together I\u2019ve ever felt with a group of people. And to see the explosion in this room when Lucas Moura scored that third goal, it was something I can\u2019t describe. It went crazy everywhere, but I swear to God this room is where it went most mental. It was like the last days of Gomorrah. People were throwing themselves off tables, swinging on lampshades, people falling over, beer going everywhere, tables being thrown, not physically thrown but pushed over with the momentum of this sea of people that were lost in complete ecstasy. It was incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cI was on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cIn this pub it\u2019s absolute mayhem, and I\u2019m standing calmly in the middle of it all with my arms out wide and looking around at people going \u2018is this actually happening? Have we done it? We\u2019ve f***ing done it! We\u2019re going to the final of the Champions League!&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 Verhoeff: \u201cIt was done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f Son: \u201cIt was the craziest game I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cIn fact, Ajax were the character in Tottenham\u2019s story. They were going to their first ever final.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 Verhoeff: \u201cIt was disbelief\u2026and most of it anger. Sometimes I still watch the highlights of that Champions League campaign on YouTube back. And then I have the emotion. Tears again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cIt was like nothing else I\u2019ve ever experienced, it was the greatest comeback I\u2019ve ever experienced, it was one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Champions League and there\u2019ve been many, but this was insanely good. And it\u2019s happening to Tottenham, and we\u2019re on our way to Madrid. That is something else, that\u2019s something I doubt I\u2019ll ever live through again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd34\ud83e\udde3 Verhoeff: \u201cBut Spurs were in the final. I love Spurs. I was 200% in favour of Spurs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cThe \u2018slipping, sliding\u2019 thing turned into an accidentally fitting metaphor for what had happened to Ajax. They\u2019re physically slipping and they ultimately lost it. And I lost it. And then I don\u2019t really remember a lot of things\u2026you blackout.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f Son: \u201cIt was a crazy, crazy night. I don\u2019t know what to describe it any more. It was crazy from Lucas and all the teammates to go to the final of the Champions League.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f Davies: \u201cTogether with all the boys\u2026it was a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Daly: \u201cI can\u2019t remember what I said to my wife! I think I phoned her up in a bit of a daze after and was like, \u2018actually no, I think I\u2019m going to have a shift on June 1st\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cIt\u2019s the best day of my life, full stop. No day\u2019s been better than that, no feeling. We could win the league and the Champions League, and I\u2019m still not sure the peak happiness level would be any more than that. That moment was pure elation, nothing else matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Flav: \u201cThat was the end of the greatest ever era I\u2019ve had following Spurs, and that game against Ajax was the pinnacle of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u26aa\ufe0f\ud83e\udde3 Tomlinson: \u201cI didn\u2019t sleep for 30 hours. You come home, you can\u2019t let it sink in, you get straight to, \u2018how the f*** are we going to get to Madrid?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p><em>All interviews are exclusive to 90min. Most have been condensed but not taken out of context.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- AI CONTENT END 1 --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From generation to generation, Tottenham Hotspur supporters have passed on stories of \u2018glory glory\u2019 nights. Those tales were much more glorious in years past. The 1951 and 1961 Division One titles. The 1972 and 1984 UEFA Cups. The various FA Cups that Spurs used to win at a canter barely breaking into a sweat. Tottenham [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":179842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-179841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Lost in complete ecstasy\u2019 \u2013 An oral history of Ajax 2-3 Tottenham \u2013 - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/05\/08\/lost-in-complete-ecstasy-an-oral-history-of-ajax-2-3-tottenham\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Lost in complete ecstasy\u2019 \u2013 An oral history of Ajax 2-3 Tottenham \u2013 - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From generation to generation, Tottenham Hotspur supporters have passed on stories of \u2018glory glory\u2019 nights. 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Those tales were much more glorious in years past. The 1951 and 1961 Division One titles. The 1972 and 1984 UEFA Cups. The various FA Cups that Spurs used to win at a canter barely breaking into a sweat. 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