Crouch: Spurs can emulate Liverpool
Reuters - Thursday 10 March 2011, 10:07
LONDON - Peter Crouch, whose goal gave
Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 aggregate victory over AC Milan,
believes Spurs are developing the same qualities that took his
former club Liverpool to the Champions League final in 2007.
Crouch's goal at the San Siro proved decisive as the two
teams fought out a tense 0-0 second leg draw in the last-16 at
White Hart Lane on Wednesday which put Spurs through to the
quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time.
GEAR: Up to £15 off Champions League kits through Kitbag. Free delivery on orders over £50
Crouch came on as a late substitute when Milan beat
Liverpool 2-1 in Athens four years ago when they won their
seventh title, but was on the winning side as Spurs showed
surprisingly resilient defensive qualities on Wednesday.
The lanky striker, who caused Milan problems until he came
off in the closing stages, believes Spurs can emulate, or even
better Liverpool's performance in 2007.
"When I reached the final with Liverpool in a lot of those
games we had to grind results out," Crouch told reporters.
"If you are going to get to the final you have to face top
class opposition, you're not always going to have the ball and I
think if you defend well you're going to get results.
"That's what we did at Liverpool and I think that's what we
did tonight."
Asked if his Spurs team are better than that Liverpool one
he said: "I think individually we are.
"In that Liverpool team that reached the final we were
extremely organised, we knew our jobs inside out.
"Certainly this Tottenham side has got better individuals
and probably more attacking with the flair that we've got."
IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
While Crouch did the damage in attack, Michael Dawson, Spurs
skipper on the night, had a superb match in defence and
alongside William Gallas, managed to nullify the threat from
Milan's forwards, the disappointing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pato and
Robinho.
"I think tonight we proved something different. We can be
resilient as well. So why can't we get to the final?
"Normally we are a very attacking team but tonight we had to
change the way we normally play. I think the whole team has to
take credit for the clean sheet."
Harry Redknapp, who has become the first English manager to
guide a team into the last eight of the Champions League, was
also buoyant afterwards, but kept his feet very much on the
ground.
"Its been a great night for Tottenham, but we are not going
to celebrate yet," he told reporters afterwards.
"This is an impossible dream for us, if someone had said two
years ago we would be in the quarter-finals of the Champions
League you'd have thought they were mad.
"I am just going home and not getting too carried away. I'll
have a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich, and take the dogs out."