THE road to the Champions League Final in Madrid was exhilarating. The final itself was not.
One might even say Liverpool’s 2-0 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur to emerge as champions of Europe was anti-climactic, nevermind if the all-English final heralded a new age of English football.
Unless you’re a diehard fan of either side, the all-English final just didn’t have the drama that both semifinal matches delivered.
Perhaps because of what was at stake, both teams appeared more tentative and didn’t take as many risks as they did in the matches prior. But it isn’t just that.
Coming from the same league, Liverpool and Hotspur don’t have that kind of rivalry to bring the kind of excitement that, say, an all-La Liga clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid would bring.
Liverpool against any of the other big clubs would have generated much more interest.
Even a Liverpool versus Ajax final would have been bigger, considering that the Dutch club has European pedigree.
Let’s face it: Tottenham is not that big a brand, at least not yet. It hasn’t lifted the Premier League trophy and even a runner-up finish still eludes the team.
On the other hand, casual fans have taken notice of this underrated side, although winning the Champions League would have skyrocketed the Spurs to a superclub status, but no.
Tottenham, though, is a work in progress. It first broke into the domestic league’s top four in the 2015-2016 season and has never looked back since, finishing as high as third on the table.
In the recently concluded season, they placed fourth to book another slot for the next Champions League group stage qualifications alongside Premiership champions Manchester City, runners-up Liverpool and Chelsea.
Will the Spurs finally make a breakthrough at the domestic front and in Europe, and establish its brand globally in the process?
If there’s an English club to keep an eye on this coming season, it should be Tottenham.