It has been four years since Borussia Dortmund’s last visit to Wembley, but it’s one they probably prefer not to talk about too much. How close that brilliant collection of players came to becoming champions of Europe that night, only for Arjen Robben to ruin the dream with a late opportunistic winner for Bayern Munich. It was the beginning of the end for that team. Mario Gotze had already endeared himself to Dortmund’s fans by agreeing a move to Bayern and it would not be long before Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummel followed him to Munich. Jurgen Klopp gave it another two seasons, but it wasn’t the same after Wembley.
Dortmund haven’t gone away, though. They had a reasonable couple of years under Thomas Tuchel, who ended up putting a few noises out of joint within the club, and now the attack-obsessed Peter Bosz is in the dugout after impressing with Ajax last season, taking a young side to second in the Eredivisie and the final of the Europa League and more importantly bringing a spark back to the Amsterdam Arena. Dortmund have made a promising start to the season, despite losing Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona, and are top of the Bundesliga after three matches. Tottenham could have done without being drawn in the same group as them and Real Madrid.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team will just have to get on with it, though, especially if they plan on giving a better account of themselves than they managed in the Champions League last year. They know from experience that they have to get off to a fast start. Last season they began with a 2-1 home defeat to Monaco at Wembley and never recovered, finishing third and dropping into the Europa League. In all likelihood the presence of Madrid, European champions in three of the past four years, means that Tottenham and Dortmund are playing for second, so the pressure is on tonight. If Tottenham are going to make it into the knockout stages, it’s doubtful that they can afford to lose this one.
But that might depend on whether Tottenham can find their feet in their temporary home. Last year Tottenham said goodbye to the old White Hart Lane with 17 league wins and two draws, but in Europe they had to play at Wembley and lost to Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen in this tournament before tripping themselves up against Gent in the Europa League, and they still haven’t cracked it judging by their first two home matches this season. Things keep going wrong: Chelsea scored a late winner, Burnley scored an even later equaliser. Perhaps it comes from the slight unfamiliarity, creating tension that stops this very good team from producing the kind of football that humiliated Everton at Goodison Park on the weekend. What Tottenham could do with is a big win, a memorable performance to extinguish the uncertainty. And if they can make Dortmund’s Wembley demons come flooding back, this could be the night. It’s a daunting task, but it’s also a wonderful opportunity. Perhaps if they turn out in Arjen Robben masks...
Kick-off: 7.45pm BST.
SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS posted by CAMPUS94
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