MX23RW : Friday, April 19 11:52:06| >> :120:4533:4533:

Eriksen thinks Champions League win will see Tottenham shed 'Spursy' tag

The Denmark international has been a key player for Mauricio Pochettino's side

Christian Eriksen believes winning the Champions League will alter people's perception of Tottenham.

The Denmark international, who is rumoured to be on Real Madrid's radar this summer, has played a key role in helping Spurs to their best ever run in Europe's premier club competition.

But he has also been part of a team that has – so far under Mauricio Pochettino – fallen short in the big moments, as they dropped away in the 2015-16 Premier League title race, lost the 2015 Carabao Cup final to Chelsea and lost two FA Cup semi-finals.

That added to a history of messing up at the big moments, which earned them the 'Spursy' nickname.

The manner of their route to the final against Liverpool on Saturday went some way to shedding that tag, but winning in Madrid will put it to bed once and for all, Eriksen thinks.

He said: "Spurs as a club, if you look from a historical point of view from Tottenham at how many trophies they've won before, where they've been before, it's new.

"It's something that will change the club, how people look at the club, how people think about us players at Spurs.

"We're not going to be Spursy, or whatever they call it. As a player you just go for the moment and hope it falls your way."

Spurs' Champions League campaign has been fraught with drama and they have been within 10 minutes of going out of the competition on five occasions.

The remarkable scenes at Manchester City and Ajax have led some people to suggest that their name is on the trophy and that it is their destiny to win it.

Eriksen, who refused to answer question on his future, has taken a much more pragmatic view of their march to Madrid.

Eriksen's 80th-minute goal against Inter Milan kept them in the Champions League
Eriksen's 80th-minute goal against Inter Milan kept them in the Champions League (Nick Potts/PA)

"I don't know if it's destiny," the midfielder said. "I think at the moment we've just been lucky.

"First of all, with the City game, with (Raheem) Sterling, I thought we were out. Gone. Then Ajax was a bit different because it was during the game.

"There was no waiting or standing around. It was just Lucas (Moura) pops up at the right time.

"It was nerve-wracking and it was dramatic. We're just happy we were on the right side."

Eriksen's 80th-minute goal from the bench against Inter Milan in November prevented a group-stage exit, but he was almost responsible for their exit against City.

It was the Dane's stray pass deep into injury time that allowed Pep Guardiola's side to score the goal that would have given them a 5-4 aggregate lead and sent them into the semi-finals.

However, VAR saved Spurs after Raheem Sterling's goal was chalked off because Sergio Aguero was ruled offside.

Eriksen described his range of emotions in that frantic period as "mad".

"It was weird. I passed the ball away and they went through and ended up scoring.

"It would have been a disaster. For a few minutes, it was about trying to get back in the game because there was still in a few minutes to go.

"In the end, it was lucky they changed it and it fell our way because it would have been very, very painful."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Jonathan Veal, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'c9653758-2f45-4610-a5f9-9ac025e8e358');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Eriksen thinks Champions League win will see Tottenham shed \u2018Spursy\u2019 tag'});

ID:360766: cacheID:360766:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:22776:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jan Vertonghen waits to come back on for Spurs on April 30, 2019
Read Next:
Jan Vertonghen reflects on "craziest year" ahead of Champions League reckoning
>
Read more about Christian Eriksen Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
2Arsenal32225575264971
3Liverpool32218372314171
4Aston Villa33196868491963
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham33139115258-648
9Chelsea31138106152947
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves32127134651-543
12Fulham33126154951-242
13Bournemouth32119124757-1042
14Crystal Palace3289153754-1733
15Brentford3388174758-1132
16Everton3298153248-1627
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3379174258-1626
18Luton TownLuton3367204670-2425
19Burnley3348213368-3520
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3237223084-5416


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!