It should not be under-estimated just what a massive achievement knocking AC Milan out of Europe is for Spurs. Of course, you could argue that Serie A is not what it used to be and you could argue that Milan are an ageing side, filled with past it players whose legs have gone. You could argue those things, but you would be idiotic to do so. Other than those 2 games against Spurs, Milan have not lost in 2011 and have failed to score in only 1 game - a nil-nil draw with Lazio. That is in a League where, despite its deficiencies, it is still very defensive and difficult to score in. Yet Tottenham inflicted Milan with their only defeat this calendar year and kept 2 clean sheets in the process.
Anyone who witnessed the game at White Hart Lane would also realise that those who attempted to paint the Rossoneri as a bunch of senior citizens were, frankly, stupid. What they do have is an incredible balance of experience and youth and, when they are on their game, they are as good as anyone in Europe. In that 2nd Leg Milan's starting XI had an average age of 28; Tottenham's average age was 27 - hardly supportive of the geriatric theory. On top of that, Milan had a total of 72 winner's medals in their starting line-up, including 8 Champion's League medals and 1 World Cup. If people are going to dismiss them as has-beens then they are fools.
The standard of Serie A is irrelevant too in so far as AC Milan's ability to knock Spurs out of Europe. They are sitting top of their League and have done from almost the start of the season and you can only beat what is put in front of you. They've been dominant domestically, swatting aside Napoli (their nearest challengers to the title until recently) 3 nil the other day, and have a semi-final against Palermo in the Coppa Italia coming up. Despite their Champion's League upset at the hands of Spurs, Milan are still on course for their domestic double. Considering the last Italian team to win both the Coppa Italia & the League also won the Champion's League, Inter Milan just last season, it shows that these big Italian teams still know how to play the big occasion.
I will admit that Milan were poor in the 1st Leg in the San Siro but I believe that much of that was down to Tottenham's brilliance. The way Spurs started with a bang caught Milan off-guard and put them on the back foot from the off. Yes they were "slow and ponderous" but Spurs made them play that way just how Barcelona made Arsenal look slow and ponderous in the Nou Camp. Spurs closed Milan down quickly and held our shape superbly, denying Milan an obvious route through. That made them put their foot on the ball for a second as they sought a pass or try to figure out what to do next.
They were set up much better when they came to the Lane though and they knew what they had to do - score. They were vastly improved and showed what a good team they are as they managed to put Spurs on the back foot in much the same way as Milan themselves had been in the San Siro. The difference was that Spurs showed immense maturity and discipline to hold our shape and keep Milan playing in front of us where we could control them. Whereas our domination in Milan riled the Italians, culminating in them losing their heads, the Spurs players kept their cool brilliantly. It must've been very frustrating for the likes of Modric and Van der Vaart, who both like to be in possession and making the ball do the work, but everyone stuck together and got the job done. They all defended for their lives and they managed it without conceding a single Yellow Card.
In fact, the Spurs players managed to get through both the Legs without receiving one booking - impressive in itself but particularly when you factor in the warzone that was the San Siro. Milan, in contrast, stacked up 6 Yellows, could have had more and should have had at least 2 Reds.
So, all in all, it was pretty awesome for Spurs in our debut season to extinguish the mighty AC Milan from the Champion's League. I've heard a few people trying to downplay the significance of this result, mainly bitter Arsenal fans, by saying that Spurs only narrowly beat the worst Milan side in 20 years. Well, that is nonsense. That accolade should go to the Milan side of 2008-2010, the one, ironically, that Arsenal themselves knocked out the Champion's League. This is not the same side. The Rossoneri, under Allegri, have really gotten their act together in 2010-2011 and the additions of the likes of Robinho and Ibrahimovic, who bagged a brace at the Emirates last season in this competition lest we forget, have really pushed the Italians on.
This Milan are a very, very good team and it took every last one of Tottenham's abilities in order for us to progress. Skill, flair, discipline, defence, strength, speed - it was all needed. I know some people were disappointed by the 0-0 at the Lane but they should not be. Spurs did not "park the bus" in the slightest and were set up to attack Milan. It was only because of the way Milan played that forced Spurs back but what the Lilywhites did excellently was they adapted. Spurs wanted to attack, but not at the expense of throwing away all that hard work the had done in the San Siro. That would have been pointless. If Spurs want to do well in Europe we have to be able to do this and we showed everyone including ourselves, that we can. We cannot in one breath bemoan our habitual fluffing of our lines and, in the next breath, complain that we were too rigid and lacking in dynamism. It is in our persistent pursuit of the latter that has been the cause of our former woes and here we showed that to be no more. It was not to the cost of our philosophy, as some gave implied, as the gameplan was always to attack but we did have a plan B for once. Despite wanting to get forward, we were able to keep our shape and contain Milan.
How anyone can accuse us of "parking the bus" when, in the 2nd half, our 3 substitutions were Gareth Bale, Jermain Jenas and Roman Pavlyuchenko - all attack-minded players - makes no sense to me. Sure, we ended up playing a clear 451 system, but we started of with more of a 4411 with Van der Vaart playing high up the pitch. It was out of necessity that we dropped back, rather than it being the masterplan.
It might be Tottenham's first season in the Champion's League, but in it we have demonstrated all the attributes necessary to succeed in the competition. At the start, many said we would struggle with the quality of the opposition and yet we thrilled in the group stages, attacking without fear even against the Champions of 2010 and finishing top of Group A having scored the joint most amount of goals in that stage of the competition. At that point, many then said how, as impressive as Spurs had been, we would become unstuck when coming up against a top team who forces us back and nullifies our attacking threat. They said that no team gets through this competition, filled with such great teams, without facing such intense pressure at some time and Tottenham's collapses against Inter and Young Boys showed that they would nt be able to cope.
Well, against Milan, we proved that we can handle it and we did so with aplomb. At every stage our critics create new stumbling blocks which they claim will trip this Spurs team over and each time we hurdle them, so far with ease.
