International Champions Cup
at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur (1) 1
Rodrigues Moura da Silva 3
Inter Milan (1) 1
Stefano Sensi 36
Inter won on penalties
Attendance: 58,905
Point & hope photo gallery: click HERE
Today's first half was a competitive 1-1 draw too, but, in truth, the second half wasn't nearly half as good.
Their final fixture at the old ground was on 14 May 2017, when Manchester United were the visitors for a Premier League game, that Spurs won 2-1. Tottenham then became tenants at Wembley Stadium, while their home ground was demolished and their new 62,062 capacity stadium, which overlaps the site of their old ground, was built, at a reputed cost of around one billion pounds.
Tottenham are currently contracted to stage 'Gridiron' games until 2027. Which'll no doubt put a bit of a dent into the costs they incurred during the building programme.
For the benefit of those of you who aren't familiar with the NFL, 'Gridiron' code, that is also called 'American Football', even though the ball they use is chucked about, rather than kicked, it's a (very slight) bit like Rugby, but the players wear loads of padding and crash-helmets and are allowed to pass the funny shaped ball forward. Gridiron in this country! I ask you, what is this effing world coming too? It keeps them off of the Wembley pitch I s'pose.
These two sides last played against each other when they met twice in Group B of the Champions League last season.
Today's visitors won the first of those games 2-1 in Italy, while Mauricio Pochettino's side claimed a 1-0 victory at Wembley in the second leg.
Tottenham, of course, made it all the way through to the final of the competition, where they lost 2-0 against Liverpool in Madrid.
White Hart Lane station (which is in the process of being renamed; Tottenham Hotspur station), was closed today, meaning that we had to use either the Seven Sisters Road tube station, or the next stop: Tottenham Hale... and do the rest on foot, which takes around twenty five minutes, whichever one you choose.
The International Champions Cup, which is in it's seventh series of 'glorified friendly' matches, is being played at stadiums all over the world, whereby twelve teams, namely: Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur from England, Bayern Munich from Germany, Italian sides: Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Juventus and AC Milan, Guadalajara from Mexico, Portuguese outfit Benfica, and last, but not least: Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid from Spain, will compete against other sides from that illustrious (AKA rich) list, in what are being called 'match-ups', which will be played at a total of seventeen venues worldwide, the only English one of which is Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, although the Principality Stadium (formerly the Millennium Stadium) in Welsh Wales is also being used.
Each team will be involved in three separate fixtures, which will form a nucleus of eighteen games in total, all of which will have their television viewing rights sold to a worldwide global audience. All drawn games are decided via a penalty shootout.
Three venues across Europe are being used, with Stockholm's Friends Arena, making up that particular trio, and three more in Asia, along with eleven in the United States of America.
So if you fancy travelling overseas to watch a Madrid derby in East Rutherford (USA), Spurs v Manchester United in Shanghai, or Juventus v Inter in 南京奥林匹克体育中心, then this is the pre-season format that you've been waiting for.
Although personally, I was only here today, because I haven't visited today's venue before, even though I've been to Tottenham's adjacent old premises many times before.
This afternoon's entertainment was played in front of a sell-out crowd of 58,905, who saw the home side storm into an early lead when Erik Lamela played Lucas Rodrigues Moura da Silva through into the Inter area and he planted the ball past Samir Handanovic.
An evenly matched first half, saw Tottenham getting forward plenty, while their visitors adopted a patient approach, more suited to the early Autumn climate, which eventually saw Sebastiano Esposito finish off a neat build up, by caressing the ball into the path of Stefano Sensi, who claimed the equalising goal for La Beneamata in the thirty sixth minute.
The first half finished with the teams going in level pegging... in fact, if you want to skip to the penalty shoot-out at the end now, then you're excused, because the remainder of the game was like having teeth pulled, sans any form of anaesthetic.
At half time I explored the concourse area at the back of the stand I was in, bleedin' massive and not unlike a big city railway station or airport terminus it was too, with fast moving queues, contact-less payment options, and some very reasonably priced food/drink combinations on offer, which made for a refreshing change for a London based arena.
And what about the toilet facilities? I hear you ask.
Well, they were 'bog standard' for a top flight ground, but well above average.
The free stadium WiFi was greatly appreciated and the connection was good too.
But, as my Luddite tendencies kicked in and caused me to come out in a rash, I must confess, it's an ultra modern facility that more than serves it's intended purpose, but I still prefer old-fashioned 'proper' grounds.
But, as my Luddite tendencies kicked in and caused me to come out in a rash, I must confess, it's an ultra modern facility that more than serves it's intended purpose, but I still prefer old-fashioned 'proper' grounds.
Comfort shouldn't be underestimated, but I was here to experience a football match day experience, with a traditional atmosphere, not to bugger about on a handheld internet ready device, while having to move every couple of minutes for another one of the valued 'customers' in attendance to squeeze past me as part of perpetual conga to the food outlets and back, while they paid scant regard to the game itself. It's football captain, but not as we know it.
The biggest downside to pre-season football, even when it's dressed up as a competitive match, in an international tournament; is the overwhelming and ridiculous amount of second half substitutes that blight matches... and this game was no exception. Hence, a lot of people headed to the bar area and/or the fan-zone outside the back of the stand, instead of sticking it out for the duration of the remainder of the game, while others left the scene altogether, well before full time..
At least some of the early departures, meant that there would be less of a queue to get the tube back to Kings Cross from Seven Sisters after the game.
The game fizzled out as a spectacle after the interval and the aforementioned constant stream of substitutes broke up any kind of pattern and rhythm the game might previously have had... and after what seemed like an absolute eternity. Stay where you are, because we're going to have a penalty shoot-out!
I sincerely hope that the worldwide TV audience didn't miss this grand finale because they'd nodded off on their sofas, after a lack of action for most of the final forty five minutes, had forced them to slip into a catatonic stupor.
Me, I was on the edge of my big comfy seat and gripping onto the useful hand rail in front of me in giddy expectation, borne out of the fact, that those of us who hadn't already left early, were in for a dose of belated entertainment.
Christian Eriksen stepped forward to take the first kick, for Tottenham, but Handanovic saved it. Advantage Inter! But not for long, because Paulo Gazzaniga kept out the visitors first penalty from George Puscas.
Heung-Min Son went next and put Spurs ahead, but Andrea Ranocchia levelled things up with his subsequent kick.
Georges-Kévin Nkoudou, showboated in extremes with his 'Panenka' style effort, to add to Tottenham's tally, while Federico Dimarco netted with a more orthodox but equally effective (and far less risky) good old fashioned 'hit it bloody hard and on target' strike.
Toby Alderweireld for Spurs, then Matteo Politano, both successfully converted their respective kicks in turn.
Then the home crowd groaned collectively as Ollie Skipp's attempt was saved by Handanovic, meaning that Inter would win the 'match-up' if João Mário Naval Costa Eduardo found the net with the visitors fifth kick, which he did with no small amount of aplomb.
FT: Tottenham Hotspur 1 v FC Internazionale Milano 1
Inter won 3-4 on penalties
So that's Spurs new ground ticked off on my sad anorak app (that's a posh name for the moth-eared the of paper that I've hidden inside the back cover of a midget-porn magazine, to spare me from any embarrassment should anybody inadvertently discover it).
If Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the way forward for football, then you're still more than welcome to join me and my fellow dinosaurs as we roam the earth in search of more modest football arenas to wile away the hours at, until we become completely extinct. |
| Leg room aplenty |
If this kind of caper is your sort of thing... then enjoy yourselves to the full, but I personally can't imagine that I would ever have fallen in love with football, from a very young age, if this was the sort of opulence that was on offer (at a price) all those years ago. Apparently, it's called progress... but in my book, it's completely void of any of the rites of passage and character building traits, that forged many of us into the football romantics that we grew up to be.
In a nutshell, I just spent an afternoon at what is considered to be one the finest stadium's in the whole of Europe and the experience left me stone-cold. There weren't even any stroppy locals laying in wait, looking for some aggro on the walk back to the tube station... strange days indeed.
