It was a historic low for Jose Mourinho. When the 2019 finalists beat a sorry exit from the Champions League against a more energetic, more enterprising Leipzig side, Tottenham had gone six games without a win.
Mourinho was in territory he had never previously charted in his 935-match managerial career.
He still is but the context has changed. The makeshift forward line that appeared in Leipzig will be replaced by something more recognisable. The 1.7-metre Lucas Moura will not have do an unconvincing impression of a Mourinho target man anymore.
Mourinho being Mourinho, he nevertheless pleaded misfortune at his pre-match press conference, yet Tottenham will emerge stronger from a pause. Their manager enters a reunion with his last employers with greater resources and more firepower.
“The three players who had surgery,” as he called the injured brigade, will start. Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Moussa Sissoko would all have missed the Manchester United match when it was scheduled to be played in March. Mourinho said in February he would “love it to be 1 July.” As it has transpired, playing on 19 June has given Spurs a new look.
“Harry Kane hasn’t played football for more than six months,” his manager said. “He's going to start. Does Harry have 90, 80, 70, 60 minutes? I don't know. Only the game will tell us that. Is he on the top of his form? We don't know.”
But a player who had scored 27 times for club and country before he was injured on New Year's Day is back and Tottenham should have more potency, even without the suspended Dele Alli.
The midfielder serves a one-match ban for a March post on social media about coronavirus. Mourinho felt the punishment exceeded the crime.
“Compared with wrong behaviours at much bigger dimensions that happened during this period without any consequences …” he said.
And yet Tottenham's disciplinary problems could have been worse. Eric Dier's misconduct case for entering the crowd after the FA Cup defeat to Norwich City has still not been heard.
“People with great responsibilities in the game said they would do exactly as he did,” said Mourinho, drawing an unexpected comparison with the widely-praised activities of one of his former charges to ensure children from more deprived backgrounds still receive free school meals.
“If this story is still alive, it surprises me very, very much because we now, even with Marcus Rashford, have the proof that what is right is right. Sometimes this is really, really powerful in support of the right causes.”
If it was conflating two very different issues, Mourinho has other concerns. Giovani Lo Celso, arguably Spurs’ outstanding player of his reign, will have a fitness test to see if he can start.
-
TOTTENHAM'S BEST: 5) 2015/16 home: Tinkering with tradition on home tops can be a major risk for clubs, but Under Armour pull it off here. Usual Spurs colours but with blue sash across the top which inspired the team into a third-place Premier League finish. Getty -
4) 1989/1991 home: Had to get this one in, even if it only scrapes into the 30-year limit. Classic Hummel design worn during a fantastic period for Tottenham with the likes of Paul Gascoigne running the midfield and Gary Lineker untouchable up front. Great team, great strip. Getty -
3) 1991-94 away: You can understand why Spurs stuck with this one for three seasons: it’s a beauty. Umbro continued with an all-yellow strip but introduced a bit of abstract patterning on one shoulder and the shorts. Getty -
2) 2014/15 away: What effort from Under Armour. A predominantly black kit with yellow trim and yellow fade in and out pinstripes down middle of top. Provided a clear boost for Harry Kane who would break the 30 goal barrier but the club’s barren run without a trophy would continue after a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the League Cup final. Getty -
1) 2005/06 away: This is sunshine and blue skies on holiday captured in a football strip. Spurs secured a top five finish under Martin Jol but were denied a Champions League spot after the food poisoning debacle at West Ham on the final day of the season. Dodgy lasagne aside, this is a beautiful rich, dark blue with bright yellow trim and a stunning effort from Kappa. AFP -
WORST: 5) 2016/17 third: The golden rule sadly broken by Spurs here. Granted, Harry Kane was unstoppable with 35 goals and the team finished second in the Premier League but those achievements are soiled by this tacky all-gold kit. It is also overshadowed by the tasteful away strip of navy blue with gold trim. Getty -
4) 2009/10 home: Puma criminally decided to spoil Tottenham’s classic home colours by throwing in some unseemly yellow patches throughout the kit. Still, the players kept their focus despite this unsettling turn of events and Harry Redknapp’s side secured a Champions League spot for the first time. Getty -
3) 2018/19 third: You might get away with throwing paint randomly across a canvas in the art world, but not on an English top-flight football kit. Could have looked alright with simply the dark green top third and rest in light green, but sadly it just looks like they’ve spilled paint during the design process. A sad stain on the memory of their famous Euro comeback against Ajax. Getty -
2) 1991/93: Third kits were not exactly all the rage in the early 1990s, which is a good thing if they had all been like this. Quite a smart sky blue colour is defaced by barely readable large letters spelling out SPURS in vertical striping, in case you were wondering who was playing. Used on the front and back of the shirt plus the shorts just to compound the blunder. Alamy -
1) 2006/07 third: Some might claim it’s a ‘chocolate’ coloured strip, but it’s not, it’s brown and closer resembling something with a far grimmer odour. Which is appropriate because this strip stinks and even the smart gold trim cannot rescue it. Getty
The Argentine was denied close contact with physios for two months during lockdown. “Gio, I consider to be one of the victims of the rules and one of the victims of the protocols,” Mourinho said.
There are other signs of remarkable times. Minus Japhet Tanganga, who has a stress fracture of his back, Mourinho may have to rely on Jan Vertonghen. It could prove a valedictory appearance for the Belgian, whose contract expires this month and who is yet to sign a short-term extension.
“Jan is a fantastic guy, a fantastic professional,” said Mourinho. “His love for the club, his respect for the club, is never in doubt. Of course he's committed with us, of course he's ready to play.”
And so should Spurs be. They were in freefall three months ago. Now they have a chance to salvage a season that was going horribly wrong and to use a break to turn Mourinho’s worst run into a springboard.
