Story so far: Tottenham Hotspur FC
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
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A UEFA Europa League title is already on manager André Villas-Boas' CV and Tottenham Hotspur FC will hope he can guide them all the way again, 29 years after they last won the UEFA Cup.
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Tottenham Hotspur FC
European highlights
• UEFA Cup winners: 1972, 1984
• European Cup Winners' Cup winners: 1963
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
League title: 2 (1961)
FA Cup: 8 (1991)
League Cup: 4 (2008)
2011/12 in Europe: Stormed past Heart of Midlothian FC in the play-offs to earn a place in the UEFA Europa League group stage, but narrowly missed out on a round of 32 spot, finishing third in Group A behind PAOK FC and FC Rubin Kazan despite picking up ten points from their six games.
The season so far: It has all been about late drama. Spurs finished the group stage unbeaten behind S.S. Lazio, yet it took a 3-1 win against Panathinaikos FC on matchday six to confirm their round of 32 place. There, a last-gasp Mousa Dembélé goal clinched a 3-2 aggregate win against Olympique Lyonnais, and they then threw away a 3-0 first-leg lead against FC Internazionale Milano in the round of 16, Emmanuel Adebayor's extra-time goal helping to scrape an away goals success.
One to watch: The frighteningly gifted Gareth Bale remains their most palpable threat. "He's one of the best players in the world at the moment," as team-mate Michael Dawson put it. "Some of the things he does would have made Ronaldo blush."