BIRTHDAYS
TERRY BUTCHER (60) – former Ipswich, Rangers and England defender.
PAT RAFTER (46) – Australian two-time US Open winner and twice runner-up at Wimbledon.
ADAM PEATY (24) – Swimmer who won gold in the 100m breaststroke at the 2016 Olympics. MAURICIO POCHETTINO claims it would be the biggest upset in European football if Tottenham could overhaul the might of Liverpool and Manchester City in the title race.
Spurs are still seen as outsiders in a three-horse race, despite Pochettino’s men overtaking City to go second behind leaders Liverpool.
And they can narrow the gap still further with two games in four days against Wolves and Cardiff.
Leicester caused the biggest upset in Premier League history when they won the title in 2016 but, since then, City appointed Pep Guardiola and Liverpool bankrolled Jurgen Klopp’s squad to make sure the elite It was the 5,000-1 miracle. But it wasn’t just that Claudio Ranieri’s team won the league (below)... it was the fact that they triumphed by 10 points. Alan Shearer, who won the Premier League in 1995 with Blackburn, said: “To take the giants on – not only take them on but to beat them – it’s the biggest thing to happen in football.”
SPAIN: Atletico Madrid (2013-14)
Diego Simeone (above) and never get embarrassed again. However, this season Tottenham have emerged as underdogs when it comes to upsetting the status quo.
And it has drawn comparisons to Diego Simeone turning Atletico Madrid into unlikely challengers in Spain against the might of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
But Pochettino insists Spurs should not be compared to Atletico because the odds stacked against the north London club are far greater, which makes their work unique.
He said: “It’s difficult to find another club doing the same or delivering the same work as us – the philosophy. Every single club is special and is different.
“I was thinking about this the other day. Simeone is the best-paid manager in Spain. His salary is bigger than the Real Madrid manager, Barcelona manager, Sevilla manager and Valencia manager.
“The investment from Atletico in players is bigger than ours. It is just below, but really close to, Real Madrid’s and Barcelona’s budgets.
“They keep players like Antoine Griezmann and they signed Diego Costa.
“I think Atletico’s budget is maybe bigger than any club in the Premier League. It is maybe five times bigger than the budget we have.
“It is more like Real or Barcelona. It is nothing like Tottenham. Do you think Atletico Madrid is comparable to Tottenham? Atletico Madrid are like City and Liverpool.”
Pochettino has done a remarkable job at Spurs, turning the club from also-rans into Champions League his Atletico side broke the hold of Real Madrid and Barcelona. It had been a decade since someone else won the title, and they came into the final game needing at least a point at Barca. They clinched it with a 1-1 draw. FRANCE: Montpellier (2011/12) Montpellier’s success was a huge shock, bearing in mind the rash of signings that followed the Qatari takeover at Paris SaintGermain in the summer of 2011 seemed to have laid the ground for a walkover. regulars, title challengers and producing a rich vein of home-grown English talent.
But he is also a past master at playing down expectations and insists Spurs are still the outsiders in a three-horse race.
He added: “City and Liverpool are showing they have the best teams in England. The circumstances are that one is top and the other third. But nothing changed. Until the end, everyone is going to think Liverpool and City are above the rest.
“We are there because we have the belief, we are working hard, we have the quality. But still we are a question mark.
“We’ll see if we can be consistent as in the first half of the season. If we are, we can talk and fight for big things.”