Silver Spurs me on
BID FOR FIRST TROPHY SINCE 2008 THE ‘MOTIVATOR’
TOBY ALDERWEIRELD is out to silence the critics once and for all by claiming his first piece of silverware with Tottenham at Wembley today.
Spurs have taken huge strides forward since the Belgian arrived at White Hart Lane in July 2015.
But the fact they still haven’t won a trophy since their League Cup triumph in 2008 means that many dismiss them as nearly men. It’s something which frustrates Alderweireld.
And his desire to crush that narrative is almost as strong as his desire to pocket English silver.
“I’ve thought about it a lot,” said the 32-year-old defender ahead of today’s Carabao Cup Final clash with Manchester City.
“We haven’t won silverware but the steps this club has made in the last five, six, seven years have been big.
“From the moment I came here to now, we have grown and I think you have to give a lot of credit to everybody.
“We played in the Champions League – not this season, but we were there four times in a row.
“And as a club we’re growing unbelievably.
Finals
“So, of course, we are not happy without silverware.
“But you can’t say we weren’t good... or say Spurs don’t have winners.
“You have to win to get in finals. You have to win to get into the top four.
That is not silverware but maybe now we are in a moment to shut everyone up. We’re going to try to do everything we can to achieve that.
“But you can’t say the last five or six seasons were not good because of no silverware. I just don’t agree with that after the steps this club has taken.”
Alderweireld won three Eredivisie titles with Ajax and a La Liga title with Atletico Madrid.
But he is also familiar with the heartache of losing big finals and semi-finals
after finishing runner-up twice in the Champions League – with Atletico in 2014 and Spurs five years later – and third at the 2018 World Cup with Belgium.
He is determined not to let it happen again today against City.
Alderweireld added: “Let’s hope we have learned something from 2019 and losing to Liverpool in the
Champions League Final. We will do everything in our power to win this game. “City are top of the league, they are in a good moment with confidence, but it’s one game and anything can happen.
“We are going to prepare ourselves the best way possible and we have to be confident and try to play, to go there to win. That’s our mindset and in a difficult season it will be unbelievable if we can finally get a trophy.
“I’m very motivated, everyone’s very motivated.
“And we’re really looking forward to it.”
Sweating
Spurs were given little chance against City in the Champions League quarter-final in 2019 but won on away goals.
While Spurs are sweating on Harry Kane’s fitness, City’s talisman and Alderweireld’s Belgium
team-mate Kevin De Bruyne is also a doubt.
Asked if he wanted De Bruyne to be fit or not, he laughed and said: “That is not a very fair question.
“For sure, City have a lot of quality to replace him.
“But Kevin is Kevin – he is something special.
“In terms of the final, you want to win trophies against the best people – you are never happy that he is injured or suspended.
“You want to play against the best teams and the best players to prove you are the best yourself.”
We haven’t won silverware but the steps this club has made in the last five, six, seven years have been big