da wazamba： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
da winzada777： Jose Mourinho has claimed that no team will want to play Tottenham Hotspur in the knockout stages of the Champions League, per The Daily Star.
What’s he said?
Spurs lost 3-1 to Bayern Munich on Wednesday in a dead rubber, having secured their qualification via a second-placed finish behind the German giants.
It means they will play one of PSG, Juventus, Barcelona, Valencia or RB Leipzig in the Round of 16, which is set to be drawn on Monday.
And Mourinho believes that his side are one of the strongest teams to have finished second in their group; the other teams are Real Madrid, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon and Chelsea.
He said: “I think the teams that finished first they wish they don’t play against us.
“I think we’re one of the strongest teams from the second group.
“I know that we are a country that goes through a crazy period, which many, many times leaves marks on players, teams, on conditions, but by the end of February, I understand my players better, they understand me better.
“We have two more months of work together and I think we’re going to be much more ready.”
Hard to beat
Spurs proved last season that they are no pushovers in Europe.
Drawn into a group also comprising Inter Milan and Barcelona, they bounced back from taking one point in the first three games.
A draw pairing them with Borussia Dortmund could have been tough, but they came through it with a 4-0 aggregate win; a draw pairing them with Manchester City looked horrific, but Spurs came through on away goals and, then, against Ajax, they produced a miracle in Amsterdam.
Forget the form in the Premier League, those five teams that Spurs can play will be hoping they avoid them in the next round.
No clues whatsoever: Which seasons do these iconic Spurs images belong to?
Travelling to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be no picnic and if one adds in the fact that Mourinho is a proven winner with a pedigree in this competition – he’s won it twice – you get a pretty potent cocktail.
Meanwhile, Spurs fans were left disappointed by one Mourinho decision against Bayern.