FRANKFURT, Germany — Ange Postecoglou might just have the last laugh on his critics and doubters. The Tottenham Hotspur coach, whose job security is likely to depend on him delivering the second-season trophy that he insists he always wins, can now see silverware glittering on the horizon after a defiant UEFA Europa League victory against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Some reports had suggested that the former Australia and Celtic coach could be dismissed by Spurs if they were eliminated by Eintracht — a defeat which would have ended all hopes of salvaging European qualification from this hugely disappointing season.
But Dominic Solanke’s 43rd-minute penalty at Deutsche Bank Park sealed a 1-0 quarterfinal second-leg win and a 2-1 aggregate victory over Dino Toppmöller’s team, to take Spurs into a semifinal clash against Bodø/Glimt next month.
The Norwegian champions stunned Lazio in a quarterfinal penalty shootout victory to reach the last four so will deserve the utmost respect from Spurs, but if anyone had told Postecoglou during his darkest days this season that he would face a Norwegian team in a Europa League semifinal, he would have taken it without thinking twice about it.
After a season of doom and gloom, and the sense that Postecoglou was fighting against the world, Spurs now have a real chance of saving their season by winning the Europa League in Bilbao, against either Manchester United or Athletic Club on their own ground, in the final at Estadio de San Mames on May 21.
“We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” Postecoglou said. “We are in the semi and we will have a difficult opponent. But we’ve earned the right to be in the semi.”
Spurs not only earned the right to be in the last four, they did so in the most un-Tottenham of ways. Ever since Postecoglou took charge at the start of last season, his Spurs side has been all style and no substance — and that has been when things have gone well. When the wheels have fallen off, due to injuries or Postecoglou’s refusal to take a more pragmatic approach, Spurs have been woeful, with a soft touch and a side that has put their coach in such a perilous position.
They went into this game having lost seven of their last 12 games in all competitions and have not kept a clean sheet in 11 outings since a 1-0 win against Manchester United in February, so the odds were against them in Frankfurt.
But with only captain Heung-Min Son and long-term absentee Radu Dragusin unavailable for this game, Postecoglou was able to field close to his strongest team. And guess what? Spurs looked like a team capable of doing things again.
They were strong defensively, commanding in midfield, and carried a threat up top. Solanke’s goal from the penalty spot two minutes before half-time, after goalkeeper Kauã Santos floored James Maddison, was a deserved opener, and they were the team most likely to add to the scoring in the second half.
“From our perspective, we’ve had a difficult season,” Postecoglou said. “There’s some reasoning behind that, but it was pretty evident tonight, with our strongest team out there, that some of the things we suffered this year we wouldn’t have.
“(Guglielmo) Vicario, (Cristian) Romero, (Micky) Van de Ven, (Rodrigo) Bentancur, Solanke — we missed all these guys this year, and others. We know we can be a team that is pretty compelling against anybody when we have everyone available.
“That’s what gave me heart all along, that when we got some players back, I really believed we could achieve.”
The problem for Postecoglou now is that he and his team still have hazards on the road ahead of them. Their next three league games are against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, and a volatile London derby against West Ham United, so the momentum and feel-good factor could evaporate quickly. And while they will be delighted to face Bodø/Glimt, Tottenham’s reputation for making a mess of things will add nervousness and tension to that tie.
But Postecoglou has repeatedly said that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club, and he is still on course to do that with Spurs, despite everything that has threatened to derail him and his team this year.
The group hug with his backroom team on the touchline at the final whistle against Frankfurt showed just what this result meant, but on its own, it isn’t enough. Postecoglou has to win a trophy, and he now has a chance he cannot throw away.
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