Edges of glory: The Tottenham-Ajax allegiance and the story of 1981

This is the moment.

For 57 years, Tottenham Hotspur have been waiting for another European Cup semi-final.

Perhaps that is a stretch. In fact, for most of that time, reaching the last four of the continent’s most prestigious competition has seemed so far beyond the realms of possibility that it has barely been thought of at all.

And so to Ajax, who arrive in north London having themselves battled the odds and stood up to Europe’s giants. Real Madrid and Juventus have been put to the sword in the same unlikely manner that Spurs have defied all expectation against Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City.

For the Eredivisie pace-setters, it’s about re-establishing themselves among that elite, and for Mauricio Pochettino’s heroes, it’s seizing an opportunity that may not present itself again in a generation.

If the Argentine wants to embrace their tags as the ultimate underdogs, that narrative is only reinforced by the absence of Harry Kane and the suspended Heung-Min Son, the latter suspended for the first leg.

Ajax might have something to say about their own courageous journey to the semi-finals, too. While Spurs are unhappy that Dutch fixtures were rescheduled to allow Ajax more time, their manager Erik ten Hag hit back to the assembled media:

“There are always differing circumstances. We play in the Eredivisie and we have €10 million that we get from TV and Tottenham gets much more.

“Is that unfair for us? Those are the circumstances. Everybody has different circumstances. You just have to deal with them. That is what we do.”

It was a rare moment of tension between two clubs who, despite their distance , have embraced a shared history over the past few decades.

Both their old stadia were build in areas of London and Amsterdam with large Jewish communities, providing a shared heritage that may no longer be as evident as it once was to the untrained eye, but which is still used as a point of familiarity among their supporters.

Numerous fans consider themselves supporters of both, none more so than in the 1974 UEFA Cup final when Spurs lost to Ajax’s rivals, Feyenoord.

There is little room for friendship, though, on a night of such magnitude, even when Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen, and Davinson Sanchez all graduated from the famous Ajax youth system.

As daunting as a semi-final against the four-time European champions will be, the Lilywhites have their own piece of history to look to for inspiration.

In 1981, Tottenham inflicted a 6–1 aggregate defeat on Ajax, the only time the Dutch outfit have lost a game in London. On their other visits to the capital, they have recorded one win and two draws against Arsenal, while also beating Panathinaikos 2–0 in the 1971 final, which was held at Wembley.

It came in the first round of the 1981/82 Cup Winners’ Cup and Spurs had set themselves up well with a 3–1 victory in Amsterdam in the first leg. Glenn Hoddle, Mark Falco and Ricky Villa had scored the goals, with Søren Lerby the only Ajax player to respond.

That meant Keith Burkinshaw’s side could return to White Hart Lane feeling relatively comfortable, a position they consolidated thanks to Tony Galvin, Falco, and Ossie Ardiles.

Yet it was Hoddle who was the architect once again, getting proceedings underway by pinging a perfect pass from the halfway line near the touchline to the far corner of the penalty area. It was picked up by Falco and Galvin finished the move off.

Things got even worse for Ajax when Steve Archibald went on a run down the right and drew the goalkeeper off his line, before squaring to Falco, who hit home into an empty net.

Spurs fans will remember that era for one of their most naturally-gifted XI’s of all time and fittingly, Ardiles got the third with a spectacular strike to end a move he had started from deep in the midfield.

The Argentine utilised Galvin before receiving the ball on the edge of the area and curling it into the top right-hand corner.

Tottenham went on to progress to the semi-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup, where they lost 2–1 to Barcelona.

Ajax headed back to the Netherlands licking their wounds from their second defeat in England in consecutive years, having been knocked out of the European Cup by Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest in 1980.

Almost four decades on, they will be relishing the chance to return to the UK knowing they are just 180 minutes from the final in Madrid.