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#2 Crouch’s header sends Spurs into the Champions League
It’s not often that a single game between two sides ends up being a Champions League eliminator, but that’s what happened on May 5th, 2010, when Tottenham faced off with newly-minted Manchester City at Eastlands in the penultimate game of the season. Spurs – managed at the time by Harry Redknapp – went into the game in fourth place – the Champions League spot – on 67 points, while City sat one place behind them on 66. Essentially, the winner of the game would be guaranteed Champions League football – worth at least £30m – for the 2010/11 season.
The game was a tight one and although Tottenham had the better of the play for the majority of the game, clear-cut chances seemed hard to come by, particularly in the first half, despite a Ledley King headed goal being disallowed for a push. The second was better for Spurs but it didn’t seem like they were destined to score – lanky England striker Peter Crouch hit the post and then missed a header, while Jermain Defoe also saw a good chance saved by City’s keeper Marton Fulop. With the clock ticking, it looked like the race for the Champions League might end up going to the final game of the season.
With eight minutes remaining though, Spurs finally struck gold. A cross from Younes Kaboul was deflected, and Fulop could only parry the ball into the path of the oncoming Crouch, who headed into the empty net to send the travelling Tottenham fans into dreamland. It was a turning point for Spurs – the moment when they became a powerful club again after years of mediocrity in the 90’s – and also the moment when Redknapp’s reputation improved from that of a cockney wheeler-dealer to a genuinely great manager. It’s one of the all-time treasured Spurs moments.
