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The German word Traditionsklub is just one of those legendary words to describe something that their languages recognise exist, but just don’t have a succinct word for. Schadenfreude and Kindergarten are perhaps the two most famous examples outside the world of football.
It would be an understatement to say that German experienced a century of political upheaval in football’s first full century as a global sport. Dictators both fascist and communist, as well as the occupying Allied authorities, abolished, merged and renamed clubs on top of the normal cyclical opening and folding of clubs every country experienced.
A Traditionsklub is one that survived all that relatively intact. They needn’t be consistently successful, 1860 Munich being a good example.
Because most of the surviving clubs in England are relatively old, Milton Keynes Dons being an exception, the term has little resonance here.
Why is this relevant? Because last night, one of England’s most traditional clubs Tottenham Hotspur played host to one of Germany’s and even Europe’s least.
We don’t need to rehash RB Leipzig’s inception in detail. The energy drink bought an unknown fifth-division side SSV Markranstädt’s league place. In fact Red Bull bought it all, the club’s licence, crest, kit and player rights. The disappearance of VfB Leipzig in 2004, known as Lokomotiv Leipzig in the Communist era, had created a vacuum in a city with a population of around 600,000.
They then invested enough to propel themselves upwards to the Bundesliga accompanied by general revulsion of Germany’s football fans.
There have been few setbacks in the juggernaut advance of outside money buying on field success. The sanctions imposed on Manchester City by UEFA have every possibility of being a game changer.
Laptops were poised to write that Traditionsklub Hostpur had shown that the fight back had truly begun by adding a second blow within a week.
There was only one problem. Leipzig outplayed Tottenham utterly and completely last night at White Hart Lane. Hugo Lloris in the Spurs goal kept the score to 1-0 but this should not be allowed to disguise the fact that Leipzig were technically superior in every aspect of the game, including marking, blocking, one touch, control, off the ball running, aerial domination, passing and shooting.
In Lukas Klostermann and Ethan Ampadu they had to defenders who were so in control of their remits and so unhurried that a more hyperbolic writer than I may have been tempted to deem their performances as Beckenbaueresque.
That Welshman Ampadu is still on loan from Chelsea can only have added to Spurs fans angst, given that they may have to watch the young Welshman snuff out their attacking intent in London derbies sometime soon.
His club were not slow to recognise his contribution last night.
Most touches ?
Most passes attempted ?
Most passes completed ✅
Most interceptions ⛔
Highest pass accuracy ?@ethanamp4 ran the show at the back last night ??⚪ #DieRotenBullen #TOTRBL pic.twitter.com/LjP94zcl0W
— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) February 20, 2020
After the match Spurs coach Jose Mourinho passed up an opportunity to praise Leipzig which might have been a diplomatic escape and launched a grumpy attack on a journalist who asked a question he didn’t like.
He grasped onto the fact that the gap between the sides was only one goal when asked what hope he held for progress in the competition:
“The result.
“1-0 is 1-0, it’s not 10-0. The result is open.
It’s as simple as that. We wouldn’t be the first team to lose 1-0 at home and then win the tie away. So why shouldn’t we believe?”
Despite Leipzig missing three first choice defenders Dayot Upamecano, Willi Orban, and Ibrahima Konaté and using a makeshift back three, he chose to cite his own injury absences as the reason for the loss:
“We are speaking about a very difficult situation and if I could, if I could, I would move immediately to the first of July.
“And the first of July with Harry Kane, with (Moussa) Sissoko, with Son, with (Steven) Bergwijn, with Lucas (Moura), with (Erik) Lamela. I would love to be on the first of July, but I am not.”
Lemon and biscuits
He even started getting his excuses for the net game in early when he noted the early kick off time for their upcoming match with Chelsea:
“But as I was saying in some television (interviews), the Chelsea players were watching this game on TV, with nice sparkling water, with lemons and biscuits, enjoying the game and we play Saturday at 12 o’clock.
“Thank you so much for the choice. We cannot even sleep well until 10.30 or 11. We have to wake up at 7.30 for the game.”
The relaxed demeanour of his opposite number Julian Nagelsmann could not have been in more contrast. His side had kept a clean sheet away to Bayern in the Bundesliga and now again away in the UEFA Champions League.
Asked how important this facet of their game was as opposed to scoring at the other end, the young coach managed something Mourinho might have considered and attempted to use humour:
“In Peter Gulácsi, we have a goalkeeper who cries every time we receive a goal so we always want to hold onto the nil!
“At the end, it’s always important. It’s always possible to have a good defensive style and good defensive players.
“It was important against Bayern Munich. It was important today.”
It is hard to see how Spurs might make the Hungarian stopper shed tears in the second leg. He is more likely to have the missing defenders back than Mourinho is to have any of his first choice strikers.
The Portuguese will still have selection headaches whereas Nagelsmann may have selection luxuries.
Tradition may well need a bigger Klub on March 10th than Mourinho can fit on a plane.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies, Winks, Fernandes (Lamela 64′), Lo Celso, Alli (Ndombele 64′), Bergwijn, Lucas Moura.
Subs: Vertonghen, , Dier, Gazzaniga, , Skipp, Tanganga.
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi, Mukiele, Klostermann, Halstenberg, Angelino, Laimer (Forsberg 78′), Ampadu, Sabitzer, Nkunku (Haidara 74′), Schick (Poulsen 77′), Werner.
Subs: , Lookman, Wolf, Olmo, Mvogo.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey).
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