LONDON • Mauricio Pochettino has challenged Tottenham to seize their unexpected chance to make history as they try to overturn a 1-0 deficit at Ajax in their Champions League semi-final today.
The manager is convinced Spurs can still reach their maiden Champions League final despite losing the first leg at home last week.
"Yes, it's possible," said a defiant Pochettino, when asked if his side could still make the final.
"It's possible if you play bravely and play with a winning mentality. That is the most important thing.
"We have ahead two finals against Ajax and Everton and it's in our hands to be in a good position at the end of the season.
"No one believed we would be in this position in the last week of the competition. We are in a position where it depends on us to be in the (Champions League) final or not, and then it depends on us to finish in the (Premier League) top four."
Tottenham go into their biggest game for decades today on a low note after conceding in added time to lose 1-0 at Bournemouth last Saturday. It was a third successive loss in all competitions as they finished with nine men after red cards for Son Heung-min and Juan Foyth.
FINAL FLOURISH
We have ahead two finals against Ajax and Everton and it's in our hands to be in a good position at the end of the season.
MAURICIO POCHETTINO, Tottenham manager, urging his team to end the season on a high.
A MATCH FOR ANYONE
You saw it against Real Madrid, in the group stage against Bayern Munich that we can make it difficult for anyone. We have also shown that we can beat anyone.
DONNY VAN DE BEEK, Ajax midfielder, on his team feeling confident of their chances to reach the Champions League final.
But Spurs, who play Everton in their final Premier League game on Sunday, are all but certain to finish at least fourth and qualify for the Champions League after Arsenal and Manchester United were both held to draws last Sunday.
Pochettino said: "It's a massive week and that's why we need to move on and be ready again. But, whatever happens, I am going to feel proud."
Son will be back from his ban to inject dynamism and penetration missing from the first leg as Tottenham try to reach their first European final since the 1984 Uefa Cup.
But they will also have to focus on the challenge presented by Ajax's vibrant young side led by their 19-year-old captain Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, 21 and Donny van de Beek, 22.
Van de Beek, recalling the first leg where he gave Ajax a precious away goal, told the club website: "We played too many long balls. That is not our game and our quality.
"We have to stay focused like we have before, stay calm and play our own game.
"You saw it against Real Madrid, in the group stage against Bayern Munich that we can make it difficult for anyone. We have also shown that we can beat anyone."
While a goalless draw will be enough to take them to the final, Ajax coach Erik ten Hag wants his fully fit side to go for a win.
"We need to win this match tomorrow, that will be our mindset", ten Hag said at a pre-match press conference yesterday. "We have to stick to our own strengths."
The Dutch side initially dominated Tottenham during the first leg last week, but they struggled in the second half as Spurs put pressure on their defence.
"Our minds were a bit too much on defending the lead," ten Hag said. "But it was also a show of strength by Spurs.
"It showed we have to cross another frontier tomorrow. But we are confident we can do it. We are fit and we are eager."
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Early life. Pochettino was born in Murphy, Santa Fe to Amalia and Héctor Pochettino, a farm labourer. His family is of Italian descent from the Piedmont region. The first football match he watched on television was the 1978 FIFA World Cup which he watched with his father Héctor at the local sports club in Murphy, Centro Recreativo Unión y Cultura.
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