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Dimitar Berbatov claims Tottenham are struggling just like Jurgen Klopp did
that Tottenham Hotspur are struggling just like Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp did during 2014-15 as manager of Borussia Dortmund – following defeat in the Champions League final.
Klopp astounded many by masterminding Dortmund’s progress to the final in 2013 – only to lose to German champions Bayern Munich at the last hurdle. It is about as good as it got for Klopp at Dortmund after that.
A second-placed finish followed the season after – but a huge 19 points behind Bayern. In Klopp’s final season, he struggled as the yellows finished way down in seventh place. They completed the 2014-15 season with 25 points less than the season prior.
Former Tottenham striker Berbatov believes his old side are going through something similar under Mauricio Pochettino, after Spurs suffered defeat to Klopp and Liverpool in May. Berbatov also claimed that he experienced similar with Bayer Leverkusen.
“Spurs need to find that consistency, or it is not going to be good for them,” . “When I reached the CL final with Leverkusen, the next season, we fought against relegation. We played badly.
Dortmund, they reached the final with Jurgen Klopp, then, they play badly. Spurs, the same thing. There is something that when you reach a great height, you fall back down and you need to find a balance again. Spurs are going through this.”
TBR’s view – Could Tottenham still be reeling from CL final defeat?
For Spurs, it was such a huge achievement to reach the final of the competition. After coming so close to exiting the tournament in the group stages, Spurs produced miracle after miracle – especially against Ajax – before making the final.
To go through all that and have a realistic chance of winning, only for it all to be thrown away by a controversial handball and a late goal, will have hit Spurs hard. Especially given the pressure on Pochettino to deliver a trophy.
So yes, Spurs are likely to be hurting from the defeat. But the longer they take to get over it, the closer they will drift towards the bottom of the table.
