Dortmund vs. Tottenham - The Favourites Collide

Like many other Spurs fans, I was absolutely delighted when we were drawn against Borussia Dortmund in the last sixteen of the Europa League. For me it was the best possible outcome for us. Not only are we playing against one of the favourites for the trophy, we are playing against a side that is of Champions League quality.

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Article by Chris Duncan

Dortmund currently sit second in the German Bundesliga, behind Bayern Munich, who they faced last weekend in Der Klassiker. Much like ourselves, Dortmund are very much in their domestic title race, and victory against the Bavarians would have taken them within two points of Bayern.

Dortmund are coached by German Thomas Tuchel, who the club appointed following Jurgen Klopp's decision to leave the club at the end of last season. Tuchel, a coach who is hugely respected both in Germany, and throughout Europe, had been out of the game since leaving his previous post at FC Mainz 05. Thomas Tuchel's teams play a style of football not too dissimilar to that of Mauricio Pochettino. Tuchel wants his team to play a relentless, high energy brand of counter-attacking football, which can be devastating.

Dortmund qualified for the Europa League after finishing seventh in The Bundesliga last season, and their European campaign began in the third qualifying round against RZ Pellets WAC of Austria, who they saw off comfortably 6-0 on aggregate. Odd Grenland of Norway were next up in the playoff round, and despite trailing 3-0 after thirty minutes of the first leg, Dortmund eventually prevailed 11-5 on aggregate. Dortmund were drawn against FK Krasnodar, Dimitar Berbatov's PAOK and FK Qabala in the group stage, finishing second with ten points from the six matches. Many considered Dortmund's last 32 clash against FC Porto as the tie of the round, but they made light work of their Portuguese opponents, progressing 3-0 on aggregate.

Borussia Dortmund's squad is full of talent and would certainly not look out of place in the Champions League. The defence is marshalled by their World Cup winning captain Mats Hummels. In midfield they have the no nonsense tackling of Sven Bender protecting the defence, and players of the quality of Ilkay Gündogan and Nuri Sahin creating things from anywhere on the pitch. Dortmund also posses an abundance of attacking talent, with Tuchel able to call on players of the quality of Marco Reus, Henrik Mkhitaryan and leading goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

If we are to win this tie it is absolutely essential that we return from Germany with a positive result, but that may not be easy in a stadium as intimidating as Dortmund's Westfallenstadion. The atmosphere generated in this stadium is absolutely incredible and the place will be rocking long before the game actually kicks-off. One plus for the players is that Dortmund's famous Yellow Wall terrace will be replaced with seats, restricting the attendance - up to 25,000 supporters fill this stand alone for Bundesliga games, making it the largest free-standing grandstand in Europe. However, this will make the place no less intimidating.

So, to the big question: Will we beat Borussia Dortmund? Obviously my heart says Yes. My head on the other hand cannot give such a straight forward answer. As I have mentioned previously, I strongly believe our chances of success hinge on the outcome of the first leg, as I have no doubt that we will beat Dortmund at White Hart Lane in the second leg. If we achieve a positive result in the first leg, I am confident we will progress. However, Dortmund are a class act and have quality players that can hurt us. If we are not on our game, it is not inconceivable that Dortmund win the first leg, and comfortably. That said, Mauricio Pochettino's planning is meticulous and there is no doubt in my mind that when the players step out on to the pitch on March 10th, they will be as ready as they can be to do the job. Regardless of the outcome, the players and management will learn an awful lot from these two matches and us fans will hopefully enjoy every second of a proper European tie.

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