A Guide to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
A Guide to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
Introduction
Tottenham Hotspur is a London-based professional football club playing in the English Premier League. Founded in 1882 by pupils from a local grammar school, the club plays its home games at White Hart Lane in north London. It is believed the club was named after local hero Sir Henry Percy, known as Harry Hotspur in William Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I. Nicknamed ‘Spurs,’ Tottenham are famous for their cavalier style of attacking football, based on the club’s Latin motto ‘audere est facere,’ or ‘to dare is to do.’
Ground
Tottenham moved to their current ground at White Hart Lane in 1899, after increasing crowds had forced them to relocate from their earlier homes at Tottenham Marshes and Northumberland Park. White Hart Lane’s current capacity is just over 36,000.
Looking to the future
The club is currently looking to build a new 56,000 capacity home adjacent to the current site, although the development has been held up by disputes with the local authority over funding and infrastructure, as well as the club’s interest in moving into London’s Olympic Stadium.
A proud history
Home
Tottenham were the first team of the modern era to win the coveted League and FA Cup double when they achieved the feat in the 1960-61season. Though they have only won the domestic league title twice, Spurs have always excelled in the cup competitions and remain one of the most successful teams in English football history. They have won the FA Cup a total of eight times – the first, in 1901, coming when they were still a non-league team – and the League Cup four times, most recently in 2008 when they defeated Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley.
Abroad
Spurs became the first British club to win a major European trophy when they claimed the 1963 European Cup Winners’ Cup. The club has gone on to achieve a further two European triumphs, winning the UEFA Cup in 1972 and 1984. After suffering a largely barren period during the 1990s and early 2000s, the club returned to European prominence with a run to the Champions League quarter finals in 2011.
Notable former players
Throughout its history, Tottenham has been home to some of the most famous names in English and world football, including Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, Martin Chivers, Glenn Hoddle, Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne, as well as World Cup winners Jimmy Greaves, Martin Peters, Ricardo Villa, Osvaldo Ardiles and Jurgen Klinsmann.