could also be going through on Valentine's Day because the resumes, however there is no such thing as a love misplaced between the 2 golf equipment after their final fiery encounter 12 years in the past. Antonio Conte's males journey to Italy hoping to take a beneficial end result away from their last-16 knockout tie, and their travelling followers might be eager for a repeat of their success final time they visited the San Siro to face the Rossoneri.
It will likely be nearly precisely 12 years to the day that Spurs - then managed by Harry Redknapp - flew to Milan as a part of their Champions League marketing campaign after qualifying from their group.
To stress how a lot has occurred in that timeline, their present head coach Antonio Conte was a digital unknown within the managerial sphere with Serie B facet Siena, Luka Modric was amongst the Spurs substitutes and an 18-year-old Harry Kane was on mortgage with Leyton Orient in League One.
But when these details have been wonderful to the trendy Spurs supporter, these of a sure age within the stadium can have no bother in casting their minds again to the unimaginable ill-tempered affair that unfolded. From the very begin tensions threatened to boil over, and it was no shock when Milan's Gennaro Gattuso and assistant Joe Jordan clashed on the touchline.
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The Italian midfielder had been flying into challenges and reacted angrily to feedback from the Spurs assistant on the touchline earlier than deciding to confront him. To his astonishment, Gattuso appeared to seize his neck and push Jordan away however walked away and not using a yellow card.
The gamers grew to become embroiled in one other brawl when former Arsenal man Mathieu Flamini, clearly fired up by going through former foes Tottenham, lunged in with two ft on Vedran Corluka and one way or the other prevented a crimson card. Gattuso was as soon as once more on the centre of the fracas, arguing with Michael Dawson.
However there was a while for the soccer to take prominence, with Spurs stopper Heurelho Gomes producing two super saves to maintain the guests in it. And when Peter Crouch slotted residence the winner from a fast counter-attack, Tottenham followers have been dreaming of a memorable European victory.
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Gattuso, who had been booked for a separate incident, was clearly nonetheless seething from the incidents within the recreation and approached Jordan on the full-time whistle, this time catching the Scot with a rare headbutt.
Gattuso's antics not solely sparked a 20-man brawl because the groups went down the tunnel, but in addition have been sufficient to land him a four-match ban from UEFA. And regardless of delivering an apology, he claimed he was provoked by Jordan.
“I misplaced my head, I did issues I shouldn't have finished and I take duty for that," Gattuso later stated. “Jordan busted my balls for the entire second half, however I shouldn't have reacted like this. I apologise, and if a ban arrives I'll settle for it.”
The encounter was so dramatic that well-known Italian pundit Tiziano Crudeli was virtually left in tears within the studio when Spurs scored, and once more when he thought Zlatan Ibrahimovic had scored a last-minute equaliser just for it to be disallowed.
Initially of the 2021-22 season, Gattuso was tipped to take over in north London after Jose Mourinho's sacking in February 2021. However robust opposition from the membership's followers ensured he was not thought-about for the position, with Conte later touchdown the job after Nuno Espirito Santo's temporary stint in cost.
Each groups might be trying solely totally different heading from that conflict too, with Stefano Piolo within the dugout for the Italian facet and Conte on the touchline for Spurs.
However some Milan followers and areas of the Spurs help is not going to have forgoten the occasions from all of these years in the past - and it ought to make for the same fiery ambiance in Milan on Tuesday evening.