I am disappointed my former club Tottenham have not won a trophy since 2008 but the future should be brighter with a top stadium, world-class manager Antonio Conte and the captains of England and France in their team.
Qualifying for the Champions League is an important start to the rebuild. Despite the last two Premier League results, a top-four finish is still in their hands. They must beat Leicester City on Sunday, with the north London derby against Arsenal on May 12 looking pivotal.
I believe the role of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is significant given the high stakes. Not only do I admire him as a fellow central midfield player, his mentality is equally significant having started out at one of the biggest clubs in the world, Bayern Munich.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's role at Tottenham is significant given the high top-four stakes
It was fascinating to sit down with him last week and learn about the impact of that development when he made his Bundesliga debut at 17 and won the German Double under Pep Guardiola at 18, alongside Philippe Lahm, Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer.
‘I call Bayern a school of champions,’ says 26-year-old Hojbjerg about his career pathway. ‘You get the best education, the A+ students stay and the A students have to go somewhere else.
‘I signed for them 10 years ago. The plan was to get to the first team in my third year but they had 11 players at Euro 2012 so I went straight off youth football in Denmark into first-team training.
Hojbjerg won the German Double at Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola (left) at 18
It went OK so the manager Jupp Heynckes said: “I want to keep the kid with me”. I had to be patient after that, it took eight months to get on the bench, but in my stomach there was this little fight to be involved.
‘Guardiola came in my second year. He taught me positioning, how to analyse the game. I was eating right off it. I couldn’t get enough. My first Champions League game was against Roma. I started at Manchester City, facing Frank Lampard in midfield.
‘I learned about hunger for trophies. I was lucky to share a dressing room with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Daniel van Buyten, the captain of Belgium, Neuer, fantastic personality, Mario Mandzukic, nasty fella but there when you need him.
'On match day, the moment they were in the huddle you knew they would give every centimetre for each other. They had this trust between them and a cold determination to win.’
The Dane branded the Bavarian side the 'school of champions' as you get the best education
Hojbjerg, a member of Denmark’s Euro 2020 semi-final team last summer, did eventually leave to further his career, first at Southampton, then Spurs. But the lessons learned in Bavaria will be music to the ears of a serial winner like Conte.
Like the Dutch, Danes speak in a forthright manner and Hojbjerg does not shy away from this being an important time in Tottenham’s history.
‘I want to try and play for the big titles,’ he says. ‘I’m not scared to say when you go to Tottenham, people might not expect you to win things because of recent history. I fully understand that but really want to change the cycle. Also, for my own career, my ambition, I want to fight.
‘You don’t associate my style with big headlines but my contribution is for the team. One thing I know I can do is compete with anyone because it’s in my blood. I like to push everyone, starting with myself, to the limit.’
Hojbjerg was a member of Denmark’s Euro 2020 semi-final team against England last summer
Growing up around Paul Ince and Steven Gerrard as I did, the best players do put demands on each other. It is less common these days but there is still a place for it. Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson is the best example and Hojbjerg has others he has come across.
‘My second red card in the Premier League was for a foul against Fernandinho when I played at Southampton,’ he says. ‘Then the first game of this season, for Spurs against City, Fernandinho gets to a loose ball first and goes through me with his follow-up.
‘I yelled at the ref “If I’d planted my foot, he was going to f***ing break my leg”. And Fernandinho comes past telling me: “Yeah, remember a couple of years ago, you did it to me”. When I calmed down, I just thought “I love this guy!”
The midfielder's second red card in the Premier League was for a foul against Fernandinho
Fernandinho reminded him of the incident in Manchester City's clash against Spurs this term
‘Dusan Tadic at Southampton was the most unbelievable trainer and professional I’ve come across. I remember my first pre-season camp with Saints in France, the sun was shining and I felt good about everything.
‘Dusan came over and asked me very seriously if I thought I was doing well. I
