Many have said that life just hasn't been the same since the Covid-19 pandemic forced us into lockdown, but Tottenham supporters will tell you that the real turning point of their existence arrived a year before.
Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs were on the cusp of an unfathomable achievement. The most dramatic of two-legged triumphs over a title-winning Manchester City team and Europe's babyfaced darlings, otherwise known as Erik ten Hag's Ajax, meant just 90 minutes separated the Lilywhites from a continental conquest.
In the aforementioned period of lockdown, I rewatched the 2019 Champions League final for the very first time. I was cruelly reminded of the opening-minute penalty decision that compromised our dream, as well as the spirited showing that followed. We were pretty good in Madrid, but bereft of final third invention.
Our two biggest chances fell to the hero of Amsterdam, Lucas Moura , who couldn't beat Alisson and bring us level. Divock Origi 's dagger was gut-wrenching, but somewhat inevitable.
Since that day, Tottenham Hotspur have embarked on a journey towards the near-abyss. Sure, there have been highs along the way, such as Antonio Conte's immediate impact, and Europa League glory under Ange Postecoglou, but we're now threatening to endure the nadirest of nadirs. A first relegation in almost 50 years is staring us in the face.
Eriksen came ever so close to lifting the Champions League trophy. | Soccrates Images/GettyImages
Christian Eriksen was an imperative figure in Poch's Spurs, functioning as the subtle but ingenious playmaker who ran relentlessly. He epitomised everything our cherished former manager was about, with the Dane, signed for a bargain price from Ajax in 2013, the only overwhelming success story of the ' Gareth Bale 7'.
The present-day bleakness has forced many supporters to indulge in Poch-led nostalgia, but no rose-tinted glasses are required to reach the conclusion that things were just so much more fun back then.
In an interview with The Times towards the end of last year, which I missed because I was on the other side of the world amid a football detox, Eriksen lamented football's absence of flair, but also discussed his time in north London, specifically his biggest regrets.
"Losing the 2019 Champions League final is one of the biggest nightmares of my career," he said.
"It was all the pressure from the few years before that, like the balloon got bigger and bigger, and when we lost, the air just went out of the balloon, for the club and for the players."
Eriksen, for a long time a revered fan favourite, was chastised during his final few months at the club, leaving for Conte's Inter in January 2020 after Pochettino was sacked the previous November.
The era that could've returned the most lucrative prize in European football was suddenly no more, but it was perhaps that journey, and how close we came, that shifted the thinking of Daniel Levy into the world of 'win-now'.
This article was originally published on www.hotspurhq.com as Christian Eriksen reveals what happened to Spurs after crushing Champions League final defeat .
