Tottenham Hotspur star Lucas Moura expresses disbelief at being omitted for the UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool
In conversation with Players Tribune (h/t Express), Tottenham Hotspur attacker Lucas Moura expressed his disbelief at not starting the 2019 UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool.
The 29-year-old Brazilian pulled a rabbit out of the hat in the semi-final against Ajax Amsterdam. His spectacular second-half hat-trick silenced the Johan Cruijff Arena and helped overturn a 3-0 aggregate lead. His goals enabled Spurs to reach the final of the Champions League against fellow English rivals Liverpool.
Despite his clinical performance, then Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino chose to keep Moura on the bench and played Harry Kane who had just returned from injury. The English striker had a lackluster game as Spurs struggled to get going and the Merseyside team went on to win their sixth European crown.
Merus has now opened up on how he felt about being benched in the final against the Reds. It is fair to say that he felt hard done by Pochettino’s call. While he did eventually come off the bench that night, Spurs lacked the fight and ability to beat an astute Liverpool side.
“Minutes before we left the hotel, there was the final prep talk and right after that, we left for the stadium. The news hit me like cold water. I didn’t see that coming. Then you stop and think, ‘Hey, I could have played, I was supposed to start that game.”
The Argentine manager had gotten Spurs within touching distance of a much-needed trophy but they failed at the final hurdle once again. The final proved to be Pocchetino’s high water mark as Spurs manager. He was sacked midway into the next season following a disastrous start to the campaign.
The final against Liverpool will be seen as a missed opportunity for Tottenham. Whether they had a better shot had Moura started is debatable. However, there is little to deny that he of all the players in the lineup deserved to start that night.
Reputation clearly won the battle that night with Pochettino. Kane is a top player but he should not have started the game from the beginning that night. The performance clearly showed that.
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Making an impact in the big games is a dream from most professional footballers. The Brazilian end up playing just 24 minutes of the European showpiece off the bench. The 29-year-old attacker would be ruing the feeling of that missed opportunity but Nuno Espirito Santo would be hoping that he can reproduce some of that magic on the big stage again.
Whether Tottenham will ever return to the final of Europe’s top competition remains to be seen. After all, some opportunities occur once in a lifetime.
