We Did It! Spurs Advance To Champions League Group Play

After a less than stellar performance on the artificial turf of Stade de Suisse, Spurs came back with a vengeance to secure a 4-0 win at home. Despite the heavy rainfall and a goaltending switch after halftime, Tottenham continued to impressive through out.
Peter Crouch stole the show, scoring three goals, two off of set pieces. At the five minute mark, Crouch headed in a corner from Gareth Bale. The goal was Crouch's first of the season, and put his side at ease going forward.
Crouch scored again in the 61st minute, heading in another corner from Bale. Crouch calmly approached a penalty kick twenty minutes later and completed his hat trick by sticking the ball in the bottom left of the goal.
Striker Jermain Defoe postponed surgery to help his team advance to the group stage. He scored Spurs' second goal on a controversial non-hand ball call. Defoe received the pass off his arm, continued with the play while the defender complained, and scored with his left foot. Despite Young Boys' protests, none of the referees saw the hand ball and the goal was upheld.
Although overshadowed by Crouch's hat trick, Gareth Bale continued his excellent play. He recorded four assists in the game, and would have scored if he wasn't tackled inside the box. Bale was brought down by defender Senad Lulic, who was ejected from the game after his second yellow card.
Towards the end of the first half, Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes asked to be removed from the game after suffering a leg injury. Redknapp stuck with him through the first half before sending out Carlo Cudicini as his replacement.
Cudicini was only challenged once and made the save easily.
The announcer summed it up best when he said Spurs played with "Pride, Privilege, and Achievement." That's what I love about English announcers and England in general. Can you imagine a scenario where an American announcer would utter those three words in succession to describe a sporting event? Absolutely not. Only the English.
Spurs will find out which group they are drawn into tomorrow. I'll be anxiously awaiting, researching, and will come back tomorrow prepared to provide updates.

Making Sense Of The UEFA Champions League

I'd planned on writing about the Champions League last week but held off due to my frustration over the Spurs' result. I've talked about the learning process that comes with following a new sport or league and the Champion's League tournament is just that.
Of course, I didn't know what the Champions League was. All I knew was that it was an honor to be there and for a highly touted English Premier League team, it would be a disaster to not qualify for the group stages.
Here's what I learned. The top four teams from the EPL (based on last year's standings) qualify for tournament play. The top three (Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal) automatically qualify for the group stage. My fourth place Spurs have to earn their spot into the group stages.
It's kind of hard to explain, but there are four rounds leading up to group play. Similar to the NCAA college basketball tournament, teams are awarded placement based on performance but also the strength of the conference which they play in.
For the first three rounds, a total of 49 European clubs battled it out for 15 of the 20 spots in the fourth round, known as the playoff round. The playoff round is separated into two categories: the Champions and Non-Champions.
The Champions division consists of ten teams that advanced from the third qualifying round. All of these teams were champions of the European league which they played in. They're all matched up at random, with five teams from this division moving on to the group stages.
The Non-Champions league also consists of ten teams, five teams that advanced from the third qualifying round, and five teams from top European leagues that didn't win their league but finished high enough to qualify. Spurs fall into this category. These ten teams are also paired up at random and five of them will advance to the group stages.
The ten teams that advance from the playoff round will join the 22 automatic qualifiers to complete the 32 team field in the group stages. From here, it plays exactly like the World Cup. The teams are randomly broken down into eight 4-team groups, and the top two teams from each group advance to the knock out stages.

For their playoff round match up, Spurs drew the Young Boys from Switzerland. Young Boys were largely regarded as the worst team out of the 9 that the Spurs could have drew, despite beating Turkish squad Fenerbache 1-0 on the road to nullify their first 2-2 match up.
Riding high from their advancement, Young Boys shocked Spurs in their first match up, earning a 3-2 win at home. While they earned the victory, they gave up 2 goals in the second half, despite recording a 3-0 advantage at halftime.
This is important, because if both team's earn a victory, the tie-breaker is goals scored. If the number of goals is the same, the tie-breaker goes to the team that scored more goals on the road. If both sides are still even, it comes down to penalty kicks.
Here are the scenarios which Spurs would advance:
1) A 1-0 victory
2) A 2-1 victory
3) A victory by 2 or more goals regardless of the score
If they draw, lose, or give up 3 or more goals in a one goal victory, they will be eliminated. 
Spurs will play the second leg of their Young Boys match up tomorrow. I want this win bad. The group stage format is one of the best in all of sports, and I've been without it for a month now. Please Spurs, please, I need this, you need this. Think of the children. Better yet, think of the lucrative television deals that will follow.
It won't be easy. Spurs will be without midfielder Luca Modric. Jermain Defoe, who needs groin surgery after reaggravating an injury in the first leg, could play anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes. It is unclear whether forwards Roman Pavyluchenko or Robbie Keane will be available.