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Tottenham Hotspur are finally going home!
Spurs now know that they will officially move into their new stadium the first week of April. The opening match at the new ground will be against either Crystal Palace or Brighton, depending on their results in the FA Cup.
But there are a couple test events that have to happen before the real games can start. The first test event will be a U18 match, and the second will be an exhibition between a team of Spurs legends and a team of Inter Milan legends.
On Wednesday, the club confirmed the first group of Tottenham legends that will be taking part in that second test event.
We are delighted to announce that, among those set to pull on the famous Lilywhite shirt in the prestigious Legends match on Saturday 30 March are Robbie Keane, Rafael van der Vaart, Dimitar Berbatov, Allan Nielsen, David Howells, Stephen Carr, Darren Anderton and goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt, with many more stars still to be revealed.
The team will be managed on the day by our long-serving former captain, second-highest appearance-maker of all-time and current Club Ambassador, Gary Mabbutt.
More stars will soon be revealed, but that’s quite a list to start.
Gary Mabbutt may not be able to hold his own on a pitch like he could a couple decades ago, but he’ll do a fine job managing the squad.
Nielsen, Howells, Carr, Thorstvedt, and Anderton were fixtures at Spurs during the 1990s. Anderton’s 299 games played for Tottenham in the Premier League are still a club record. Hugo Lloris, the current Spurs player with the most appearances, is still a little more than 60 games behind Anderton’s benchmark.
Keane, Carr, van der Vaart, and Berbatov all played for Spurs more recently.
Van der Vaart was a part of the team in 2011, the only other time Tottenham have made it to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. He won’t have Gareth Bale or Luka Modric to pass the ball to, but he’ll surely still be a fan favorite when he plays at his old club’s new home.
Keane had two different spells with the club, during which he managed 91 goals. If he scores, the fans will probably be expecting one of his trademark cartwheel celebrations.
There may be some supporters who still hold a grudge against Berbatov following his messy departure for Manchester United in 2008. Still, the Bulgarian received a nice ovation when he returned to White Hart Lane for the farewell ceremony/finale in 2017.
The club have confirmed that more legends are set to be announced in the coming days. Players still playing likely aren’t available, but it seems like there will be an abundance of familiar faces taking to the pitch when Spurs christen their new ground with what should be a tremendous exhibition match.