Tottenham Hotspur

How does it feel to be back? You are one of the most popular ex-players that we have…

Erik: “Yeah, it feels amazing. Thank you for the welcome. Yes, first time back as a fan. I have still a lot of messages from Spurs fans. You know, my love for this club is big. I spend a lot of good memories here and the fans are always my help also.”

You must have so many memories from your time here – you were such a close group under Mauricio Pochettino - what are your favourites?

Erik: “Like I said before, I had a lot of memories. It was special for me, this club. I spent many years and now, for me, it's a special moment because I'm here, I look at the people and it's fantastic to be here. I played many games. I enjoyed a lot. We were doing well. We had an amazing team and I enjoyed every season here. To play in this stadium meant a lot. The people are amazing. They make you feel very good every game and, of course, as a player, it's the best. I think when we reached the Champions League final, it was the best moment. It was brilliant. Everyone was fantastic. This moment is forever in my mind. Unfortunately, we didn't win, but this is football.

"There were so many times with that team, so many special moments along the way. We had a very good group. We were fighting all together always. Our relationship was amazing. I think this means a lot in football. When you have a good group, it's better. It's easier to be fighting for good things.”

Speaking about fighting - you always played with your heart - why was it important for you to be physically good, to fight for the shirt?

Erik: “When I came in the first season, I understood that in the Premier League you have to fight and also the way I feel about football. I always give my all. This is the best I can do after sleeping well. I feel if I give everything, it's good. It was amazing to play here. I feel proud and nothing else.”

You’ve started your coaching career as an assistant back at Sevilla – how has that been?

Erik: “I'm second coach. It's a good experience. I'm preparing myself. If in the future I have the possibility, I will see. If not, I will keep doing this. I feel very good with the job I have now. I try to teach the players the things I know are important to improve the players and to give some solutions for the team and make the team better.”

Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to players that come to Tottenham Hotspur, what would you say?

Erik: “The advice is to let them know to come. For me, it was fantastic to be here. The club is amazing. It's always better and better. This is a family also. The fans are something different.”

A modern-day great for the Club, Jermain enjoyed a phenomenal time in Lilywhite, scoring 143 goals in 363 games. It was so good in fact that he came back for a second spell in 2009 having previously worn our storied shirt between 2004 and 2008.

And it was in that second stint where he really cemented his status as an icon for the Club, continuing to find the back of the net for fun as he helped us into the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 2010 before going on to break the late Martin Chivers' European goalscoring record in 2013 - a tally of 23 goals which has only been bettered since by Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.

It was also in that second spell where one of the 143 goals he scored for us made history for both him and the Club as we faced West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on 23 April, 2011.

Beginning with the goal - it was some strike. He was a striker renowned for his ability to be reactive in the box and find the target in the most unlikely of situations, but usually in the box. This goal did not meet those guidelines.

The move for the goal had started in our backline with it being worked out to the Rafael van der Vaart, who played a thunderous pass 30-odd yards into Defoe, who had in turn dropped back to the middle of the opposition half.

In somewhat unchartered waters for the England international, he took a couple of chances to set himself before cutting onto his left and firing into the bottom corner of the net from 25 yards out.

But, the goal was so much more significant than it just being a rather decent strike as it also put the forward in the history books.

On a personal note, incredibly the goal was both his 100th for the Club and his 100th in the Premier League. Meanwhile, quite remarkably, it was simultaneously our 1000th goal in the Premier League since the competition was founded in 1992.

How well do you know JD's Spurs career - Take on our quiz

However, while it was a incredible strike and made so much history, it was almost been consigned to history given our result in the game. On the hunt for Champions league football, we really needed a win that afternoon at White Hart Lane to keep tabs on Manchester City who occupied fourth place at the time

Defoe's solo effort had given us a 2-1 lead in the game with 25 minutes still to play but a late Simon Cox leveller for the Baggies saw us drop points. City went on to win against Blackburn the following Monday to move four points clear of us with five games to play.

Ian takes up the role of First Team Goalkeeping Coach, joining from Canada Women’s National Team. He was previously part of Manchester United Women’s backroom staff, working alongside our Head Coach Martin Ho and Assistant Coach Lawrence Shamieh.

Ian Willcock, said: “I’m very excited to be here and be back in club football with Spurs. Having the opportunity to work with Martin again and seeing what we can add to really move this team forward, pushing to climb the league and beyond.

"I’m excited to work with Lize [Kop], Eleanor [Heeps] and Sophie [Jackson], and seeing what we can add to help their development, as well as what we can bring to the whole programme, in terms of bringing more goalkeepers through as well.”

Martin Ho, said: “We are absolutely delighted to bring Ian to Tottenham Hotspur.

"Having worked closely with him for a number of years, I know the exact level he operates at, with attention to detail, consistency and driving standards on a daily basis.

"He has a proven track record of developing and supporting goalkeepers who perform on the biggest stages, and that comes from the clarity in his work and the way he connects with players. He builds complete goalkeepers, not just in their technical actions, but in their understanding of the game and their ability to perform under pressure.

"Just as importantly, he’s an outstanding person. He builds trust, he challenges in the right way and he fully aligns with the environment and culture we are creating here.

"We’re bringing in someone who will add real value to our team and continue to push our goalkeepers, and the group, forward.”

A UEFA A License goalkeeping coach, Ian worked in the Men’s professional game before joining the Red Devils in 2018 ahead of their promotion to the Women’s Super League.

Following success at domestic level, Ian moved into the international game with Canada where he continued in a high-performance environment to support goalkeepers competing on the global stage.

From a stunning strike from the halfway line in the last minute to tricky footwork and emphatic finishes, our clashes with United have always been full of drama.

As we prepare for our final game in N17 this season, with Marc Skinner’s side the visitors, here are five of the best in previous meetings…

While the final result wasn’t the one we wanted, with an Ella Toone brace, Christen Press header and Jess Sigworth strike giving United a healthy advantage, Alanna Kennedy produced a fantastic free-kick late on to grab a consolation goal. After good work from Rosella Ayane to win the free-kick on the edge of the area, around 20 yards out and in a central position, the Australia international stepped over the ball and sent a wonderful, curling right-footed effort into the top corner. Although it didn’t make much impact in the final result, it was the first goal we scored against United in England’s top flight at the time.

Ria Percival became an integral part of our squad in the early years of our WSL journey but her very first goal in England’s top flight as a Lilywhite was one to remember. In November, 2021, at The Hive, we found ourselves one-goal down to Alessia Russo’s strike on the stroke of half time and it looked destined that the visitors would go on to claim all three points in the contest. However, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, the New Zealand international lined up a free-kick, five yards into the United half on the left side, and her delivery bounced inside the area, evading everyone inside the box before finding the top corner to level the scores, which sparked jubilant scenes in north London.

Bethany England leads the way for the most goals scored by a Women’s player at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, netting six in total, but arguably the most impressive one came against United in their first trip to N17. Having fallen behind after Leah Galton handed the visitors the lead, our captain responded in emphatic fashion to grab an equaliser out of nowhere. Cutting in from the left-hand side, Bethany curled low into the far bottom corner and out of reach from Mary Earps, completing the move with a knee slide in front of a packed crowd. Unfortunately we were unable to hold on to the equaliser, with United regaining the lead before going on to secure the win.

Just over a year after Bethany’s strike described above, Jess Naz produced a lovely finish at Leigh Sports Village. Our number nine grabbed an equaliser on the stroke of the half hour mark to cancel out Melvine Malard’s opener and, two minutes later, one of our own, Jess, put us ahead in the contest. Matilda Vinberg picked out the England international just outside the box, she then showcased some lovely footwork to create space before picking out the top left corner with an excellent left-footed strike. That goal looked like it was enough to secure our first-ever competitive win over United but, in the second minute of stoppage time, Maya Le Tissier delivered a sucker-punch, heading home an equaliser.

The fifth and final goal from our catalogue comes from the reverse fixture with United earlier in the campaign, with all three from that game arguably in contention to round this all off. However, we cannot overlook the magic in the build-up from Olivia Holdt and the emphatic finish from Martha Thomas. Turning her marker with ease inside our own half, Oli charged towards United’s box with no one to stop her before sliding in Martha on the right of the area and she made no mistake against her former side, firing home into the roof of the net.

Signed from AS Roma in 2013, Erik actually made his debut in the north London derby at the Emirates on 1 September, 2013 - and is therefore Legacy Number 788.

The Argentine international scored 37 goals in 257 appearances for us between 2013-2021. Injury sidelined him for the best part of two seasons but for the other six, he was consistency personified - 46, 44, 33, 33, 35 and 35 appearances.

He featured in nine matches in our run to the UEFA Champions League Final in 2019 and was awarded FIFA's Puskas Award for his 'rabona' against Arsenal in 2021. He left for Sevilla in 2021 and won the UEFA Europa League in 2023. After a spell at AEK Athens, Erik has returned to Sevilla in an assistant coaching role.

Jimmy Holmes and Mark Stimson receive Legacy Number certificates

Jimmy Holmes and Mark Stimson were also recently presented with their Legacy Number certificates at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Republic of Ireland international Jimmy joined us from Coventry City in 1977 and made 92 appearances before switching to the NASL in America and Vancouver Whitecaps in 1982. He made his debut against West Brom in March, 1977. Capped 30 times by the Republic over 10 years, Jimmy had further league spells at Leicester, Brentford, Torquay and Peterborough United.

Mark joined us as a youngster in 1985 and progressed to make two senior appearances, making his debut against Everton in May, 1987. He moved to Newcastle United in 1989 and was a regular under Ossie Ardiles. He also had spells at Portsmouth and Southend before returning to Spurs as an Academy coach in 2000. Since then, he's had managerial spells at the likes of Stevenage Borough, Gillingham and Barnet. He's recently coached at Margate and Cray Wanderers.

The pair were back together in the midfield engine room for the first time since our UEFA Europa League Final triumph against Manchester United in Bilbao – 21 May last year.

Since then, we’ve played 48 competitive fixtures with both players suffering setbacks – Rodrigo’s return against Brighton marked his first appearance since a hamstring injury required surgery in early January.

Asked about Rodri’s return, Roberto told us: “He had a great game. Like Bissouma, both are very important for us as personalities, as experience. They know, they have a great connection between them.

“We have also Archie Gray, Joao Palhinha, Pape Sarr, Lucas Bergvall. Lucas played 10 minutes, but he changed the game. We have a lot of good players.”

Indeed, moments after coming off the bench, Lucas won possession high in Brighton’s half, Xavi Simons took over and rifled the ball home for 2-1. Unfortunately, Brighton hit back in the 95th minute to grab a share of the spoils.

Roberto added: “I would like all attackers to play like Solanke and Xavi today. They are not arrogant, but they believed in themselves and were clear. I have to work with Kolo Muani. He is a big talent. I want to help him not only to win a game, but just for him to show what he is able to do on the pitch.”

SPURSPLAY

The playmaker told us ‘I want to help the team to score and assist’ after doing just that in what turned out to be a gut-wrenching 2-2 draw against Brighton on Saturday.

Xavi was at his electric best, dictating play from his ’10’ role. He delivered the cross for Pedro Porro to open the scoring after 39 minutes and then drilled home one of the goals of the season from 20 yards to make it 2-1 on 77 minutes.

That sparked scenes of joy in the stadium but, alas, it wasn’t to be – after levelling for 1-1 in first half added time, Brighton left it even later to grab a draw, this time Georfinio Rutter firing into the roof of the net in the 95th minute.

That left Xavi and his team-mates crestfallen – the rollercoaster range of emotions on display in N17.

Here’s what Xavi made of it all...

Try to sum that up for us Xavi - how did you see it today?

Xavi: “Yeah, we started really good, the game, really aggressive as well. We wanted to play football, as the coach said, and enjoy the game, I would say.”

You can see the team wants to play, that you want to try and play the football that Roberto wants...

Xavi: “Yeah, of course. New coach coming in, new idea of playing football. It's a coach that really wants the ball, especially for me, it's something I really like and I think I can put my best game on it. Improving day by day with the ball is most important. Today we tried, and obviously, having that late goal in the last minute, yeah, it hurts.”

Your goal Xavi – you really want goals like that to win games – you went through all of the emotions today...

Xavi: “You know, it's so much hard work that maybe the people don't see. We're really working hard as a team. Me as well, as an individual player. What I said a couple of times to you guys, season didn't go as we wanted, but you know, this is life. You have to embrace it, you have to take it, and you have to work every day. So, that was kind of the moment in the last minutes, I had like… we worked so hard in the last minute, we conceded a goal, and it's just a shame.”

Tell us about your goal and the celebrations. You could see how much you meant to everyone in the stadium...

Xavi: “Yeah, I've been through a difficult journey, I would say, this season. It's life. I have to take it. I'm still young, I have to learn things. I'm really happy that the coach is here, for me especially. I want to play football, I want to help the team to score and assist. I want to help the team to go through this situation, together as a team is the most important thing, but yeah, these are the kind of games that I want to be on the pitch, and I want to show everyone that I can help the team.”

Roberto said he wanted to see goals and assists from you – anything different for you over this last couple of weeks, or is this just a case of you finding rhythm, finding confidence, getting the opportunities?

Xavi: “It's been tough for me. I'm not going to lie, it's been tough, mentally, but I'm lucky that I have a really good family that's always with me and we stay together. In these times as well, I know the people that are around me and the people that really support me day by day. I'm just putting the work into it, morning, afternoon, night, and I want to really help the team. That's the most important thing, especially today. I think the fans were fantastic, and we have to keep working because we have to get through this.”

Can you explain to the fans how you see the team moving forward? It feels like the team is moving in the right direction. Does it feel that way in and amongst the group?

Xavi: “You could see the atmosphere in the stadium from the first minute. We, as players, we feel that as well. What I can say is that we are really working hard to go through this situation. New manager has come in, so we have to adapt on things, but what I can say, we're going in the right direction and we're going to work hard for sure.”

Finally, give us some good news – the injury isn’t serious?

Xavi: “No, no, just cramp.”

The Dutch playmaker, who swapped Leipzig for north London in the summer, made his first league start since the beginning of March when Roberto De Zerbi drafted him in for the visit of our Head Coach's former side - and Xavi produced one his best displays in a Spurs shirt.

Playing just off the left but with the freedom to pop up in pockets across the pitch, the creative midfielder was everywhere for us and looked to make something happen every time he was on the ball.

It was no surprise that he ended up being involved in both of our goals - assisting the first with a delightful clipped ball over the top of the defence for Pedro Porro to head us in front in the first half, before he curled home from range to restore our lead in the second.

Our number seven could have even had another goal to his name in the first half had his precise effort shortly after the opener clipped the other side of the post.

Barely able to move come the end of the game as he tightened up with cramp, it was evident just how much he had given to the team across the 90 minutes.

So it was no surprise that he romped home with your votes for the Player of the Match crown in an exclusive poll ran on tottenhamhotspur.com and the our official app.

Taking 71 per cent of the vote, the Netherlands international stormed to the top of the chart, with Antonin Kinsky (eight per cent) and the returning Rodrigo Bentancur (seven per cent) his closest challengers.

In both scoring and assisting in the game, Xavi became our first player to complete that feat in multiple games in the Premier League this season.

Watch - Xavi's best moments against Brighton

Player of the Match | 2025/26

Paris Saint-Germain 2-2 Spurs - Micky van de Ven

Spurs 3-0 Burnley - Richarlison

Manchester City 0-2 Spurs - Joao Palhinha

Spurs 0-1 AFC Bournemouth - Guglielmo Vicario

West Ham 0-3 Spurs - Lucas Bergvall

Spurs 1-0 Villarreal - Lucas Bergvall

Brighton 2-2 Spurs - Mohammed Kudus

Spurs 3-0 Doncaster Rovers - Joao Palhinha

Spurs 1-1 Wolves - Joao Palhinh

Bodo/Glimt 2-2 Spurs - Micky van de Ven

Leeds United 1-2 Spurs - Mohammed Kudus

Spurs 1-2 Aston Villa - Joao Palhinha & Mohammed Kudus

AS Monaco 0-0 Spurs - Guglielmo Vicario

Everton 0-3 Spurs - Micky van de Ven

Newcastle 2-0 Spurs - Brennan Johnson

Spurs 0-1 Chelsea - Guglielmo Vicario

Spurs 4-0 FC Copenhagen - Micky van de Ven

Spurs 2-2 Manchester United - Wilson Odobert

Arsenal 1-4 Spurs - Richarlison

PSG 5-3 Spurs - Randal Kolo Muani

Spurs 1-2 Fulham - Mohammed Kudus

Newcastle 2-2 Spurs - Cristian Romero

Spurs 2-0 Brentford - Xavi Simons

Spurs 3-0 Slavia Prague - Xavi Simons

Nottingham Forest 3-0 Spurs - Randal Kolo Muani

Spurs 1-2 Liverpool - Djed Spence

Crystal Palace 0-1 Spurs - Archie Gray

Brentford 0-0 Spurs - Micky van de Ven

Spurs 1-1 Sunderland - Ben Davies

Bournemouth 3-2 Spurs - Mathys Tel

Spurs 1-2 Aston Villa - Joao Palhinha

Spurs 1-2 West Ham - Cristian Romero

Spurs 2-0 Dortmund - Xavi Simons

Burnley 2-2 Spurs - Cristian Romero

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Spurs - Xavi Simons

Spurs 2-2 Man City - Dominic Solanke

Manchester United 2-0 Spurs - Guglielmo Vicario

Spurs 1-2 Newcastle - Archie Gray

Spurs 1-4 Arsenal - Randal Kolo Muani

Fulham 2-1 Spurs - Richarlison

Spurs 1-3 Crystal Palace - Archie Gray

Atletico Madrid 5-2 Spurs - Pedro Porro

Liverpool 1-1 Spurs - Richarlison

Spurs 3-2 Atletico Madrid – Archie Gray

Spurs 0-3 Nottingham Forest – Archie Gray

Sunderland 1-0 Spurs – Antonin Kinsky

Spurs 2-2 Brighton – Xavi Simons

Player of the Match awards | 2025/26

The Dutch playmaker was central to what looked like being a crucial win in the Premier League until Brighton dug out a heartbreaking equaliser five minutes into the eight minutes of added time.

It was tough to take – not least for Xavi, who was at his best throughout, set up our opener for Pedro Porro on 39 minutes, hit the post and then fired home a beauty for 2-1 on 77 minutes, lifting the roof off in N17. Alas, it wasn’t to be as Georfinio Rutter provided the late, late show for Brighton to make it 2-2 on 95 minutes.

Speaking to us afterwards, Xavi said: “You could see the atmosphere in the stadium from the first minute. We, as players, we feel that as well.

“What I can say is that we are really working hard to get through this situation. New manager has come in, so we have to adapt on things, but what I can say, we're going in the right direction and we're going to work hard for sure. The fans were fantastic, and we have to keep working because we have to get through this.”

Reflecting further on the match, Xavi added: “We started really good, really aggressive as well. We wanted to play football, as the coach said, and enjoy the game.

“New coach coming in, new idea of playing football. It's a coach that really wants the ball, especially for me, it's something I really like and I think I can put my best game on it. Improving day by day with the ball is most important. Today we tried, and obviously, having that late goal... yeah, it hurts.”