We’re all aware that London is blue. However, the white contingent of north London claims to be the best of the city, so why the whole rivalry thing?
If you’ve ever watched Chelsea embark from the tunnel to Liquidator, you’ve likely heard it accompanied with the chant “we hate Tottenham, CHELSEA!”. To which, yes, the faithful in the Matthew Harding stand have a strong disdain for Spurs. Some may wonder, why is this different? When Chelsea takes on Arsenal, the title of the best in London is truly at stake; whereas against Spurs, there’s no leverage to make that case. Why is there this strong dislike between the two sides and why is this so unique?
To understand the modern-day hatred, we would need to go back to the dark days of west London. In 1967, Chelsea would play Tottenham Hotspur for the first time in a major final. The ’67 FA Cup was the first-ever all London one and with Spurs coming out on top, the seed of a rivalry was planted. In 1975, a loss to the hands of Tottenham condemned Chelsea to play in the second division of English Football. A brawl broke out in the stands, and the rivalry was born.
In the 1980s, Tottenham would be one of the more dominant teams in London. But that would all change in the 1990s as the Blues would not drop a game against their new rivals, and would end the millennium with trophies. When the third millennium started, Chelsea became a powerhouse in football, both in England and internationally, something Spurs have never done.
A lot of newer fans may not understand the rivalry, so please allow me to walk you through the most gruesome night in English Football. In 2016, Spurs would find themselves hanging on by a thread in the title hunt. Closing down Leicester—yes, that actually happened—they needed to take away three points from Stamford Bridge to have any hope of winning the title. Tottenham had not won at the Bridge in a decade. It was going to be a tough task to beat the reigning Premier League Champions, despite them being so out of place in the table.
Moussa Dembele would have a few clashes early with Cesc Fabregas, and John Obi Mikel, but we’ll get back to Dembele for something he did later. This was only six minutes into the game. Spurs would find themselves up 2-0 within roughly half an hour, and when you’re losing to a rival, you let things get physical. Chelsea unleashed Diego Costa, who had a slow season production-wise, but was still capable of starting a riot on the pitch. He and Jan Vertonghen would have numerous incidents throughout the night. Danny Rose and Willian would also get into a little shoving match before the halftime whistle, as well. This is where it became apparent Moussa Dembele tried to claw at Diego Costa’s eyes. He would get a three-game suspension for this act.
This was all before halftime (!), but Tottenham was up 2-0, and was having its wish granted. Spurs just needed to see it out, right? Well, let’s get into the second half. Erik Lamela stamped on the hand of Fabregas which went unseen, after a bad tackle. To make the match even more interesting, Gary Cahill would break the barrier for Chelsea, cutting the lead in half. After that? Well, Chelsea had this little magic Belgian named Eden Hazard who took the ball, played a one-two off Costa, and stuck the ball so far up into the top corner that rumours say it’s still there.
Kyle Walker and Costa would have an incident off the pitch, with the Brazilian-born Spaniard still winding up the north London outfit. Then, they lost the plot did Spurs. Kane would put in a bad challenge on Willian which would see him in the book. Eric Dier attempted to break Fabregas in half and still didn’t get a second yellow, and Ryan Mason would come off the bench to find himself in the book too. Full-time; Chelsea had obliterated Spurs’ title march, we can end here, right? Not in this rivalry.
Tottenham is not Manchester United, it did not get awarded a penalty after the full-time whistle, but Spurs did have a few more potential red card incidents. Vertonghen and Michel Vorm attacking Costa on the way down the tunnel started another brawl between the clubs. Miraculously, Costa would leave the pitch in one piece. What was a slightly more impressive feat is that he didn’t even get booked for all the issues he’d caused. However, he had done his job as a disrupter and he’d gotten under the skin of the Tottenham players.
This game was so dirty even referee Mark Clattenburg admitted after the conclusion of play that Tottenham could have been down to eight or nine. He, and this is a direct quote, “was happy to let Spurs implode”. In this game, Tottenham broke the record for the most yellow cards received by a side in Premier League history. Spurs broke almost every rule in the book, in so many different ways. It was almost artistry with how Tottenham committed these offences, and with nine yellow cards and three potential red card incidents, it’s miraculous Mauricio Pochettino’s side left the pitch with 11 men.
You’re probably wondering why I rambled on about a game from four years ago, but please bear with me. The Battle of the Bridge lives in infamy for its variety of pure skill, its flaring tempers and having just everything you could want from a rivalry like this. I’m not saying expect red cards and goals galore, but this will not be a dull League Cup game on Tuesday—even without fans.
What’s your favorite Chelsea vs. Spurs moment? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!