Pierre: “Win, and it will stay with us forever”
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg says ‘a thousand things’ will go through his mind as he steps out for Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City at Wembley. Then one thought will take over...
“That one thing is to win, to get your hands on the trophy,” he stated. “That will be the ultimate. The other thousands of things, I don’t think we have enough time, but this is a defining moment for a lot of us.
“It’s 90 or 120 minutes of football. It’s important to stick with what we’re good at, stick to what we feel comfortable with and eventually think about one thing, and that’s to go out there and win it - win it for the Club, for the fans and for the team, because it will stay with us forever.”
It’s a statement of intent from the all-action Danish midfielder, a player who has impressed so much in his first season at Spurs. Pierre is ever-present in the Premier League - 33 starts out of 33 - and has featured in 47 of our 52 matches so far in 2020/21. His performances have been recognised by being awarded the Danish Player of the Year.
Two of those 47 matches have been against City, the champions-elect, currently 11 points clear at the summit of the Premier League.
The first was one of only four defeats City have suffered in the Premier League, a 2-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November. City hit back with a 3-0 win at the Etihad in February.
It’s a challenge Pierre is relishing. “They are the best team in the world at doing what they’re doing, and what they’re doing is to put the opponent under pressure in the middle of the park, moving the ball very fast, creating a lot of options and attacking with many different options.
“You have to defend well. You have to be disciplined. But you also have to be dangerous going the other way, and brave. When you play the biggest teams in the world you need to show bravery, show character. We have that and I’m sure we’ll take that with us.
“In the end, it’s about one thing, and that’s to win. It will be a great match, a fantastic opportunity and motivation to do something special, and we’ll give our all to win it. Eventually, this is what we can take with us. We will try our best and give our all to prepare as well as possible and fight to get the result. Then, you can always look yourself in the mirror.”