Jan Vertonghen has called on Tottenham fans to get Wembley “rocking” tonight for their Champions League last-16, first-leg tie against Borussia Dortmund.
More than 84,000 attended the home leg of Spurs’s defeat to Juventus at this stage of the competition last season, but attendances have fallen this year, with Wembley fatigue taking hold amid the constant delays to their new 62,062-seater stadium.
Fewer than 30,000 watched Spurs’s recent win over Watford and manager Mauricio Pochettino and captain Hugo Lloris have admitted the hollow atmosphere is beginning to take its toll.
Although the club do not expect a 90,000 sell-out tonight — 72,000 tickets have been sold so far — there is no attendance cap and Vertonghen is banking on a special atmosphere.
“It definitely helps when the stadium is full and rocking and I bet we will see that tonight,” said the Belgium defender, who is expected to fill in at left-back.
“That’s why we became footballers, to play these games at Wembley, one of the best stadiums in the world. If we can get one of the best crowds in the world, then it will definitely help us to get a result.
“For us, it’s very important. Home advantage is something big in the knockout phase in the Champions League. We had some great games last season and we need that again. It gives you a great lift. We play the first leg at home, so we need everyone behind us. It might give us an extra boost.”
Spurs have never won a home knockout game in the Champions League but Vertonghen believes they are good enough to beat anyone and hinted they will take confidence from the likely return of Harry Kane and Dele Alli for the second leg in Germany next month.
“We feel so good as a team, so strong,” he said. “We know a couple of guys will come back after the first leg as well.
“We can beat anyone, we showed that last year. Over two games we were the better team against Real Madrid, who were the eventual winners of the trophy. We felt we should have done better last year and that is why everyone has the feeling we can do it this year.”
