Ledley King: “We’ve a lot to be proud of”

Ledley King had one hand on the Champions League trophy in Madrid. It was a poignant moment for our legendary former captain as he brought out the famous silverware with Liverpool great Ian Rush and placed it on a plinth ahead of the teams appearing for kick-off at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Ninety minutes later, Ledley, a Spurs man all his life, shared our pain as our memorable journey in European football’s elite competition came to an end, Liverpool scoring early and late to run out 2-0 winners.

Ledley led the Club into Champions League football for the first time in 2010. We reached the quarter-finals that season. An Academy graduate who played 323 times for us between 1999-2012, captain from 2005 to his retirement, Ledley knew what this meant to players and fans alike.

“It was natural for everyone to be disappointed after the game but then quickly my mind started thinking about the job the team did to get there and what an unbelievable achievement and experience it was,” said Ledley, now a Club Ambassador. “I’ve said before how proud I was of the team and everyone at the Club. They’ve given us all brilliant memories.

“We deserved to be in the final, without doubt. You don’t get there by accident, there are too many top-class teams involved.

“We beat some top teams along the way. It was a brilliant achievement. We were disappointed with the result in the final but it’s something that the Club can build on, knowing that we can compete at the highest level.

“The next step is to try to win it. Liverpool lost out in the final last season and they used that experience of having been there before. That was arguably the difference between the teams because there wasn’t much in the game at all.

“The experience will be invaluable and the disappointment will drive the players on. I’ve no doubt about that. The players will all want to get back there and take us one step further.”