Five friendlies to remember...

As we prepare to face our old rivals Arsenal in The Mind Series on Sunday (2pm) - part of a double-header with Tottenham Hotspur Women also facing the Gunners (4.45pm), we take a look at five friendly matches that stick in the Spurs memory banks...

A staple of pre-season, friendlies provide teams the chance to get up to speed ahead of the new campaign with a series of non-competitive clashes.

As managers look to fine tune their squads, formations and tactics, as well as ensure their players build-up their fitness, fans are still drawn to turn up in their numbers to watch and support their team. Yet, while these games may lack a competitive edge, there is usually something to stir fans' interest and excitement.

Here is a look back at some of our most notable friendlies from the last 70 years…

First floodlit match at the Lane, 1953

29 September, 1953 - Spurs 5-3 Racing Club de Paris - White Hart Lane

During the summer of 1953, our old stomping ground White Hart Lane saw new equipment installed for floodlighting, which was provided by means of lamps fitted to pylons at each corner of the ground.

Our first-ever match under the lights came in a prestigious friendly against Racing Club de Paris in the September. A crowd of 28,070 witnessed an entertaining game against the French side in which Jean Courteaux opened the scoring for the visitors. In a stirring comeback, second-half goals from Len Duquemin, George Hutchinson, Ron Burgess and a brace from Les Bennett made the score 5-1 in our favour by the 69th minute, with Paris getting two late strikes to make the final score 5-3.

Arthur Rowe poetically wrote in the programme for that match: “It is without question that first-class football by floodlight is both spectacular and enthralling. With vision fixed to the pitch that alone is illuminated, there can be no distraction at all to disturb or frustrate attention. There is an accentuated feeling of expectation and excitement.”

The Moscow Tour - May to June, 1959

In the summer of 1959, legendary manager Bill Nicholson decided to take his squad on a tour of the then Soviet Union - a trip which sparked the rise of our all-conquering side of the early 1960s.

On the foray behind the Iron Curtain, we played three exhibitions matches - a 1-0 win over Torpedo Moscow, a 2-1 triumph over Dynamo Kiev and a 3-1 reverse to a select XI in Leningrad.

However, while the encounters were a real test for us, it was the off-field benefits of the excursion which really impacted the side. Principally a team building exercise, the squad bonded on the tour and picked up new conditioning procedures from an unexpected source.

One night in Moscow, Bill Nicholson told his squad they were going out to see the Bolshoi Ballet - a suggestion which, let's say, somewhat surprised the players. Yet, once in the theatre, the team marvelled at the strength and fitness of the dancers. The impact was profound enough that once learning of their fitness programmes, Nicholson incorporated them into the team's training regime back in north London to improve the muscle and power of the group - a change which became a key ingredient to our 'Double' success of 1960/61.

Maradona at Ossie's Testimonial, 1986

1 May, 1986 - Spurs 2-1 Inter Milan - White Hart Lane

As we honoured Legendary midfielder Ossie Ardiles with a testimonial match in the summer of 1986, one man who was not going to miss the opportunity to pay tribute to Ossie was his good friend, the late, great, Diego Maradona.

Hosted at White Hart Lane in the May, we welcomed European giants Internazionale for a match to celebrate the Spurs career to date of our talented Argentine and his compatriot Maradona was a special guest.

The FIFA Player of the Century 2000, who at the time was sparking a revolution with Napoli, adorned our famous colours for the game, partnering Glenn Hoddle in midfield.

Over 30,000 fans packed into the Lane to see one of the greatest players to ever grace the beautiful game play in a Spurs shirt - so many supporters turned up to see him that kick-off had to be pushed back to ensure everyone got in!

Clive Allen - who Diego had to borrow boots from - and Mark Falco got on the scoresheet that night as we ran out 2-1 winners against Inter, with Liam Brady finding the target for the visitors.

Jurgen Klinsmann’s first Spurs appearance, 1994

6 August, 1994 - Watford 1-1 Spurs - Vicarage Road

Just over 27 years ago, legendary Spurs forward Jurgen Klinsmann made his first appearance for the Club - and his star quality was immediately clear.

A big name from the all-conquering German national team of the 1990 World Cup, Jurgen arrived in north London with a sizeable reputation and his pulling power was notable when we rocked up to Vicarage Road in August, 1994.

There was a buzz about Hertfordshire as travelling Spurs fans clamoured for match tickets to get a sight of the new man, while the home fans were just as keen to see the renowned German international. Over 14,000 piled into the ground for the game but, unfortunately, the new arrival from AS Monaco couldn’t quite find the back of the net. Instead, it was Teddy Sheringham who hit the target to equalise for us in the game, however Jurgen did go onto fire home 29 goals for us that season.

First friendly at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 2019

30 March, 2019 - Spurs Legends 4-5 Inter Forever - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

As part of two test events ahead of the opening of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs Legends hosted Inter Forever at our new home in March, 2019.

45,000 fans watched on as Spurs greats from years gone by pulled on our famous shirt one more time and were treated to a night of drama, star quality and plenty of goals!

Legends in action that evening included the likes of Micky Hazard and Marc Falco from our teams of the 1980s to modern-day greats such as Robbie Keane and Rafael van der Vaart, while there was also a brief appearance by Paul Gascoigne.

The night, though, ended in defeat for our legends as a nine-goal thriller went in favour of the visiting Italians with a last-minute winner coming from Houssine Kharja.