History | Mido, Lamela and Lopez - our Roma and Italian connections going back to 1948

Our Italian connections can be traced to 1948 when inside-forward Johnny Jordan was tempted by Juventus, becoming one of the first Britons to feature in Italy.

Following in the footsteps of Norman Adcock, the first Englishman to earn a professional contract in Italy in 1946, Jordan was a leading amateur with Bromley and Grays Athletic following World War II. On the verge of England Amateur honours, Jordan went professional in 1947 and scored 10 goals in 27 appearances at White Hart Lane. He returned for spells at Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday after a year in Turin, citing the same harsh regime problems that blighted Jimmy Greaves’ future AC Milan stint.

In a special feature in our Official Matchday Programme - available in outlets around the stadium and online, here - John Chambers delves into some fascinating stories from the past, invoking memories of players who have worn the jerseys of both of today’s teams.

Current stars Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario are among six Italians to have represented our first team. Nicola Berti was first to arrive in 1998 closely followed by Paolo Tramezzani. Goalkeepers Carlo Cudicini and Pierluigi Gollini also made contributions – interestingly, Cudicini’s father, Fabio kept goal for AC Milan in our 1972 UEFA Cup semi-final victory.

Strangely, no players to have featured for both clubs hail from England or Italy. Ahmed Hossam Hussein Abdelhamid Wasfi, known to us all as Mido, came to prominence at Egyptian side Zamalek before moving to Gent. His form in Belgium earned a contract at Ajax, where he won the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield in 2002, scoring in both prestigious matches.

After short spells at Celta Vigo (loan) and Marseille, AS Roma was next before spending 18 months in N17 after an initial six-month loan in 2005. After scoring twice on his Spurs debut versus Portsmouth, Mido won the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt in 2006 but missed the final due to a suspension after reacting angrily to being substituted.  After moving to Middlesbrough in 2007, he was loaned to Wigan, Zamalek, West Ham and Ajax, where another Eredivisie was won in 2010/11, before ending his career with stints at Zamalek and Barnsley.

After a brief spell at Real Madrid, aged 10, Iago Falque joined Barcelona’s famed La Masia Academy in 2001. Moving onto Juventus’ Academy in 2008, his first taste of senior football came while on loan at Villarreal B. Another loan saw him arrive at N17 in 2011 with the deal being made permanent in 2012. The talented forward made 11 senior appearances, debuting in the Europa League versus PAOK. Following more loans, he returned to Genoa in 2014 before spending two years at AS Roma. Falque has represented Spain Under-21s and the region of Galicia internationally.

Hailing from the football crazy streets of Buenos Aries, the city with one of the highest concentration of professional clubs, the talented Erik Lamela honed his incredible skills in the ‘Potrero’ mad capital. Essentially, ‘playground’ street football, Lamela’s amazing footwork took him to one of the Argentina’s biggest clubs, River Plate. ‘Coco,’ as he was known to his family, signed for AS Roma while starring in the 2011 Under-20 World Cup. Scoring versus Mexico before calmly netting two penalties past Mohammed Salah’s Egypt, Argentina bowed out in the quarter-finals to Portugal despite Lamela holding his nerve in the penalty lottery.

Our record transfer fee was smashed three times in a matter of weeks in 2013. Taking the mantle from Luka Modrić, firstly Paulinho then Roberto Soldado, and lastly, Lamela became our record signings. A key member of Mauricio Pochettino’s entertainers, Erik is remembered for his skilful, high-pressing play and two outrageous goals. The ‘rabona’ goal was first reported in 1948 when Estudiantes’ striker Ricardo Infante pulled off the incredible feat just 37 miles from Lamela’s birthplace. The all-or-nothing technique of wrapping your foot around the back of your standing leg was produced twice by Lamela versus Asteras Tripolis and Arsenal with the latter winning the prestigious 2021 FIFA Puskas Award. Paul Gascoigne, who moved to AS Roma’s neighbours Lazio, was the first to net a ‘rabona’ at White Hart Lane from the penalty spot in Danny Blanchflower’s Testimonial.  Following 257 appearances, Lamela, who was a Copa America runner-up twice while at N17, joined Sevilla in 2021 and currently represents AEK Athens.

Signed in August 2014, robust centre-half Federico Fazio was part of Argentina’s third ‘Golden Generation’ that included Lionel Messi, Ángel Di María and Sergio Agüero. Part of the squads that won the 2007 Under-20 World Cup and the 2008 Olympic Games, Fazio didn’t make the group that finished runners-up at the 2014 World Cup. The last of his 10 ‘La Albiceleste’ appearances came in their 2018 World Cup Final defeat to France, when it seemed Messi’s generation had blown their chances, however, they eventually claimed two back-to-back Copa América’s sandwiched between 2022 World Cup glory.

Fazio’s dominating performances for Buenos Aries side Ferro, encouraged Sevilla in 2006. After a reserve season, he won the Supercopa de España and Europa League during an eight-year spell in Spain. We secured his services in 2014 but he endured a difficult start, being dismissed on his Premier League debut for bringing down his international team-mate Agüero at the Etihad. Despite a decent first term, he fell victim to the incoming Toby Alderweireld and was subsequently loaned to Sevilla, and then AS Roma, before making the deal permanent in 2017.

Born in Girona, loanee Pau López was signed as goalkeeping cover during the 2016/17 season. After no first team outings, the youngster returned to Espanyol before spells at Real Betis, AS Roma and Marseille. Chosen for Spain twice and the region of Catalonia, who compete in friendly matches, López is currently on loan with his hometown club.