Spurs stories | Ledley and Lennon recall Besiktas, 2006
Tue 05 November 2024, 16:30|
Tottenham Hotspur
It's safe to say our UEFA Cup match against Besiktas in Istanbul in October, 2006, left an impression on two of our modern-day legends, Ledley King and Aaron Lennon.
It was the first time we'd travelled to the Turkish capital in European competition and it's fair to say the atmosphere in Besiktas' previous Inonu Stadium was one to remember - described as, 'crazy, electric, incredible' by Aaron and 'one of the best atmospheres I played in' by Ledley when the pair spoke about it fully eight years later, ahead of facing Besiktas again in the Europa League in October, 2014.
Ledley played the full 90 that night, while 'Azza' came off the bench in the second half as goals from Hossam Ghaly and Dimitar Berbatov saw us home 2-0 and applauded off by the home fans. We won the group stage of that season's UEFA Cup and reached the quarter-finals, where we lost 3-2 on aggregate to Sevilla.
The fans were so passionate but they were fair as well, they applauded our performance at the end
The pair with 690 appearances between them spoke about that trip when we faced Besiktas again in the group stage in 2014/15. “It was one of the favourite atmospheres that I played in away from the Lane,” reflected skipper Ledley. “The fans were so passionate but they were fair as well, they applauded our performance at the end.
“As a player, you definitely hear a crowd like that! You’re aware of it when you’re in front of your own fans and everyone is pulling for you so equally you hear it when you’re the opposition. I definitely felt it that day at Besiktas but we used it to our advantage and came out on top. It’s still something I remember well.”
Aaron broke the 350-appearance barrier not long before the Besiktas game in 2014, and reflecting on his nine years at the Club to then, picked the Istanbul trip as one to remember.
"I’ll never forget it," he told us. "The atmosphere was crazy, electric, incredible. From the moment we arrived the feeling was, ‘wow, this is different’. At the same time, it was brilliant. I’d never experienced it.
"I’d seen a little of that type of atmosphere at Leeds, watching as a young lad growing up, but to play in Europe myself and see the different types of atmospheres, crowds, stadiums, it was all new to me and just brilliant.
"Even now, that's probably the loudest, most intimidating crowd I’ve been in. The stadium was full when we got there. The noise when we came out, it left you feeling like perhaps you’d done something wrong to even be there! The noise, the security to get out of the tunnel – we’re all thinking, ‘what’s going on here?’. Their fans sang the whole game, made that noise, we won and they then applauded us off! Like I said, these things, you’ll never forget them."
