In conversation | Falco, Ledley and Sandro talk Spurs Legends vs AC Milan Glorie

Ahead of Sunday’s game against AC Milan Glorie at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (2pm), three of our Spurs Legends squad - Ledley King, Sandro and Mark Falco - sat down with SPURSPLAY presenter Ben Haines to talk all things football as they looked forward to dusting off their boots and pulling on a Spurs shirt once again...

Tickets available here...

Ben: What a joy this is! Sandro, Mark and Ledley, thanks for joining us. How excited are you to be back with some great Spurs Legends?

Mark: It’s great, Sandro is a great lad, brilliant company and Ledley is obviously a great legend as well so they’re great company, great lads and I look forward to seeing them on the pitch because I’ll probably be watching more than playing!

Ben: Sandro you look great, you can see you’ve been putting the hours in the gym.

Sandro: Thank you, yes but I need to run, I need to speed up a little bit more because I know I will have to run for Ledley.

Mark: He’s our secret weapon!

Ben: How hard will it be to treat today’s game against Milan Glorie like a friendly?

Sandro: No, not a friendly for us! For me it is an opportunity to play in the new stadium as well, to see the fans and to pull on the Spurs jersey again and I will 100 per cent take it seriously!

Ben: I suppose there are all those little things that will creep back in on matchdays and you must be buzzing to see your shirt hanging up again, having it all laid out in front of you, knowing you’re about to walk out in front of that wonderful crowd again?

Ledley: Yes it’s going to feel strange going into the changing rooms again, seeing our shirts hanging up, our boots, our pads, a little bit scary at the same time but all the old feelings will come back. I think it will be more or less the same preparation that we used to do leading up to games and on a matchday we’ll try to bring all those things back into play and hopefully put in a good performance.

Ben: Was there anything that you used to do on matchdays in terms of your build-up. Did you have a pattern, do the same stuff every matchday?

Ledley: Yes, but I can’t remember what that was now! I did though... even little things like putting on my left sock and left boot first before my right, little superstitions like that and I also remember that just before I went onto the pitch I would stub my toe on the line as if I was ready to go and do battle - and I’m sure these things will all come back on the day.

Ben: Daws (Michael Dawson) was saying as well that he can’t wait to just be back in with the group in the changing room because you just don’t get that dynamic anywhere else in your life, even though you do so many incredible other things, there’s just something special about that group.

Mark: Yes I’m sure all the banter will be back, all the little pranks and the teasing, reminiscing about all the old days like we always do. It will be great, the atmosphere will be brilliant, the crowd will come and enjoy it and this may be the last time you see some of these players on the pitch, especially my five minute cameo! I was lucky enough to play against Inter Milan in the opening game here, that was an unbelievable occasion and I thought that was my end then - now I’ve got another chance. I’ve had more comebacks than Frank Sinatra. I could run a bit then and it was a fantastic atmosphere, a great day and great to be part of the history of opening the new stadium, they can never take that away from me. As Sandro said, to put the Spurs shirt on again will be amazing. As you know I’ve been a Spurs fan since I was as a kid and so are all my family, so to get the cockerel back on my chest again will be a dream.

Sandro: It’s the same for me, for sure, and to see the lads again, I miss everyone and it will be a great opportunity to talk, to see how everyone is doing in life. I like to be very close to people and I like to know what they are doing, if they are fine. It will be an opportunity to enjoy seeing everyone again.

Ben: When you are playing, in the amazing teams that you were part of, you are seeing team-mates more than maybe you are seeing your family and closest friends, so it creates a connection and a bond that maybe you don’t necessary get in other walks of life.

Ledley: Yes, without a doubt. Some of us were lucky to have a little run around a couple of years ago and being in the changing room like you mentioned was just amazing. All the old feelings and memories came back. We shared some great times together, we were a team, and not just on that occasion but everyone who has represented the club and put on the Spurs shirt, we’re all together in this and it’s going to feel amazing for us to be in there again. As we’ve said, once we get on the pitch we will want to win, that’s for sure. Everyone has had similar experiences sharing the love of playing in front of these fantastic fans and we’re all looking forward to doing so again.

Sandro: I remember when we played in Dukesy’s (kit man Steve Dukes) charity match and it brought back memories, for example, Ledley and Daws were in defence, Aaron Lennon on the wing and all of a sudden I thought, ‘man, this is real, what is going on here?' It was weird!

Ledley: We actually had the feeling in that game that once things started to come together, we felt like we could play again, we thought ‘put us back in the league now!’ We had Jermain (Defoe) of course, with Robbie (Keane) up front, Edgar (Davids) played too, it was great fun.

Ben: Can you each try to think of the one thing that you want to do the most during today’s game?

Mark: Well Sandro will be getting booked!

Sandro: Yes, I will get the yellow card for sure!

Ben: So, for you Sandro, is it getting in a big challenge?

Sandro: Yes, of course and to hear the crowd cheer the tackle!

Ben: That’s a very unique thing in the Premier League, we appreciate a big challenge. I always think of the players who played in defence and midfield in the teams I watched growing up, if someone put in a big challenge, people roared it like a goal!

Sandro: I remember my first tackle for Spurs and I heard the fans, and I said ‘was there a goal?’ That’s when I thought I’d signed for the right club!

Ben: What about you Mark, getting on the scoresheet must be your dream?

Mark: I’m not sure I’ll be that far up the pitch. If I get a touch of the ball and I can pass it to somebody without giving it away and make myself look stupid, then I’ll be happy!

Ben: I think at some point we’re going to see a ball floated into you, then you take it down and bring someone else into play?

Mark: That’s what I’ve been dreaming about every night this week, I’m not sure that’s going to happen though!

Ledley: I think the main thing is, for me, to try to get through the minutes that I’m out there first and foremost. Hopefully once I’ve been out there a bit something will click and it will get familiar again!

Mark: Hopefully a little bit of adrenaline will kick in and all the aches and pains will drift away!

Ben: For you guys coming into this game, you want to make sure you enjoy it but also, would you give advice to young players to say try to actually be present when you can, to actually really enjoy it.

Ledley: That’s the good thing now, we can think about the times when we played as professionals when you don’t really get a chance to enjoy it, you’re just in the middle of it with all the pressure that brings. Now that’s the beautiful thing, we’re here and we can go back on past experiences of being on the pitch and not really soaking it up when you should have done, so we’ll make sure we will soak it all up this time, enjoy the atmosphere and have a bit of fun.