1. Transatlantic connection
Tottenham are known for casting their net wide in the search for talent, and they have not shied away from signing American players. DeAndre Yedlin recently made the move from the Seattle Sounders and joins longtime Premier League standout and ex-World Cup starter Brad Friedel. US U-20 international Cameron Carter-Vickers is a highly-touted prospect in their youth system who could see time in the All-Star Game.
Current Sounders DP Clint Dempsey spent the 2012-13 season with Spurs, while US goalkeeping standout Kasey Keller made 85 appearances for the club from 2001-05. Of course, there"s also current USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who played one season with Spurs, scoring 21 goals in 41 appearances (in 1994-95, when the Premier League had 22 teams) and was named the club"s player of the year for 1994.
Perhaps the most famous American to work at Spurs, though, is one Ted Lasso:
2. What's a Hotspur?
The more appropriate question would be, "who?" The club was formed as Hotspur Football Club by students on September 5, 1882, with the prevailing theory on the name being that the club was named after the character Harry Hotspur in Shakespeare"s Henry IV, Part I, who in turn was based on Henry Percy, a famous English knight of the Late Middle Ages. Two years later, the club would add Tottenham to the name – after the North London neighborhood in which they were formed and still play.
The rooster on the club's logo (right) derives from the Harry Hotspur character, as both he and his fighting cocks wore spurs; a bronze sculpture of the rooster has stood above the West Stand at White Hart Lane since 1909.
3. Please don't call us ...
It's Tottenham Hotspur, Tottenham, or just Spurs. Not Hotspur alone. And definitely not "the Spurs," Hotspurs or, God forbid, "the Hotspurs". (Looking at you, Mr. Lasso.) The Lilywhites, from the club's white jerseys, is another acceptable nickname.
4. The trophy case
You may have to go back a few decades to find some of their most notable successes, but Spurs have won trophies at every level. Their finest moment came in 1960-61, when they captured a league and FA Cup double. They've only won one other top-division title, in 1950-51, but can claim a total of eight FA Cup victories (most recent: 1991), four League Cup wins (most recent: 2008), two UEFA Cup wins (1972, 1984) and one UEFA Cup Winners" Cup win, in 1963.
- White Hart Lane
Spurs have called White Hart Lane (above) home since 1899, and the stadium has been renovated numerous times over the years to its current capacity of 36,284. The club recently struck a deal with a local firm to buy the land required for a new, 58,000-seat stadium next to White Hart Lane, which could could be built for the 2018-19 season. Take a virtual tour of the stadium
6. The North London derby
London is saturated with soccer clubs, but there is no bigger derby in the city than the meeting between Tottenham and Arsenal, who have played just four miles from each other since 1913. Arsenal have historically held the upper hand in the series in most statistical categories, with more wins (77 to 55, plus 48 draws), and have finished above their rivals in 19 of 21 Premier League seasons. Current Spurs striker Emmanuel Adebayor is currently the top scorer in the North London derby with 10 goals, though most of that damage (eight goals) was inflicted against Spurs while Adebayor wore the red-and-white of Arsenal.
7. The Harry Kane hype train
With Gareth Bale long gone, Spurs fans have now found a new object for their adulation: local boy Harry Kane (below). The 21-year-old forward came up through the Tottenham academy, made his first-team debut at age 18, and has scored 22 goals across 39 Premier League games for Tottenham. He has drawn comparisons to the aforementioned Klinsmann. Kane took his goalscoring prowess to the international level when he scored on his England debut last month in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania and earned his second cap three days later when he went the full 90 in a 1-1 friendly draw away to Italy.
- The rest of the crew
We know about the Americans, and we've heard about Kane, but what about some of the other high-profile players on the Tottenham roster? Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen (right) is one of the club"s most talked-about talents, while those who followed the World Cup last summer might recognize a few other players. French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who took Friedel"s starting mantle in late 2012, starts for both club and country; center midfielder Paulinho featured for the host country in 2014; and Belgian trio Jan Vertonghen, Nacer Chadli and Moussa Dembele all represented their country in Brazil, with the first two featuring in their 2-1 defeat of the United States in the Round of 16.
9. Mr. Manager
The club is currently managed by Argentine boss Mauricio Pochettino, in his first season in charge after a promising start to his career with Espanyol in Spain followed by a year-and-a-half at Southampton. A 43-year-old former international, Pochettino is a fan of high-pressure, attacking soccer and has shown himself to be a capable developer of young talent.
10. Spurs-MLS connections
The All-Star Game will be far from the first visit by Spurs to the United States. In fact, 2015 will make two summers in a row visiting North America, as the team stopped in Seattle, Chicago and Toronto last summer. They also visited the States in the summers of 2010 and 2012. The team have a long-term partnership with the San Jose Earthquakes, current Galaxy star Robbie Keane scored 108 goals for Spurs in seven seasons with them, and current Atlanta MLS President Darren Eales was an executive with Spurs before moving to Georgia.
