Decked in blue and white, they chanted his name on the Tube, and on all the buses to the stadium. They chanted it down Wembley Way. They chanted it from the terraces.
“There’s only one Ricky Villa,” they yelled. A year earlier, Spurs’ languid Argentine had scored an FA Cup final goal for the ages; a mazy, slow-motion dribble through Manchester City’s retreating defence, accompanied for the viewing millions at home by John Motson’s incomparable strangled coo: “And still Ricky Villa…”
With 14 minutes to go, the 1981 centenary final had been won by Villa’s audacious effort; his second of the match crowning a thrilling, see-sawing, five-goal replay. Ossie’s Dream - the cup final ditty from Tottenham fans Chas & Dave, penned in honour of Villa’s compatriot Osvaldo Ardiles - had been realised.