Jan Vertonghen special Q&A | Part 3 | Battle of the Bridge! | OneFootball

One of our great players of the modern era, Jan was back in N17 for a weekend of nostalgia with his family that included a trip up the Dare Skywalk, speaking to his adoring fans at half-time and watching us come back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Manchester City - and an exclusive interview for us with presenter and Spurs fan, Ben Haines.

One of only 17 players to reach 200-plus appearances for us in the Premier League and one of only 10 to make over 50 appearances for us in Europe, Jan is also Belgium's record appearance maker with 157 caps between 2007-2024, including winning bronze at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Forming a formidable central defensive partnership with compatriot Toby Alderweireld, Jan made 120 appearances of a possible 152 as we finished third, runners-up, third and fourth in the Premier League between 2015/16 and 2018/19. He also started 10 of 13 matches as we reached the UEFA Champions League Final against Liverpool in 2019, producing one of the great performances topped with a goal as we beat Borussia Dortmund 3-0 in the Round of 16, first leg at Wembley.

Jan signed off with appearance 315 against Newcastle during the Premier League's return in the 2020 COVID pandemic at St James’ Park on 15 July, 2020. Sadly, there were no fans at his final matches in Lilywhite – making his appearance at half-time with Paul Coyte all the more special.

After Spurs, he had spells at Benfica - where he won the Primeira Liga title in 2022/23 - and Anderlecht, where he played for two seasons before retiring at the end of 2024/25.

Part 3 | Battle of the Bridge!

When Spurs fans come up and speak to you, what is it they want to talk to you about the most?

Jan: “I think everyone felt like we were their team. The way we played and how we came across as a group of friends. They just want to talk about those times, about that (last) season at White Hart Lane (2016/17), or those times at White Hart Lane like everyone has, funnily enough, not that much about the Champions League final run, but more about the last season at the Lane and the games like when we beat Chelsea in January (New Year’s Day, 2015) - the 5-3. Chelsea became champions, and I think they were unbeaten until that game, if I'm not wrong. So, those kinds of games. The ‘Battle of the Bridge’, that was not in the end a positive, but at least they saw and felt we gave everything, and that was obviously the most important thing for the fans.”

Note: We needed to beat Chelsea to maintain any hopes of taking Leicester City further in the 2015/16 Premier League title race and led 2-0 at half-time before Chelsea came back for 2-2 - that draw was enough to hand Leicester the title...

When you said before there were maybe not necessarily ‘dogs’ in that team, in that game (‘Battle of the Bridge’) it came out, right? I think Spurs fans loved the team for that…

Jan: “Yeah, we did that for each other, and I still get goosebumps if I think about those times, and they ask me, what's probably your best memory, and whether it's a mistake or not, but I said that game and not the results, but what we stood for as a team. Those 11 or 18 or 20 guys, we would do everything, and I think people love that.”

Coming tomorrow...

Part 4 | Jan on Mousa and Toby...