"The arrival of foreign players was a debate that reached parliament"

Ossie Ardiles, former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder and a World Cup winner with Argentina in 1978, returns to the Santiago Bernabéu this evening in his role as ambassador for the Premier League club, which faces Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals. The two teams have met just twice before- in the quarterfinals of the 1985 Uefa Cup- and neither side has scored against the other; Real progressed after Steve Perryman turned an Emilio Butragueño center into his own net.

Current Real general director Jorge Valdano was on the field in a Real shirt that evening but Ardiles was injured. The former Argentina teammates will be reunited when the sides meet again 25 years later (TVE1, 8.45pm).

"In England we spent the first year watching the ball flying over our heads"

Question. Ricardo Villa and yourself were pioneers.

Answer. Culturally, England was also an island. The players' union was against the arrival of foreign players. It was a debate that even reached parliament. Charles Hughes, the technical guru at the FA, said things like Brazilians don't know how to play soccer. At Tottenham we were given a warm welcome by our teammates, but English soccer was a dinosaur that had remained in pre-history. The midfield was an air transit zone and we spent the first year watching the ball flying over our heads. From then many things changed. It worked out well for us and more foreign players started to arrive. Now there are teams that play almost without Englishmen.

Q. How did you cope with the Falklands War as a player at a British club?

A. I was preparing for the 1982 World Cup when I heard the declaration of war. My world fell apart: my native country at war with my adoptive country. I had been at Tottenham for four years. Basically, I couldn't say anything. For some Argentinean newspapers I was a traitor. For others, in England, I was a spy. It was a horrible and absurd war.

Q. Tottenham fans supported you unconditionally. They displayed a banner that read: "Argentina, you can keep the Falklands, we'll keep Ardiles."

A. Rival fans booed me. In a game against Leicester, every time I touched the ball the crowd shouted 'England! England!' The Tottenham fans showed their support for me and started to shout back 'Argentina! Argentina!'

Q. What is this Tottenham's playing style like?

A. It's difficult to describe. It's a mixture. Harry Redknapp is a totally open coach when it comes to ideas. He's very pragmatic. Sometimes he tries to imitate Barça's style with short passes and sometimes he falls back on the classic English style of long balls. But Spurs are at their best when they control the play, and they do this through Luka Modric. He's very intelligent. He's always well positioned and he rarely loses the ball. When the team regains possession, the ball immediately goes to him.

Q. Is Modric Tottenham's best player?

A. He makes the team play, but if you ask around here, people will say the best player is Gareth Bale. A very quick wide player who causes defenders a lot of problems, crosses well and has a great shot.

Q. Can Tottenham eliminate Real?

A. Of course. We have the advantage of playing the second leg at White Hart Lane. The first 30 minutes at the Bernabéu will be important. It's crucial that we remain solid and fight for the ball in midfield, because that's where Real starts to play.

Q. What about José Mourinho?

A. He has coached many great teams. Now he has arrived at the Bernabéu at a time when Real is in the shadow of Barcelona, perhaps the best team in history. He's very able and he has had a fantastic season, as Pellegrini did last year, but he is competing against this Barça team. I coincided with Mourinho at an awards ceremony in London a while ago. He's an absolutely normal person. His ostentatious declarations are part of the show, and maybe to provoke a reaction in his adversaries. He knows how to handle the press and at times he seems irritating, but he is exceptional.