Tottenham Hotspur

May 1961: the Guardian reports on one man's struggle outside Tottenham's Town Hall. “Crowds estimated at more than 40,000 lined the route as an open top bus carried the Tottenham Hotspurs team and the two cups it has won. At the Town Hall, as the team stood on the balconies before the cheering crowds, the Mayor tried to make himself heard with a speech of welcome. He asked for silence, and then set off the wild cheering once again when he said: 'This is a great day for Tottenham.'”

The 60s Bill Nicholson era is just one part of a remarkable history – the story of how a 19th-century side which held their team meetings “beneath the fitful rays of a street lamp in Northumberland Park” grew into one of football's most famous clubs.

Based on original reports from the Guardian and Observer archives from the last 130 years, this unique collection revisits 20 of Tottenham's defining matches in the words of contemporary writers – from the extraordinary 1901 FA Cup final to Ricky Villa's wizardry and an epic night in Milan. What are the lessons from the club's past – and what does its future hold?