Juande along side fitness coach Marcos Alvarez (left) and assistant coach Gus Poyet (right)
Juan de la Cruz Ramos Cano, more commonly known as Juande Ramos, (born 25 September 1954 in Pedro Muñoz, Ciudad Real, Spain) has travelled a long road to get to Tottenham Hotspur, and despite his wealth of experience it's only in the current century that he's truly made his mark on the global game.

Like many top-end managers - Jose Mourinho among them - he had only an undistinguished career as a football player, spells with Elche and Alicante proving the high point of a journeyman pro life.

With Elche, he reached the Primera Liga, but it was all downhill from there. Alcoyano, Linares, Eldense, Alicante, Denia - and then a tragic end to his career as a knee injury saw him laid up permanently at the age of just 27.

Still, a career in management beckoned, and thus it was back to Elche to work for their 'B' team, Ilicitanos, in the Tercera Division.

First Impression

Ramos had clearly made an impression at not just Elche but other past clubs as, after scant experience with the Valencian side, he was back to Alcoyano to coach their first team.

It was there that he performed well enough to earn a big break in coaching: a move to Levante UD.

The Granota side were not quite as prominent then as now, but it was still enough to put a 40-year-old Ramos on the coaching map. A magnificent 13-game winning streak will do that to a coach.

From there came a whirlwind tour of Spain, the highlights of which included a spell in charge of Barcelona's B team, a three-season spell with Rayo Vallecano, and a spell with Málaga. It was with the Vallecas side that he hit the headlines, the Madrid team reaching the dizzy heights of the UEFA Cup quarter finals after a magnificent campaign in 2000-01.

Then Sevilla

There were relatively ill-fated moments with the likes of Real Betis and Espanyol, but overall his stock had risen so much that, even after a year out of the game after leaving Málaga, he was charged with the task of taking Sevilla to the top.

The Andalucians had just enjoyed their second consecutive sixth-place finish in La Liga and were about to enter their second UEFA Cup campaign in as many years. What followed surprised even the most optimistic of Nervion fans as Sevilla went on to improve on both fronts.

Things started auspiciously as Sevilla made their mark in the Liga, even challenging for a Champions League spot before finishing fifth. That was a definite improvement, and signalled that the rojiblanco revival was no flash in the pan.

But it was in Europe that Sevilla really caught the public's imagination. After beating the likes of Lille, Zenit and Schalke en route to the final, the Andalucians were faced with Middlesbrough, who themselves had pulled off a few shocks to reach Eindhoven.

Sevilla, undaunted, duly thumped the Teesside club 4-0 to lift their first European trophy, following it up with a 3-0 thrashing of La Liga counterparts Barcelona in the UEFA Super Cup soon after.

The Andalucian outfit, playing exciting football with the likes of Daniel Alves and Fredi Kanouée, were to improve even further the following season.

That UEFA Super Cup had started them on the way to a tremendous ending to 2006 - indeed, they were to be officially named the best teamof that year by the footballing authorities and, as attacking play swept through the Rámon Sánchez Pizjuán, they even topped the table around New Year.

A Slight Dip, But More Success

They began to dip slightly as 2007 began but, faced with three battle fronts, the league, UEFA Cup and Copa del Rey, perhaps that is not surprising.

Still, they held on in all three competitions until the very last moment. After lifting the UEFA Cup with a close-fought but deserved win over Espanyol in Glasgow, they went on to finish third in the league, after having a chance of the title until the last minute of the last day, and then sealed a historic treble with a Copa del Rey victory over Getafe at the Bernabeu.

Difficult Since The Summer

It all seemed too good to be true and, as the 2007-08 season began, it seemed to transpire that this was in fact the case. Juande, wanted by Spurs, had been seen talking with representatives of the London side, while Daniel Alves, so emblematic of both the club's play-style and its signing policy, publicly lambasted the club for refusing to let him join Chelsea.

Sevilla suffered heartache both on and off the pitch as the season began; Champions League losses to Arsenal and four straight Liga defeats paled in comparison to the death of young midfielder Antonio Puerta, but still Juande insisted that the Nervion side could recover.

Indeed, they did as they racked up two consecutive Champions League victories and then a 2-0 win over Levante.

Then came his resignation.

Martin Jol was sacked as Getafe ran out 2-1 winners over Spurs at White Hart Lane in the UEFA Cup and Juande, who only weeks earlier had insisted that he had no plans to take the job, confirmed what everybody already knew: he was the new Tottenham Hotspur boss.

He has now instructed his new charges to lift themselves from the relegation mire and return to the top of the table, where they shouldbe. Easier said than done. But Juande's track record in recent years suggests that he could very well be the man to make it happen.

Having built himself a reputation as a coach that likes to see his teams attack, while remaining strong at the back, he has his work cut out at White Hart Lane. The front line maybe in good shape, but Tottenham's rearguard is anything but safe.

At Sevilla much of the success was built on the strength and style of the midfield and that is also a key area for Juande's new club asthey have often been criticised for lacking creativity, organisation and backbone in the centre of the pitch.

And one has to wonder if any of his former Sevilla stars will come along for the ride...

First season success?

Diets, fitness regimes and team confidence is where Ramos felt Spurs needed changing, and fast. Out went the cakes and sweets, in came the chicken and salads. League form quikely picked up, taking Spurs out the of the bottom three for the first time all season. Prioities soon tured to the Cups, Ramos' forte.

After 9 years of hurt, Juande Ramos steered Spurs to Carling Cup victory beating arch rivals Arsenal 5-1 on their way to Wembely. Despite going 1-0 down at half time to Chelsea, goals from Berbatov and one of Juande's January singings Jonathan Woodgate helped the Lilywhites capture that elusive cup they've been craving for years.

Carling Cup hangover quickly kicked in, league form suffered along with a dissapointing Uefa Cup exit to PSV on penalties. Spurs ended the season languishing in 11th place, disheartening considering two 5th place finishes the previous two seasons. The damage was done early in the season though, with poor results and off field madness.

Ramos has brought something different to Spurs, and sense of believing and confidence that this club can and will be among the big clubs again.

Only time will tell...