Europa League win changes everything for Tottenham as club eye new future

This was a night to savour for Tottenham, one of the finest in the club’s modern era, when Ange Postecoglou and his players made history, changed the narrative and perhaps set a new course.

A 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final earned Spurs a first European trophy in 41 years and ended their 17-year trophy drought, as Postecoglou fulfilled his promise to win something in his second season and united a fractured club.

Everyone associated with Spurs - from the supporters who flocked to Bilbao in their thousands by land, air and sea, to the club’s embattled chairman Daniel Levy - could, for one night at least, draw a line under the inharmonious period since their last European final, the Champions League defeat to Liverpool in 2019, and relish a momentous occasion.

As the squad and staff danced in front of a sea of white shirts at San Mames, the club’s wretched league season, Postecoglou’s uncertain future and occasionally-spiky relationship with supporters, and even Levy’s well-worn approach to running the club could be put to one side.

For Postecoglou, who described the victory as the “toughest thing I’ve ever done, without a shadow of a doubt”, Spurs’ history and recent travails only made the triumph sweeter.

Throughout the campaign, the Australian has emphasised to his players that their journey would only make for a better story when they eventually succeeded, as he always remained convinced that they would.

It has been no pleasure cruise but Spurs are winners in Europe - something no one has been able to say since 1984.

This season, the club had to endure an unprecedented injury crisis during winter, a number of chastening defeats (21 in total from 37 league games and counting) and some bleak moments, when doubts must have taken hold.

“To quote my favourite Australian prime minister, Paul Keating, after an unlikely victory he said, ‘This is one for the true believers’ and this is certainly one of the true believers,” said Postecoglou afterwards, before referencing his players, the club staff, supporters and his family.

It was a result to completely change the mood around Spurs and the narrative over what has come before.

Had they lost, this would have gone down as one of the worst seasons in their modern history, an abject failure of a league campaign in which Postecoglou’s team broke a new record for defeats.

The domestic season matters not a jot now, particularly as the league results can be viewed in the context of their European success.

Postecoglou explained afterwards that their dismal form in the top-flight was a necessary sacrifice for last night’s glory, revealing that he had decided to prioritise the Europa League from January, despite misgivings from some people at the club.

“Everything we’ve done in terms of games, the teams I’ve selected, has been about making sure that when these games came around, the Europa games, that we’re in the best possible condition to tackle them,” he said.

“That’s come at a cost, for sure, in the league. And I’ve got to take the responsibility for that. I just felt like the end-game of winning something was more important, and it was the only way I was going to do it.”

Having silenced the doubters and the banter-merchants, as Micky van de Ven pointedly mentioned afterwards, there is also a chance for Spurs to change their future.

They can look ahead now with renewed optimism, a place in the Champions League next season secured and the club’s standing suddenly more imposing.

Could they keep Cristian Romero, who was magnificent at centre-half, in the summer amid interest from Atletico Madrid?

The Spurs players, who to a man were committed and disciplined on the night, are now bonafide legends of the club, their images set to adorn the walls of the dressing room and stadium alongside the likes of Bill Nicholson, Dave Mackay and Glenn Hoddle.

“I’ve got no doubt that all those boys tonight, having this feeling, will want it again,” said Postecoglou. “And to get it again they’re going to have to make similar sacrifices. They’ve climbed the mountain now. They know what it takes to get to where we are.”

Heung-min Son, the Spurs captain for whom the occasion must have been particularly sweet, had said before the game that winning could be the “first step” towards turning Spurs into the kind of team that knows how the win - the kind of team, in fact, that United were supposed to be before they were suffocated by Postecoglou’s industrious team.

Postecoglou, too, has taken his place in Spurs’ folklore now, as the manager who achieved what the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte could not.

“This club’s had some unbelievable world-class coaches, world-class players and they haven’t had a night like this,” he said.

“I remember even when I signed, the club and even Daniel said, ‘we went after winners, it didn’t work and now we’ve got Ange,’ but mate, I’m a winner. I have been a serial winner my whole career.”

It was a match no neutral will ever remember but no Tottenham supporter is likely to forget. This was a low-quality final, befitting of teams placed 16th and 17th in the Premier League table, and appropriately settled by the scrappiest of winners, which was claimed by Brennan Johnson but might have been an own goal via Luke Shaw’s hand.

No one associated with Tottenham will care. Just as in the knockout rounds against AZ Alkmaar, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt, Postecoglou’s side deservedly found a way to win, displaying a pragmatism and togetherness to put their league form to one side.

To a man, Postecoglou’s players worked selflessly, their efforts were epitomised by Richarlison, who started over Son - Postecoglou’s big call on the night - and was outstanding as an attritional left winger.

This was not ‘Ange-ball’ - Spurs had one shot on target - and there is an irony that Postecoglou has found a way to win that could scarcely be more contrasting to the high principles with which he arrived at the club. Again, try finding a Spurs fan who cares.

“Knockout football is always different,” Postecoglou said. “All my teams have always played a little bit different in knockout games, because you know that you’ve got to have a real clear game plan. Big games come down to moments. You’ve got to limit the moments for the opposition. You’ve got to change your approach.”

There is a case, too, that the club tried to win the ‘right way’ during the Pochettino era but fell short. Now they have found ‘a’ way to win, which is what matters.

In the absence of Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, there was onus on Pape Matar Sarr to provide some spark and he did for the decisive moment, whipping a sharp cross to the near post when Johnson bundled home, with help from Shaw and Andre Onana.

As they did so well in Germany and Norway, Spurs managed to make the second half remarkably dull.

Van de Ven’s acrobatic clearance from Rasmus Hojlund’s goal-bound header and smart saves from Guglielmo Vicario to deny substitute Alejandro Garnacho and Shaw were the only real highlights, although there was plenty to admire in Spurs’ defending.

The question is whether Spurs can build on these solid principles next season and compete on multiple fronts with a style closer to Postecoglou’s ideals.

The foundations are there; the back five of Vicario, Romero, Van de Ven and Destiny Udogie are as exciting as any in the Premier League, while Dominic Solanke, Yves Bissouma, Johnson and others have shown their enormous value during this European run.

Son, who conceded that he had finally achieved legendary status for Spurs, now has a case to be one of their greatest-ever players after achieving what his best friend Harry Kane could not by leading them to silverware.

The Korean, who has a year remaining on his deal, might now decide his mission is accomplished, although Postecoglou values the 32-year-old enormously.

Postecoglou did not initially want to join in with the trophy lift, instead standing almost awkwardly on the periphery as his players prepared for their moment.

The 59-year-old revealed that he wanted to “stand back and watch everyone else enjoy it,” but he was coaxed into the throng by Vicario, the goalkeeper gesturing insistently until the head coach joined the squad on the podium.

As Son lifted the trophy aloft, Postecoglou was there in the midst of the melee.

As Spurs’ results in the league nosedived, it has been easy at times to wonder if Postecoglou’s players have wavered in their commitment to the head coach but on a momentous night for the club, their faith in him appeared stronger than ever.

“The manager’s made it clear that you have your family who you’re related to by blood but when we put on this shirt, that gets us our bond and I think any player, any member of staff, any fan would’ve run through a brick wall to win. I know I would’ve, so I’m so proud of everyone. That means the world,” said Johnson.

The expectation going into the game was that Postecoglou’s future was already decided, regardless of the result. Few expected him to stay beyond the end of the season, trophy or not.

Amid the euphoria of an historic night for Spurs, however, that outcome seemed far less certain - as there was always a chance it might.

And there is still a trophy parade through north London to come on Friday, another occasion of unbridled joy for Spurs which will influence more undecided fans.

Postecoglou afterwards made crystal clear that he has no plans to walk away in a blaze of glory, insisting he wants to stay in post and build on the work he has started.

“I still feel there’s a lot of work to be done, I think that’s quite obvious,” he said, also revealing he had not held talks with the club’s hierarchy about his future and had no current plans to do so.

If Spurs still want to make a change after an historically poor league season, Levy will therefore have to sack Postecoglou.

Can Levy, who is already deeply divisive among supporters, really dismiss the coach who delivered such an historic moment, particularly when Postecoglou will have won over many supporters?

There is a case, of course, that the club should not allow the emotion of the night to cloud their judgment and still act with ruthless clarity if they do not believe Postecoglou is the right man to take the team forward.

But then emotion is what football should be about and there is an equally compelling case that Postecoglou has earned the right to continue that work.

The potential alternatives in the dugout, including Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva, have performed better in the league this season than Postecoglou with fewer resources but then they are not cup winners with Spurs, and he is.