Tottenham Hotspur ended their 17-year silverware drought with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Manchester United within the 2025 UEFA Europa League remaining on Wednesday at San Mames.
Brennan Johnson’s scrappy Forty second-minute aim, the results of a deflection on Pape Sarr’s precision cross, proved sufficient to carry Spurs to their third European trophy – placing them on par with Liverpool as England’s most embellished golf equipment in UEFA Cup and Europa League historical past.
The aim despatched Tottenham’s long-suffering supporters into raptures, capping years of heartbreak and near-misses.
But it was the defensive defiance within the remaining moments that sealed the night time.
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s breathtaking stoppage-time save from Luke Shaw’s header, adopted by Micky van de Ven’s determined goal-line clearance, preserved the lead and ensured historical past could be made in Bilbao.
For a crew that sat seventeenth within the Premier League and limped by means of a season riddled with accidents and inconsistency, the triumph was extra than simply silverware – it was salvation.
It assured them a Champions League berth for 2025-26, a much-needed lifeline after a season many had written off.
And for Ange Postecoglou, the supervisor who promised trophies in his second season, the win marked a second of vindication.
Captain Son Heung-min, overcome with emotion as he hoisted the trophy, led a crew that refused to bow to destiny.
Curse exorcism
Tottenham’s breakthrough wasn’t an remoted second – it was the exclamation level in a season the place long-standing droughts throughout Europe lastly got here to an finish.
In Italy, Bologna FC 1909 shocked the peninsula by lifting the Coppa Italia for the primary time in 51 years, edging previous AC Milan 1-0 in Rome on May 14.
Riccardo Orsolini’s late strike sparked wild scenes among the many Rossoblu devoted, ending a half-century of frustration relationship again to their 1974 triumph.
Under Vincenzo Italiano’s tactical acumen, Bologna mixed resolute defending with a fearless mindset, incomes a Europa League ticket and celebrating with avenue events throughout Emilia-Romagna.
England noticed one other emotional launch simply two months prior, as Newcastle United ended a 70-year watch for a significant trophy with an exhilarating 2-1 win over Liverpool within the EFL Cup remaining at Wembley.
Alexander Isak’s brace flipped an early deficit, and supervisor Eddie Howe’s injury-free squad introduced house Newcastle’s first home title since 1955 – a primary of any type since 1969.
The victory not solely secured European soccer however marked a robust second of resurgence for a membership reborn underneath Saudi-backed funding.
In the Netherlands, soccer’s most unbelievable fairy story unfolded in Deventer.
The Go Ahead Eagles, lengthy considered as Eredivisie also-rans, gained their first main trophy since 1933, stunning Dutch heavyweights to assert the KNVB Cup.
Their spirited, high-energy remaining efficiency rewrote the membership’s legacy and earned them a Europa League berth, triggering a wave of nationwide admiration for a crew that had waited 93 years to style glory once more.
Then got here Crystal Palace, who delivered the season’s most astonishing upset by toppling Manchester City within the FA Cup remaining on May 17.
For a membership that had by no means gained a significant trophy in its 120-year historical past – and had misplaced in two earlier FA Cup finals – the 2025 victory was seismic.
Eberechi Eze’s electrifying show fueled a 1-0 win that shocked City and silenced a long time of doubt. Selhurst Park erupted in pleasure as Oliver Glasner’s underdogs rewrote the historical past books and claimed a long-coveted place amongst English soccer’s elite.
Kane’s reward
While not a membership redemption, Harry Kane’s Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich carried a private weight simply as heavy.
After 13 years of near-misses and “almosts” with the Spurs, Kane lastly hoisted a significant trophy on May 4 – simply 17 days earlier than his former membership ended their very own drought.
The timing was poetic.
Once mocked as the very best participant by no means to win a trophy, Kane now joins Spurs in closing a protracted and painful chapter.
Eyes on PSG
However, one main curse nonetheless stands.
Paris Saint-Germain are actually poised to chase their elusive first Champions League crown, dealing with Inter Milan on May 31 at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
Despite dominating French soccer for over a decade and spending billions in pursuit of continental glory, PSG stay and not using a European title.
Their 2020 remaining loss to Bayern Munich nonetheless haunts them.
Yet this season, a post-Mbappe PSG has proven a special resolve.
Homegrown abilities like Warren Zaire-Emery have risen in stature, and the membership’s gritty semifinal win over Arsenal hinted at a shift in mentality.
With Opta giving PSG a slight statistical edge, and Inter Milan standing in the way in which, 2025 may mark the ultimate act in Europe’s season of redemption.
Source: www.dailysabah.com