Nearly two decades of pressure, patience and suffering of Tottenham fans have ended with a beautiful end at San Mames with the Europa League championship. The captain brought them to glory, just a few days before, they were still stuck in the prospect of being immediately fired if they failed. Now, they are enjoying glory together.
Ange Postecoglou kept his promise to Spurs, helping the team win a title in his second year in charge, as was the habit of the clubs and teams he had been in charge of. No one could have believed that the "Roosters" with 17th place in the Premier League rankings could win this glory and advance straight to the Champions League next season. However, it is the truth.
When the final whistle blew, Ange Postecoglou and his coaching staff celebrated enthusiastically, as if they had won the biggest title of their life. At nearly 60, this honor is perhaps the greatest in the Australian strategist's coaching career.
When he saw his students carrying a photo with the message "promising to win the second season" of himself celebrating all over the stadium, Postecoglou smiled brightly. That was when he realized that this journey of managing the team without knowing the taste of championship in the past 2 years was completely correct.
Back a few months ago, when Postecoglou's Tottenham career was on the brink, he made a bold decision, betting all on the Europa League and leaving the Premier League. If they do not win the Europa League, the current 17th place in the Premier League will immediately be like a sack on Postecoglou's head.
In a post-final press conference, the 59-year-old revealed that last January, he had thought in his mind that the Europa League would be everything for the rest of the season. With such a decision, this veteran strategist aimed to protect the legs of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero. They have been given a lot of time off in the Premier League to focus on the Europa League.
Van de Ven has only started 9 matches in 2025 since recovering from a hamstring injury. Of those, there are up to 7 matches in the Europa League. Romero, meanwhile, has played more Premier League games but has missed his last four Premier League games to keep his feet fit. This season is like last season, once Van de Ven and Romero are in good form, Tottenham are very confident and are unlikely to concede. This time in San Mames, that has been resumed.
Over the past few months, since the target of the Europa League, Postecoglou has completely abandoned the concept of "Angle", the philosophy of stormy attack, even sometimes silly. There are no higher defenses, midfielders close to the opponent's goal, ... all promote the effectiveness and protect the net until the last minute. The quarterfinals with Frankfurt are the most obvious evidence. Tottenham Hoa in the first leg at home with a score of 1-1 but won 1-0 away in the second leg. Remember Frankfurt is the former Europa League 2023 and is playing very well in the Bundesliga.
" big games depend on the moments. You have to limit the moments that are beneficial to the opponent, you have to change your approach and that is what we have proven in the European Cup" - Postecoglou shared.
3 days before the match, Postecoglou has continuously worked the ideological work for the players and members of the coaching staff. The 59 -year -old strategist was not too "big hammer" about the match in San Mames, he only described the process of the past 4 months, all have prepared for this final battle. Now is the time to bring back the results after what has been prepared, not rushing in the bound before the luggage has nothing in your hand.
The Europa League victory over Tottenham in general and Postecoglou in particular is not a coincidence or luck. It is the crystallization of the preparation efforts in 4 months, the clear aiming for the goal and the extremely high determination to achieve that.
No matter what happens next season, Postecoglou is not too concerned at the moment. Now is the time to enjoy the greatest glory of my coaching career after a season of so much pressure. Next season, Spurs will return to the Champions League, just thinking like that is enough to make Postecoglou smile.
