Tottenham’s Unprecedented Run To Bilbao

By: Lucas Ho

Tottenham Europa League Starters

*Written before Tottenham’s Victory

The 24-25 season marks the second season of Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at the helm of Tottenham Hotspur. Coming from the Scottish league, the Australian delivered a ten-game unbeaten run in his first season, which was overshadowed by the letdown later on that season. Despite the teams’ struggle, Tottenham still managed to qualify for the Europa League, falling just two points short of Aston Villa for the Champions League spot (though this year England was granted five spots for the competition). The second season behind Postecoglou proved to be disappointing, having tied their worst league loss record (20) in a 38-game season since 1912/13, over a century ago. But how have they managed to secure their place at the Estadio de San Mamés in Bilbao for the Europa League Final?

Tottenham’s setback this season ironically mirrored the injury crisis from the previous season, with many starters out of the squad from October until February. The Lilywhites lost their Italy international shot-stopper, Gugliemo Vicario, due to an ankle injury, and center back pairing Cristian Romero and Mickey Van De Ven were both sidelined with muscle problems. Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke also suffered injuries. These injuries proved to be beyond manageable, and Daniel Levy was forced to dip into the January transfer window for reinforcement. Due to the difficulty of signing players in January (and Levy’s tight grip on club finances), the club was only able to bring in three senior signings: Kevin Danso (CB), Mathys Tel (ST), and Antonin Kinsky (GK). The January window was unfit for the needs of the injury crisis at Hotspur Way, as the new signing Kevin Danso was injured as well, which meant that teenage midfielder Archie Gray was forced to return to center back. With such an amassing of injured players, it’s fair to question the medical staff as well as the manager himself. Back in the Scottish league, Postecoglou faced similar problems, which fans attribute to his aggressive play style. The former Australian international coach employs a high pressing and high line defensive strategy, which forces players to sprint considerably more than other teams in the league. Tottenham ranks the highest in both sprinting in and out of possession this season in the league, but still sit at 17th in the league, one place ahead of relegation. But with their statistics in the English league, how have they made their way to Bilbao?

The Lilywhites' journey in the Europa League has been blessed with little difficulty, primarily competing against teams outside of the European big five leagues. Their Europa group stage league play consisted of playing teams from Azerbaijan, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Turkey, well below the quality of competition that Tottenham faces at home. Furthermore, with the new format of the Europa League, early exits from the Champions League no longer join the second-tier European competition, decreasing the competitiveness. Their first threat in this tournament came after advancing from the round of 16 (against AZ Alkmaar) when they were drawn against Eintracht Frankfurt. Tottenham managed to win against the third-place Bundesliga opponents by securing a win in the second leg of the quarter-finals. Once again, the Spurs conveniently escaped a possible loss by drawing Bodo/Glimt instead of the Serie A team Lazio. With a rather unremarkable win against Bodo/Glimt across two legs at home and in Norway, Tottenham have now booked their spot in Spain to attempt to bring home a trophy for the first time since the 2008 Carling Cup.

Tottenham’s disappointing performance this season in the Premier League came as a devastating surprise to the Lilywhite fanbase, but their Europa League season has not only saved the reputation of one of the elite “Big Six”but also the job of Ange Postecoglou. Now it all comes down on May 21st, where Ange Postecoglou will compete against Ruben Amorin to regain glory for the silverware-thirsty fanbase in N17.

*Edit: The Tottenham Hotspurs are the 2025 EUROPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONS.