Ange Postecoglou stepped onto a small stage in a function room at Hotel Carlton in Bilbao, where Tottenham Hotspur hosted their post-Europa League final celebrations.

He waited momentarily for the crowd of players, staff, family and friends to settle before putting his hand up and saying, “I’m used to people listening when I talk,” jolting the group into silence.

“I made family a big theme for us as a group this year,” he said. “How important family is. These boys, I’m so proud of them. And the staff. They’ve been the best family I could ever be associated with, but more importantly, it’s how everyone in this room has helped these boys become champions.

“They truly deserve it. They’re outstanding people, not just outstanding players. I couldn’t be prouder to be their manager. I want everyone to enjoy tonight and what it means because you all, every single one of you, deserve it from the bottom of my heart. I’ve never been prouder to be a manager of a football club, manager of these players, and the people with them.”

Postecoglou’s ability to build a family unit in the face of constant turmoil this season was central to their success on the night. Dominic Solanke, even on his last legs, exemplified the collective buy-in, charging around the pitch in the dying minutes to protect their lead.

The Australian’s speech was not just an opportunity to reflect on the 1-0 win over Manchester United or ending the 17-year trophy drought, but to celebrate their persistence and dedication in a season that the injury crises or Premier League failures could have easily derailed.

Postecoglou has created a family environment within his squad (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

En route to winning the Asian Cup in 2015 with Australia — the nation’s first major trophy — Postecoglou asked the players to gather around the jersey and reflect in front of their team-mates on what playing for their national team meant to them. A stirring speech before Australia’s narrow 3-2 defeat to Germany in the 2017 Confederations Cup often goes viral on social media, drawing comparisons to Al Pacino’s famous Inch by Inch scene in Any Given Sunday.

This time, he arranged a meeting with the squad and played a video of their loved ones wishing them good luck before the final. In typical fashion, it had a rousing effect on his players.

“The message (in the dressing room) was just to do our things, to play for us, for our fans and especially for our fans who were here to support us in the stands,” goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario told journalists in the post-match mixed zone. “It was very emotional and I think in the back of our minds, they played a big part of the game tonight.

“It was at the hotel. We had the preparation of the game as well as this brilliant video. My mum and my dad (spoke in my video). They were here celebrating with me on the pitch. They said just to fight for this badge, to fight for Tottenham Hotspur, and to make them happy.”

While Tottenham have often left injured players at home to continue their rehabilitation in the Europa League knockout rounds, a full complement travelled to Bilbao. The squad arrived together at San Mames in slim, blue suits and white T-shirts provided by luxury Italian fashion house Kiton, the club’s official formalwear partner since 2023.

But as the final whistle blew, there was a brief opportunity to celebrate on the pitch for the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and even Will Lankshear, who spent the second half of the season on loan at West Bromwich Albion. They had to ditch the suits and change into more familiar attire.

To collect a medal on the pitch, UEFA requires all players to dress in that team’s kit. The group bent the rules slightly, donning standard white Nike sports socks instead of the longer football-specific variations, while a cast on Kulusevski’s leg meant he could only wear the shirt.

Maddison later told British broadcaster TNT Sports he “didn’t want to do a John Terry when he went with the full kit and the shin pads”, referring to when the former Chelsea captain went onto the pitch to lift the Champions League trophy in 2012 after missing the final through suspension.

Brennan Johnson, who scored the only goal of the evening, was the first player to be interviewed on the pitch by TNT. Draped in a Welsh flag, Johnson, who deactivated his social media accounts last September due to the online abuse, spoke from the heart.

“This season hasn’t been good at all,” Johnson said. “Not one of us players right now cares about that. This is what it’s all about. This club hadn’t won a trophy for 17 years. It means so much. All of the fans get battered. We get battered for not winning a trophy, not winning anything.

“Ever since I came here, it has been, ‘Tottenham are a good team, but can never get it done’. We got it done.”

When asked whether he thinks Postecoglou should be Tottenham’s head coach into next season, he said, “If there’s ever a time for a mic drop, I think it’s now. I’ll be looking forward to his interview.” Postecoglou later conceded their league form was “terrible” and “unacceptable” but reiterated his desire to stay in north London.

As the Spurs players celebrated together in front of their supporters and family, with Micky van de Ven going into the stands and Richarlison banging a drum in the crowd, Archie Gray took a moment to console his opponents. After giving the United players a guard of honour on their way to pick up their runners-up medals, Postecoglou led Spurs onto the podium, passing UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin as well as Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and United minority co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The interaction between Levy and most players was short and respectful, but Maddison pulled Tottenham’s chairman in for a hug as he passed through. Postecoglou was the first person to step onto the podium and initially hung back before Pedro Porro and Vicario pushed him into the middle of the group. As captain, Son Heung-min went up last and lifted the trophy, a moment he believes cements his legend status at the club.

In the aftermath, Son pulled back his fringe to reveal bruising to his head, sustained while lifting the trophy. “I lift, somebody push me and my head hit the trophy,” Son told club media.

Several players, including Son, did not receive a medal on the pitch as UEFA underestimated the amount needed due to “an unexpected discrepancy in the player count, as more team members — including injured players — participated in the ceremony than initially anticipated”. That small group later received their medals in the dressing room, where the celebrations reached another level.

Yves Bissouma, who has reignited his career in recent weeks playing in a double pivot alongside Rodrigo Bentancur, went live on Instagram, showing the players eating pizza, dancing and shooting gold confetti cannons. Bissouma filmed Wilson Odobert, wrapped in a France flag, holding the trophy and dancing to Afro Trap Pt. 3 by Guinean-French rapper MHD, a song in which every line of the chorus ends with “Champions League”, the tournament Tottenham qualified for next season by winning Europe’s secondary competition. He was less enthusiastic when Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten was played by the dressing-room DJ.

While Oscar-winning film director and Spurs fan Bong Joon Ho celebrated the win by lifting a bottle of whisky on a live stream, beer, champagne — both alcoholic and non-alcoholic — and other drinks were passed around the dressing room. Djed Spence re-created his picture from Nottingham Forest’s play-off final triumph in 2022, lying beside the trophy and biting a cigar.

The group stayed in the stadium for hours after kick-off, with players walking between the dressing room and the pitch and taking group and individual pictures with the trophy. Tottenham posted a video of several players lined up on their social channels while the Champions League anthem played in the background. Mikey Moore lifted his hands to the sky, Maddison did the sign of the cross, while Gray licked his lips, mimicking the video of Brazilian icon Ronaldinho doing the same thing while playing for Milan.

Are you ready for us, @ChampionsLeague? pic.twitter.com/JryS8tonuX

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 21, 2025

On their way back to the hotel, a topless Bissouma wheeled a speaker onto the coach, with Pape Matar Sarr following close behind. On the journey, the Mali international danced with Spence, Richarlison, Sarr and Odobert to Premier Gaou, a song by Francis Mercier and Magic System. Son sat at the front of the coach as it drove through the city, interacting with Spurs fans who cheered the team through.

There’s unreal vibes… then there’s Yves Bissouma vibes pic.twitter.com/45bOVjYUGk

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 22, 2025

Postecoglou arrived before the players and grinned from ear to ear as he interacted with family and friends. The players entered the conference room shortly after 2am, with the DJ welcoming them with Queen’s We Are The Champions.

Perhaps inspired by Freddie Mercury, Levy later stepped onto the stage and shouted, “We’re champions”, before addressing the crowd with a short speech: “Listen, this has been a very long time coming, 1984 was the last time we won a European cup.

“Tonight, we made history, and I want to thank Ange and all the coaching staff, all the players, you guys have gone down in history. Thank you very much. This is a magnificent achievement for the club that hopefully is going to get us on the road where we absolutely deserve to be, which is at the very top.”

The celebrations carried on late into the night, with Maddison getting onto the stage on several occasions to sing with various people, including comedian Michael McIntyre. Videos have since circulated on the club’s social media of a group, led by Maddison, singing Wonderwall.

“Wonderwall”
pic.twitter.com/p8DLIj2CJX

— THFCReport (@THFCReports) May 22, 2025

Cristian Romero, who mumbled his way through the Oasis hit, made no mistake with his rendition of Campeones, Ole, Ole, Ole, a song he has sung several times in an Argentina shirt but never before at club level. Son jumped up and down to “Nice one, Sonny”, a reworked version of the song dedicated to former Spurs full-back Cyril Knowles, who was part of the UEFA Cup-winning side in 1972.

The party had the distinct Postecoglou “family” flavour, with rotational players like Moore and Sergio Reguilon still front and centre in the celebrations. The Spaniard even held a banner alongside Maddison with a picture of the manager holding the Europa League trophy with the now iconic, “I always win things in my second year” quote over it.

Reguilon and Maddison hold up the Postecoglou poster (Alex Pantling – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

With a gold medal finally wrapped around his neck, Son and Spurs returned to England on Thursday afternoon with the trophy.

Friday’s parade, starting in Edmonton Green at 5.30pm BST (12.30pm ET) and finishing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, will ensure the party lasts at least another day.

But memories of May 21, and the night that followed it, will live with that group forever.

(Top photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)

It manifests first as pain. Brennan Johnson nipping in ahead of Luke Shaw to bundle in a cross from Pape Matar Sarr and thrust a dagger into Manchester United’s best-laid plans.

In some nations, a goal scored close to half-time is described as “for the dressing room”; they transform the managerial team talk, force Xs and Os to get scrubbed from whiteboards, put frighteners into substitutes yet to stretch their hamstrings properly. Johnson’s goal for Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester United in Wednesday’s Europa League final was in the 42nd minute, scruffy, opportunistic, but effective.

The pain is sharp at first, but turns into a dull throb over the second half. The ball doesn’t stick to United’s best players the way they want it to. The match refuses to settle into a rhythm that suits them. Coach Ruben Amorim waits until the 71st minute to make his first substitutions, and Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho offer a moderate attacking threat when they come on. Diogo Dalot arrives in the 85th minute, and Kobbie Mainoo — man of the match in last year’s FA Cup final win against Manchester City — enters the pitch even later, with only nine minutes of stoppage time to arrest the situation.

The painful scoreline hangs on the stadium screen: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United.

Amorim’s players try their best to change that, but there’s a horrible, awful, gnawing feeling emanating from one side of the San Mames stadium that it won’t be enough.

An estimated 80,000 football fans travelled to Bilbao for the Europa League final. A touch over 17,000 United supporters got tickets for the match and took the proverbial planes, trains and automobiles to be here to try to will their team to victory. Their players on the field are not matching their passion and energy, however. Time slows. Chances dry up.

United needed to play perfect football to unlock a stubborn defence, but struggled to push past competency. There was no stoppage-time magic last night. The club’s historical prestige could not be parlayed into a better future. 

Then comes the shock of the final whistle and the sadness that swiftly follows. Catharsis for Tottenham’s fans and players. Heartbreak for everyone attached to United.

Garnacho slumps to the ground, devastated. Amad sits on the turf, where eventually he is consoled by team-mate Mason Mount. Zirkzee pulls his jersey over his head. The ‘Bilbao or Bust’ tightrope act finally spun off-balance. It ends in a bust. The biggest game of United’s season wandered away from this team in the key moments. 

Defeat in a final like this realigns time and space. It disorients and debilitates. United will be without European football of any kind next season. The last time that occurred was 2014-15, Louis van Gaal’s first season in charge. Before that, it was 1989-90 under Sir Alex Ferguson.

A club of United’s size and history require the added attraction of European competition to be their best, idealised selves; when you define yourselves as winners, you need as many opportunities as possible to show that to the world. Fans, players and coaching staff will now have to adjust to playing one game each week for much of next season.

There will be no European football for Manchester United fans to follow next season (David Ramos/Getty Images)

That may come with minor benefits — more time on the training pitch to finesse tactics and playing methods. But it also comes with significant drawbacks.

United will earn far less money in terms of matchday, broadcast and commercial revenue. The absence of Champions League football is going to make them less appealing when approaching possible signings in the summer. A precarious financial situation has been made worse. In the hyper-capitalist world of modern football, money is an accelerant — what is necessary to fix this club will not now arrive on the speediest of timelines. 

And so to the big questions.

Where do Manchester United go from here? And how long will it take before the club is good once again?

Amorim has said he has “nothing to show to the fans, so at this moment, it is a little bit of faith”. There have been glimmers of quality across his 41 matches in charge since being appointed in November, but there is a vast distance between where United are now and where they want to go. Their head coach doesn’t wish to change his approach, but said he will leave without conversations over compensation if fans and senior executives believe him to be ill-equipped for the job he’s been given. 

In his post-match interview, United and England defender Luke Shaw described the situation as “nowhere near good enough”.

“It’s going to be a very difficult process. Us as players, we’ve let a lot of people down, including Ruben,” Shaw said. “We’ve been nowhere-near good enough the whole season.

“A lot has to change. That’s why Ruben is 100 per cent the right person. He knows what is to be done, he will do everything to make that change and put Manchester United back at the top.”

Whatever decisions get made, it will be important for everyone to row in the same direction. Longstanding issues are best defeated through collective and consistent efforts.

It will take time for United to adjust to their new reality in the relative football wilderness. It will take time on top of that to find their way back from it. The best way out of a messy situation is — very often — to go through it. That will hurt, but it can also serve as a learning opportunity. There is no get-out-of-jail-free card this season, as there was with that FA Cup final in the previous one.

Senior executives have not moved from co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s opinion, given during a series of interviews in March. They believe Amorim is a good coach who can correct a bad situation. United fans have slowed their singing of Amorim’s name in a chant to the tune of Bonnie Tyler’s It’s a Heartache. They are understandably torn on whether to back a manager who has struggled to improve the squad he inherited.

Backing a head coach requires a financial investment, and in this case recruiting the players who can make Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation viable against Premier League opposition.

United need to strengthen their goalscoring options. They need to recruit targets who can match the physical intensity and technical quality of players at Champions League clubs. They need better options at wing-back. Some fans remain unconvinced about goalkeeper Andre Onana almost two full seasons in.

That is a long shopping list, made more difficult by the loss of revenues. But to back Amorim is to do more than to give him money. He is a struggling employee who requires many things to perform his job properly, including honesty from those above and around him.

The 40-year-old Portuguese wears his heart on his sleeve in press conferences — sometimes to his detriment. Club personnel other than him need to be willing to face questions and explain the blueprint for the future. Amorim has strengths that can be furthered with financial investment. He has weaknesses that can be reduced with a better structure.

How one creates that structure in a time of mass layoffs at the club is difficult. The attempts by Ratcliffe’s INEOS business empire to trim the perceived fat at United risk cutting into lean meat.

Ratcliffe has spoken of making the club the most profitable in the world within three years. Chief executive Omar Berrada has told staff a league title is possible in 2028, to coincide with the 150th anniversary of United’s founding. Plans for a new stadium were unveiled with little detail on costings but with a goal to complete the build for the 2030-31 season.

These are all ambitious, lofty goals. They also run counter to each other. A perennially injured athlete does not tell the world they plan to run a marathon.

United’s short- to medium-term objectives need to focus on competency. They need to build tools and processes to guard against the complacency that has eroded the club’s brilliance since Ferguson’s 2013 retirement.

“But we’re Manchester United” is not a reasonable counter-argument when confronted with desperate situations. Belief that your institution is exempt from the hard, functional and often boring parts of the job leads to a slow decline. Footballers need to do warm-ups and cooldowns to maintain peak performance. Football clubs need to properly condition themselves for the seasons ahead, too.

Past midnight, hours after the full-time whistle, the celebrations, the press conferences and the exit of nearly every football fan — a San Mames employee took to the pitch with a leaf blower. For 30 minutes, he neatly arranged the gold ticker tape and glitter from the trophy lift into a small square, before co-workers came and swept it all away with dustpans and brooms. When the process was complete, the heavens opened and rain began to fall on the stadium, soaking those who remained. 

This was the last European party United will be invited to for a while. Those in charge of the club will have to find ways to turn the misery of last night’s defeat into brighter days in the future.

(Top photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

CHICAGO – The Seattle Mariners earned a late victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon at Rate Field. Leody Taveras hit his first home run as a member of the organization in the top of the eighth inning, giving the M’s a 6-5 win over the American League Central foes.

Seattle is now 28-20 entering play on Thursday, when they will start a new series with the Houston Astros.

However, the M’s didn’t just win late, they also won early, as Miles Mastrobuoni was the last man standing in an epic “National Anthem standoff” that lasted for what felt like almost 10 minutes.

The battle originated with Mitch Garver and Mastrobuoni against Jordan Leasure and Cam Booser, but as Shane Smith began his warm-up tosses in the top of the first inning, people started to peel off, but Mastrobuoni toed the line and hung tough.

CHICAGO – The Seattle Mariners earned a late victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon at Rate Field. Leody Taveras hit his first home run as a member of the organization in the top of the eighth inning, giving the M’s a 6-5 win over the American League Central foes.

Seattle is now 28-20 entering play on Thursday, when they will start a new series with the Houston Astros.

However, the M’s didn’t just win late, they also won early, as Miles Mastrobuoni was the last man standing in an epic “National Anthem standoff” that lasted for what felt like almost 10 minutes.

The battle originated with Mitch Garver and Mastrobuoni against Jordan Leasure and Cam Booser, but as Shane Smith began his warm-up tosses in the top of the first inning, people started to peel off, but Mastrobuoni toed the line and hung tough.

Did the anthem standoff truly mean anything? Not really, but it’s a sign of the fun that this group is having through the first month and a half of the season.

The Mariners are on a quest to win their first American League West title since 2001. They haven’t made it past the American League Division Series since that year, either.

As stated above, the M’s will open up a series with the division-rival Astros on Thursday at Daikin Park. Seattle will send All-Star George Kirby to the mound for the first time this season. He had been shut down on March 7 with right shoulder inflammation.

First pitch is set for 5:10 p.m. PT.

NEW PODCAST IS OUT! Brady is back for another episode of “Refuse to Lose,” but this episode is a little different. Brady is live in Chicago for Mariners and White Sox, so he plays audio from the clubhouse from Miles Mastrobuoni, Emerson Hancock and former M’s player Josh Rojas. He also shares observations from his trip thus far, including what he saw from Logan Gilbert and what he thinks about George Kirby. And finally, Mitch Levy, who has spent 30+ years in Seattle sports talk, joins the show for a lengthy conversation – with a hilarious story about his own trip to Chicago. CLICK HERE:

NOT SO FAST: It was originally reported that Andres Munoz was going to play for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, but that isn’t confirmed yet. Here’s the latest. CLICK HERE:

NO COMMUNICATION?: Josh Rojas, who was non-tendered by the Mariners in the offseason, said he didn’t hear much from Seattle about a possible reunion. CLICK HERE:

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.

British middle distance runner Holly Archer has hit back at online trolls who have criticised her choice of running outfit while recently competing in the 2024 London Marathon.

The 31-year-old, who is a former European silver medalist over 1500 metres, finished her first marathon in just two hours and 39 minutes.

But, after posting about the achievement of social media, Archer faced a barrage of comments about her running briefs.

‘There’s lots of shops in London you should check them out they have loads of clothes,’ remarked on TikTok user.

‘You left your pants behind,’ replied another.

‘Crazy how the guys can do this not in a bikini,’ said a third.

Archer, who was wearing racing briefs called ‘run buns’, hit back at her detractors with a second video clip in which she highlights the negativity she’s received.

‘Sorry, should I have worn a tracksuit?’ she asks in the clip.

Despite the trolls, Archer has received plenty of support from her followers.

‘Would love to see these keyboard warriors do what you did,’ posted one.

‘If I had abs like yours I would wear that daily. Not just on race days,’ remarked another.

‘Have they seen the athletes in the Olympics?’ replied a third. 

Another fan wrote: ‘All these people talking about what you’re wearing and my first thought was, “Damn that girl is FIT!”‘

‘Anyone who has anything to say about the clothing is (a) missing the point of how impressive this is, and (b) jealous their legs would chafe (like mine could – congratulations!’ said another. 

Despite the backlash over her outfit, Archer remains extremely proud of what she’s achieved on her first attempt at the marathon.

‘The crowds, the noise, the energy, it’s something I’ll never forget,’ she wrote on Instagram.

‘My time wasn’t what I came here to do, BUT … before we judge, it was HOT. Bloody hot!’

‘I came for a time, and I fell short. I also came to NOT give up, and I absolutely didn’t.

‘I wouldn’t change a thing.’

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Photo credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

In the wake of another disappointing playoff exit for the Maple Leafs, we are expected to see a lot of turnover in Toronto this summer, and with a MLSE board meeting scheduled to take place on Thursday, the fireworks could pop off as early as today.

After a few days of reflecting following Sunday’s Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers, you knew it was only a matter of time before the players were spotted on the golf course.

On Thursday, a photo from an Ottawa Senators fan emerged showing Matthews, Marner and Tavares out with a number of friends and teammates, including Jake McCabe and Max Domi, in Caledon at Pulpit Golf Club, and the post already has more than 560,000 views.

The comments section was filled not only with personal attacks directed at the Leafs, but also plenty of comments from Leafs fans who were quick to point out that the Senators have already been golfing for weeks.

Players are still people, and at the end of the day, going out golfing with your friends is a healthy coping mechanism after such a disappointing situation.

I’ve never understood the instant vitriol directed at players for trying to move on with their lives and coping after coming up short in the playoffs. Yes, it’s disappointing, but we shouldn’t expect these guys to lock themselves in their homes and stew over something they can’t change.

Hopefully the players enjoy some time together prior to all of these changes that are expected to occur in the coming weeks. Yes, they’re well-paid players, but they’re people too, and golfing to reduce stress seems completely healthy and reasonable to me.

Previously on MapleLeafsDaily

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