Seeing Spurs win the Europa League in 2025

The Cost Was Ridiculous. The Value? Unforgettable

I’ve been supporting Tottenham Hotspur for 45 years, through more heartbreak than I care to count. The semi-final losses, the finals slipped away, the near misses… I’d almost given up hope that we’d ever truly win something big. Back in 2019 I was in Madrid for the Champions League final and we lost again. I thought, maybe this is just who we are—great memories, painful endings. So when the semi-final second leg arrived this year and we scored, my instinct shifted. I was going to Bilbao. Deciding to Go I didn’t have a ticket through the normal club allocation. I told myself I wouldn’t go. But the moment we scored in the second leg of the semi-final it changed everything. I booked a plane ticket the second the final whistle went. It felt like our moment, and I couldn’t pass it up. Worse was the flights to Bilbao: they were packed, so a group of us chartered a plane. Yes, a charter. Spurs fans piling on in a crazier way than usual—cars, boats, trains, flights via random Spanish cities—and we went direct. We landed in Bilbao around midday, grabbed coaches into the city. I ended up buyin my ticket via a reseller website. It had a face value (£250) but I paid nearly £900 thanks to the price gouging and the added fees. It only landed in my inbox 24 hours before kickoff, so until it was in my app I was bricking it that I'd turn up and wouldn't be able to get in! Some of the lads slept at the airport overnight; me and a friend splurged on an Airbnb just nearby and got a decent night’s sleep. Good move. Arrival & Atmosphere We hit the city and the locals were buzzing for us—not playing home support but strangely feeling like it. A lot of them rocked Spurs colours because Manchester United had knocked out local club Athletic Club in the semi‐final, so the city embraced the Spurs invasion. We started drinking early—airport, plane, city centre—before heading to the ground. The stadium, San Mamés, is something else. Compact but electric, enveloped in the city, with a steep, raucous stand that felt like it leaned into us. You could feel every shout, every chant. I’ve been to big grounds, but there was something intimate and intense about this one. The Match We all knew the football maybe wouldn’t be pretty. That’s fine. Final football isn’t for flashing style—it’s for winning. And when Brennan Johnson bundled it in before half‐time? I have never felt anything like it. Limbs flying, hugging strangers, voices breaking. That roar—utter joy mixed with relief. Then the tension. The second half dragged, United chased, and at one point Micky van de Ven cleared off the line acrobatically. But weirdly I just knew we were going to see it out, which for a Spurs fan was a surreal feeling. And when the final whistle blew, I was in tears. Because this was our moment. Because my dad — terminally ill — was in my mind the whole time, likely seeing his last European trophy or trophy of any kind after so many near misses. I wore the purple Jürgen Klinsmann shirt Dad gave me in the mid-90s (which used to be way too big for me, but appropriately fits me perfectly now). It mattered. Afterward & Reflection We stayed behind for ages. Singing, cheering, letting it soak in. Watching Son Heung‑min finally lift the trophy we’ve waited decades for. We wandered the town, joined the celebrations, crashed out for a couple hours sleep before the early morning flight home. I didn’t spend cheap, but I have zero regrets. I’ve supported Spurs through thinner seasons than this one. Lost more semi-finals and finals than most. I thought this day might never come. But we’re here. We did it. Final Thoughts If you’re reading this as a Spurs fan—or any long-suffering supporter—know this: hope may fade, but the right moment can still arrive. Being there, witnessing it, sharing it with mates, dressing for it, breathing the atmosphere—it made everything worthwhile. For me and for my dad. For the decades of waiting. Now I’ll treasure the memory, the trip, the roar of the crowd in Bilbao, and that final whistle. I added it to my list. Make sure you add yours.