Tottenham Hotspur finally put an end to 17 long years of hurt last night.
Despite their diabolically poor domestic campaign and the absence of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, and Lucas Bergvall, Ange Postecoglou’s side managed to do what would have been unthinkable a few months ago and won the Europa League.
It wasn’t the prettiest or highest quality of games, but that hardly matters, as all the fans will remember is their players’ gritty, backs-to-the-wall performance and how they brought home the club’s third European trophy.
Moreover, one of the players in the squad now has to go down as one of the biggest legends in Spurs history, someone who now has an even bigger legacy in North London than Gareth Bale.
Spurs' heroes in Bilbao
Before getting to the legend in question, it’s worth going over some of the other heroes for Spurs last night, such as Micky van de Ven.
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The Flying Dutchman was a rock at the back for the North Londoners, and on helping to suffocate Manchester United, he also managed to pull off a sensational goal line clearance after Guglielmo Vicario misjudged a cross mid-way through the second half.
Equally impressed with the former VfL Wolfsburg star, Spurs writer Alasdair Gold awarded him a justifiable 10/10 match rating at full-time, the same rating he gave Cristian Romero.
The World Cup winner, who has now won all five of the finals he’s played in, was named the Man of the Match, and, to be honest, that’s a difficult decision to argue against, as he was utterly immense.
If the Argentine titan wasn’t getting his head to a ball or intercepting a pass, he was getting the heads of United’s players, and by the end of the game, he had a number of them on strings.
Both Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro were also handed 10/10 ratings by Gold on the night, with the former actually being the more attacking of the two as the encounter went on and the latter showing that when it really comes down to it, he can put in a solid defensive showing at right-back.
Finally, while he only got a 7/10 from the football.london journalist, we reckon Richarlison was just as important as anyone else on the team last night, as from the first minute until he was taken off in the 67th minute, the Brazilian forward worked like a dog.
If he wasn’t making runs down the left, the former Everton star was putting in a monstrous defensive effort that most probably wouldn’t associate with him, and if the 28-year-old does end up leaving in the summer, he’ll do so as a cult hero for his display.
However, with all that said, another player who didn’t even start last night can now go down as one of the most important players in Tottenham’s history and someone with an even greater legacy than Bale.
Player ratings courtesy of Sofascore
The Spurs star with a greater legacy than Bale
While every player in the team last night will now go down as a Spurs hero at a minimum, there is one star for which the victory secured him a legacy that few in the modern era can match: Son Heung-min.
Yes, even though the South Korean superstar only came on in the 67th minute, and aside from a free-kick that Kevin Danso almost got on the end of offered very little, he has now gone from club icon to club legend.
Arguably, the only player in the last 25 years who can be placed on a higher pedestal than the former Bayer Leverkusen star is Harry Kane, and that’s only down to him being the club’s all-time goalscorer.
Moreover, while Bale has a good legacy with the North Londoners, he only played one game in their successful League Cup run in 2007/08.
In contrast, the Chuncheon-born superstar made ten appearances in the Europa League this season, scoring three goals and providing one assist.
Furthermore, the victory last night was just the icing on the cake to remove any question over his status as a club legend, as since he moved to N17 in the summer of 2015, he has been nothing short of brilliant.
For example, in 454 appearances for the club, the “incredible” phenom, as dubbed by Postecoglou, has scored 173 goals and provided 101 assists, which is an absurd average of a goal involvement every 1.65 games.
Appearances
454
Minutes
32186′
Goals
173
Assists
101
Goal Involvements per Match
0.60
Minutes per Goal Involvements
117.46′
Major Trophies
1
Ultimately, Son was always going to go down as a Spurs icon regardless of what happened last night, but the victory in Bilbao has now ensured he’ll leave the club as a legend and as someone with an even greater legacy than Bale.
Spurs hero just proved why he's a £100m star in the making in Bilbao
Spurs ended their 17-year trophy drought by lifting the Europa League trophy in Bilbao.
1 ByJack Salveson HolmesMay 22, 2025