Tens of thousands of jubilant Tottenham Hotspur fans lined the streets of north London on Friday for an open-top bus victory parade to celebrate their Europa League win.
Captain Son Heung-Min led the celebrations, carrying the trophy on board, as players travelled from Edmonton, north London to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A party atmosphere consumed the route as fans – many who had congregated hours before the parade began, waved flags, lit blue and white flares and climbed on traffic lights and lamp posts.
Ecstatic supporters chanted ‘Champions of Europe, we know what we are’ and ‘Johnson again, ole, ole’ in honour of their match winner as the bus made its way through an estimated 150,000 fans.
Ange Postecoglou‘s side defeated Manchester United in Bilbao on Wednesday to lift Spurs’s first trophy since 2008, and their first European honour in 41 years.
Brennan Johnson scored the only goal of a drab game to spark wild scenes at the San Mames Stadium and beyond.
Thousands of Tottenham fans lined the streets of North London during a parade on Friday
Players donned Tottenham shirts with the number 25 on the back and wore black sunglasses
Captain Son Heung-Min, who declared himself a ‘legend’ after the win, led the celebrations
Spurs players wore shirts with the number 25 on the back and donned black sunglasses during the two-hour bus ride.
The bus arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at 7:30pm and players made their way onto a stage as fans belted out a raucous rendition of ‘When the Spurs Go Marching In’.
Speaking outside the stadium, an emotional Postecoglou hinted that he might stay at the club next season.
He told a rapturous crowd: ‘I told them and they laughed. I told them and they didn’t believe. But here we are and we’re here because of the unbelievable group of people, staff, heroes, led by the legend Son Heung-Min, Cuti Romero, James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario.
‘All of them [are] heroes. And they did it all for you. Because you deserve it. This club deserves it. And I’ll tell you something. All the best television series, season three is better than season two.’
After lifting the Europa League trophy outside the ground, Son told fans: ‘Ten years, guys, ten years.
‘You guys [have] been saying from day one until now, boys.’
Speaking earlier on the bus, Postecoglou said: ‘Seeing them out there today is why we do what we do. I’m super pleased these boys can deliver and this is why we delivered.
The bus arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at 7:30pm to raucous singing by supporters
Tottenham players lifted the trophy outside their stadium on Friday to end a 17-year drought
Ange Postecoglou previously declared that he always wins things in his second season
Ange Postecoglou delivered Spurs’s first trophy in 17 years and their first European one in 41
Wales star Brennan Johnson was handed a birthday cake as the players arrived at the stadium
Ange Postecoglou said: ‘All the best television series, season three is better than season two’
‘All good things come from hard work and toil and perseverance and belief and this team’s had it in spades. I’m so pleased we could crack that stone and enjoy it.
‘What the history books say is we’re the Europa Cup winners and it doesn’t say how we did it.’
A delighted James Maddison joked he was the ‘CEO of organising the after party’, adding Wednesday was ‘probably one of the best nights of my life.’
‘With the whole tag around the trophies, we’re the group who put that to bed. We’ll have that for the rest of lives. When we bump into each other in 50 years, we’ll always have this night in Bilbao.
‘The best decision I ever made was joining this club.’
Son, who declared himself a club ‘legend’ after victory in Bilbao, said: ‘The two days have gone so fast, with a lot of joy and happiness. It was incredible.
‘I waited and waited. I dreamt for the moment. I’m so glad that I did it here in a Spurs shirt. Seventeen years and no one has done it. Our group has done it and I’m so proud.
Postecoglou teased a ‘massive parade’ during his press conference on Wednesday night
The bus arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the players lifted the trophy
The squad celebrated on top of an open bus as they made their way through north London
Tottenham face Brighton on Sunday in the Premier League but will be unbothered by the result
A party atmosphere consumed the route with fans waving flags and climbing on street lights
Tottenham will compete in the Champions League next season despite finishing in 17th place
‘I’m very lucky it happened when I was captain. I’m so so happy. I don’t know what to say’.
Micky van de Ven, who cleared a goalbound header from Rasmus Højlund off the line, joked he had only ‘slept a bit’ following their celebrations.
‘I’m so emotional,’ he said. ‘What a season it’s been for us. It’s [been] so difficult but we got a trophy and I’m so happy and proud of the boys.
‘If you experience this you want to do it over and over again. We need to try and do the same beautiful thing next season.’
Johnson, also celebrating his 24th birthday on Friday, said: ‘I just knew the club has so many real supporters that have not won anything in a little while, and [the win] has exceeded expectations.’
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario added: It’s insane. I’ve had probably two hours sleep. Long nights but for these people it’s worth [it]. It’s unbelievable what we’ve done.’
Supporters let off blue and white flares while others climbed onto street lights and lamp posts
Micky Van de Ven joked he had only ‘slept a bit’ following their celebrations after the win
Around 150,000 are estimated to have turned up to the victory parade on Friday evening
Spurs’ 1991 FA Cup win was also marked with a parade around the old White Hart Lane ground
Some supporters jumped onto traffic signs and lamp posts as they took in the atmosphere
Earlier in the season, Postecoglou confidently declared that he always wins a trophy in his second season and he delivered on his word.
The manager teased a ‘massive parade’ during his post-match press conference on Wednesday night.
‘What I do know is, I’ll go back to my hotel room, get my family and friends together, open up a nice bottle of scotch, have a couple of quiet ones, get ready for a massive parade on Friday,’ Postecoglou insisted.
Spurs did not hold a parade after their league cup victory in 2008, instead showing their trophy to fans ahead of a UEFA cup game against PSV Eindhoven.
Their 1991 FA Cup win was marked with a parade around the club’s old White Hart Lane stadium.
Spurs sit in a lowly 17th in the Premier League but their season has been transformed by their Europa League victory.
Postecoglou’s side had celebrated long into the night in Spain, with several hilarious clips circulating on social media, before they flew back on Thursday morning.
Tottenham have not won a European trophy since the UEFA Cup against Anderlecht in 1984
Former Tottenham defender Ledley King joined up to 150,000 revellers in north London
Spurs sit in a lowley 17th place in the Premier League but their season has been transformed
Vicario said: ‘It’s insane. I’ve had probably two hours sleep. Long nights but… it’s worth it’
Fans waved flag and chanted ‘Oh when the Spurs go marching in’ and ‘Johnson again, ole ole’
Supporters gathered in their thousands, lighting flares, waving flags and chanting Spurs songs
Several stars looked worse for wear as they boarded the team bus from their hotel before heading to the airport after the celebrations continued past 3am.
However, the party continued upon their return to England as they understandably looked to make the most of completing such an iconic feat for the club.
The festivities turned to an upmarket Mayfair nightclub as footage shared to social media showed Spurs’ squad celebrating long into the night again.
The venue of choice was the Mistress of Mayfair, where bottles of wine can cost upwards of five figures.
Several clips showed a party atmosphere at the venue, with the squad singing along to We Are The Champions by Queen in one while waving napkins above their heads.
Micky van de Ven and Ragu Dragusin were leading to the songs at the venue, which was packed, hinting that they were joined by their partners and friends.
Brennan Johnson scored the only goal of the game to give Tottenham the victory in Bilbao
The former Nottingham Forest forward also celebrated his 24th birthday on Friday
Ecstatic fans took to the streets of London to soak in the party atmosphere on Friday evening
In another clip, Freed From Desire was being played and everyone inside the venue was joining in, before the DJ could be heard readapting the song to ‘Richie’s on fire’ in relation to Richarlison.
Despite breaking Tottenham’s trophy drought, Postecoglou’s future at the club is uncertain, and players do not expect him to be in charge next season.
The Spurs boss has one year remaining on his contract, but it will require a change of heart from chairman Daniel Levy, who is thought to have already started exploring alternatives, including Fulham’s Marco Silva.
Postecoglou sounded resigned to his fate on the eve of the final and his players struck a similar chord after beating United in Spain.
Most opted to dodge the issue, offering words of support for the Australian while insisting it was a time to celebrate and not worry about the future.
Son Heung-Min finally won his first trophy at Spurs after joining from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015
Cristian Romero, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, won his first Spurs trophy
Fans stood on their balconies and waved flags as the bus made it’s way through north London
South Korean fans proudly waved their national flag at the parade on Friday evening in London
Son came closest to saying Postecoglou deserved the right to stay and continue the work he has started.
‘He won the trophy,’ said Son in Bilbao. ‘Nobody did it, so… Look, it’s not up to me or the players, but we just have to look at the fact we haven’t won anything in 17 years, and today is the day we have finally won it. It’s the manager who wins the trophy. So we see what’s going to happen.’
Postecoglou said he would like to carry on and finish the job he has started after arriving from Celtic in 2023 but his final words on Wednesday night were, ‘que sera sera’. Whatever will be will be.’
