(foto: Getty Images)
Ange Postecoglou praised his players after reaching the Europa League final, delivering a powerful post-match speech that celebrated unity, resilience, and Spurs’ shot at ending their trophy drought.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou gave an emotional dressing room speech after his side booked their place in the Europa League final with a 2-0 win over Bodo/Glimt on Thursday night.
Second-half goals from Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro sealed a 5-1 aggregate win for Spurs, setting up a blockbuster final against Manchester United in Bilbao on May 21. After the match, Postecoglou addressed his squad in the away dressing room with a powerful message of pride and belief.
“I've said it before that what you, as a group, players and staff have gone through this year... I've been in this game a long time, I'm very experienced, I've experienced it all, but I'm so proud of how all of you have just stuck together,” Postecoglou began.
“Not one time have I felt like people are not believing or have lost what we have in here, and it's just outstanding. People will never realise what it's taken for you guys to be in this position, and you deserve all the credit for that."
“It's unbelievable what you've done. To come to this place, difficult place, win comfortably, but the whole time through, all the things we've had to deal with. There's people who aren't with us today, who are back home. Fraser [Forster] played a big part, Sonny's played a big part, Madders, Lucas [Bergvall], Radu [Dragusin], they've all played a big part.”
“Everyone's contributed, and that's the main thing that's got us to this point. We've had problems for sure, but we've stuck together, and you deserve it. Now we've got two weeks, just under two weeks to prepare."
“Every day is important, every day, every training session, every game we have between now and then is about getting ready for that big game. You can change things, you saw what you did, 400 supporters here today, they'll never forget it. There's thousands back home, you can make it something really special."
"I keep saying to you, this is the group of players that are going to do it. So focus on that for now, but you deserve all the credit, it's been outstanding. So from tomorrow we focus, yeah? Tonight [big celebrations].”
Tottenham will now look to end their 17-year wait for silverware, with the Europa League final offering a golden opportunity under Postecoglou’s guidance.