Anticipation is building around Bilbao ahead of Wednesday’s all-or-nothing Europa League final between Tottenham and Manchester United.
For the sides languishing in 17th and 16th in the Premier League respectively, the San Mames showpiece offers one team the chance to salvage a wretched season with silverware and Champions League qualification.
Europa League success is estimated to be worth around £100million to the victor, but glory is the main focus for those that have taken all manner of weird and wonderful routes to the Basque Country.
There have been predictions of as many as 80,000 fans heading to the all-English final, with the sparsity of accommodation options seeing supporters spill into the likes of San Sebastian, Santander and Vitoria.
Hordes of fans piled into Bilbao ahead of the match, but the mood around the city seemed calm and upbeat following overnight reports of some clashes between opposing sets of supporters.
There were few signs of issues in the bars, restaurants and public areas on Wednesday afternoon around the city, where a strong security presence was in place and roads closed around San Mames Stadium.
Spurs fans have been making their way to Spain since the weekend as their side attempt to win a first trophy since the Carling Cup in 2008, and first European trophy since the 1984 UEFA Cup.
Son Heung-min was part of the Tottenham side that went close to ending that drought by reaching the Champions League in 2019 and is now looking for a victory he hopes can start a new trophy-laden era.
“It’s going to be a huge, huge moment for both of us and also for the boys if we win it,” the Spurs skipper said.
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“As we always say, the first step is going to be really hard, but if you win that trophy, we can change the mentality, we can change the history and hopefully we can continue to compete for another trophy.”
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario knows the magnitude of overdue cup success despite uncertainty over the future of boss Ange Postecoglou, who snapped at a suggestion he would be a “clown” should they lose to United.
“It would be massive for the players, for the staff and especially for the fans,” Vicario said.
“We know we can create history for this football club. We know that probably next year when we walk through the corridors into the dressing room we will see some photos of us lifting that trophy, but now it is not certain.
“So, we have to keep working as best we can to try to arrive on the day as much ready as we can to create history.”
United are in a similarly poor state to Spurs yet can lift a trophy for the third straight season, having won the Carabao Cup in 2023 and then last season’s FA Cup under Erik ten Hag.
Successor Ruben Amorim has the chance to continue that run and help kickstart a much-needed rebuild, with skipper Bruno Fernandes dreaming of lifting the Europa League aloft on Wednesday evening.
“It won’t change the past, it won’t affect what the past has done to us either,” the United skipper said. “But what it can affect is the future.
“Obviously winning a competition gives you a lot of things. In this case you get a place in the Champions League, a lot of revenue for the club, it gets more players wanting to come to the club.
“I think that at this club it doesn’t change much in that aspect because I think every player wants to play for Man United and it’s a thing that will never change because the name of this club speaks for itself.
“But the main thing for us is to focus on what we have ahead of us and that is a massive final.”
