The 2024/25 season was a one for the books and lovers of a fairytale story. It was a season of shattered droughts in a campaign that redefined football’s capacity for wonder.
From Crystal Palace's FA Cup fairytale, to Newcastle's domestic catharsis, to Tottenham's and Ange’s European redemption, to Go Ahead Eagles' Dutch miracle, a lot of generational heartbreaks were mended.
Across England, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, clubs and players shattered generational curses in a David & Goliath story of the underdog’s rare glory against the odds.
This was football’s purest rebellion against the predictable. In this piece, we delve into each of these historical moments one after the other starting with…
🔵🏆Crystal Palace - The South London Liberation; First Title in 119 Years (FA Cup):
-Final Score: Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City (Wembley, May 25, 2025).
-Sole Goalscorer: Eberechi Eze (16th-minute volley).
-Decisive Moment: Dean Henderson saved Omar Marmoush’s 36th-minute penalty AND Erling Haaland’s rebound.
⚫🏆Newcastle United - Ending 70 Years of Hurt (Carabao Cup):
-Final Score: Newcastle 2-1 Liverpool (Wembley, March 16, 2025).
- Scorers: Dan Burn (33’), Alexander Isak (54’) Chiesa (90+4’).
- Context: Ended Newcastle’s longest active English trophy drought (since 1955) .
⚪🏆Tottenham Hotspur - Europa League Glory After 17 Years:
-Final Score: Tottenham 1-0 Manchester United (Bilbao, May 21, 2025).
-Match-Winning Goal: Brennan Johnson (42nd minute), deflecting Pape Sarr’s cross off Luke Shaw.
-Iconic Moment: Micky van de Ven’s acrobatic 68th-minute goal-line clearance, denying Rasmus Højlund’s equalizer.
-Tactical Context: Spurs recorded only 27.7% possession – the lowest in a major European final since 2009/10 – yet executed Ange Postecoglou’s defensive masterplan perfectly.
-Legacy: Ended a 6,296-day trophy drought (last: 2008 League Cup) and qualified for the Champions League despite a 17th-place Premier League finish.
⚽ 🏆Harry Kane - Bundesliga Title (Personal First):
-Title Decider: Kane’s 41st Bundesliga goal sealed Bayern’s final-day 3-1 win over Hoffenheim.
-Emotional Weight: First league title after 11 trophy-less years at Spurs.
🟥🏆 Bologna - Coppa Italia Resurrection (51 Years):
-Final: Bologna 1-0 AC Milan (Rome, May 2025).
-Scorer: Dan Ndoye (53’).
🦅🏆Go Ahead Eagles - KNVB Cup Immortality (92 Years):
-Final: Trailed AZ Alkmaar until Mats Deijl’s 99th-minute penalty, winning 4-2 on penalties.
-Significance: First major trophy since 1933.
🔑 The Blueprint: How History Was Made:
1. Tactical Flexibility: It would seem the counter attack and defensive set-up can still be trusted to make champions as Postecoglou abandoned possession dogma for pragmatic defense in the final (27.7% possession).
Crystal Palaces' Oliver Glasner also let Pep’s Ma City toy around with the ball like they wanted and got all the possession they could but kept the only important statistics of the FA Cup final for themselves.
2. Defensive Heroics: Van de Ven’s clearance epitomized Spurs’ resilience; Romero won Player of the Match after his spirited display headlined by a duel with Maguire.
Dean Henderson saved Omar Marmoush’s 36th-minute penalty and Erling Haaland’s rebound shot for Palace in the FA Cup final.
3. Emotional Fuel: Johnson dedicated the win to "battered" Spurs fans; Kane’s tears symbolized generational redemption.
⚡The Legacy:
The 2024/25 season was a testament to football’s unscripted drama. Tottenham’s Europa League triumph – sealed by Johnson’s scrappy goal and immortalized by Van de Ven’s flying clearance, stands alongside Palace’s Wembley ecstasy and Newcastle’s spoiler alert to EPL run-away champions at the time, Liverpool.
As Brennan Johnson declared: "We get battered for not winning a trophy. We had to get the first one" . For Spurs, a 17-year ghost was exorcised not with flair, but with grit – proving glory needs no passport to greatness.
🔗You can check out this week’s games on MSport.
#UCL #UCLFinal #Inter #PSG #Dembele #Inzaghi #Thuram #Chelsea #Maresca #TodBoehly #ManCity #Pep #Arsenal #Arteta #RealMadrid #Alonso #Barcelona #Flick #ManUnited #Amorim #TAA #Huijsen #Wirtz #Frimpong #Cherki #KDB #Modric #Rashford #Diaz #Nunez #Gyokeres #Sesko #Isak #Delap #MGW #Cunha
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