Tottenham Hotspur

History of Tottenham Hotspur: "To Dare Is To Do", from the 1961 Double to Bilbao 2025

The first twentieth-century club to win the English Double and the first British club to lift a European trophy, Tottenham have cultivated attacking, daring football since 1882. In 2025 Spurs ended seventeen years without a trophy by winning the Europa League.

1. Schoolboys and a Shakespearean Hero (1882–1949)

On 5 September 1882, a group of north London schoolboys from a cricket club founded Hotspur Football Club. The name honoured Sir Harry Hotspur, the fourteenth-century rebel knight immortalised by Shakespeare, whose family owned land in the area. In 1901, while playing in the Southern League, Tottenham won the FA Cup: they remain the only non-League club to have won the competition since the Football League was formed. The cockerel on a ball became the club's emblem.

2. Bill Nicholson and the Historic Double (1950–1974)

Champions of England in 1951 with Arthur Rowe's "push and run" football, Tottenham reached their peak under Bill Nicholson. In 1960–61, captained by Danny Blanchflower, Spurs completed the League and FA Cup Double, the first in England in the twentieth century. Two years later, in 1963, they beat Atlético Madrid 5–1 in the Cup Winners' Cup final to become the first British club to win a European competition. Jimmy Greaves established himself as one of the greatest goalscorers in English history. A first UEFA Cup followed in 1972.

3. The Cups, Hoddle and Gascoigne (1975–2007)

The 1980s were the decade of cups: the FA Cup in 1981 — remembered for Argentine Ricky Villa's legendary solo goal — and 1982, then a second UEFA Cup in 1984. The club was driven by the elegance of Glenn Hoddle, and later by Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker, FA Cup winners in 1991.

4. Pochettino, Kane and the Madrid Final (2008–2023)

After a League Cup in 2008, Tottenham established themselves at the top level. Under Mauricio Pochettino, with Harry Kane, Heung-min Son, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen, Spurs became a leading side, reaching the 2019 Champions League final in Madrid, lost to Liverpool. The same year the club opened the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, one of the most modern venues in the world. Kane left in 2023 as the club's all-time leading scorer.

5. Bilbao 2025: The Wait Is Over

On 21 May 2025 in Bilbao, Tottenham beat Manchester United 1–0 in the Europa League final to win their first trophy in seventeen years, and their first European title since 1984. The victory earned the club direct Champions League qualification and contributed to a record six English clubs in the competition in 2025–26.

6. The 2025–26 Season: Back in the Champions League

Back among Europe's elite, Tottenham reached the round of 16 of the 2025–26 Champions League, where they were eliminated by Atlético Madrid after a very open tie (5–7 on aggregate). As holders, they could not defend the Europa League, won that season by another English club, Aston Villa. In the Premier League the title went to north London rivals Arsenal.

7. Looking to 2026–27: Building on the Trophy

Since the restart, Tottenham have sought to make Bilbao a starting point. With one of the highest-performing stadiums in Europe, a first-class training centre and a motto — Audere est facere, "to dare is to do" — that sums up their identity, the club aims to establish itself durably among the contenders for major honours.

Honours, Stadium and Legends

Main honours: two English championships (1951, 1961), eight FA Cups (1901, 1921, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982, 1991), four League Cups (1971, 1973, 1999, 2008), one Cup Winners' Cup (1963), two UEFA Cups (1972, 1984) and one Europa League (2025). After one hundred and eighteen years at White Hart Lane (1899–2017), the club has played since 2019 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, holding nearly sixty-three thousand spectators, with a retractable pitch that allows it to host NFL American football games.

The legends: Harry Kane is the club's all-time leading scorer with two hundred and eighty goals, ahead of Jimmy Greaves (two hundred and sixty-six). Danny Blanchflower and Dave Mackay, pillars of the 1961 Double, Glenn Hoddle, Argentines Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricky Villa, Gary Lineker, Jürgen Klinsmann, Ledley King and Son Heung-min, joint Premier League top scorer in 2021–22 and captain of the Bilbao triumph, belong to the Spurs pantheon.

Rivalry and identity: the North London Derby against Arsenal, born of the Gunners' move to Highbury in 1913, remains one of the most passionate in England. The cockerel on the crest, first adopted in the early twentieth century and linked to Harry Hotspur's fighting spurs, stands on a ball above the club's Latin motto. Spurs have long been associated with attacking, attractive football — the "Tottenham way" — a tradition the club's supporters expect every coach to honour.

Rivalries and Supporter Culture

The North London derby against Arsenal, a rivalry that turned bitter after the Gunners moved to Highbury in 1913, is the most eagerly awaited fixture of the season. The cockerel perched on a ball, the club's emblem, and the Latin motto Audere est facere — "to dare is to do" — sum up the identity of a club devoted to attractive football, celebrated by the anthem "Glory, Glory".