“The feeling I get from everyone here is we are genuinely so proud of him,” Clarkson said.

“People feel like we’ve been a part of his journey.”

Kimon Taliadoros played alongside Postecoglou at South Melbourne in the early 1990s and marvelled at how his former captain had withstood withering scrutiny this season as injuries and losses stacked up at Spurs.

“The pressure and scrutiny he was under,” Taliadoros said.

“Not just within every match but between matches and training sessions. But I just keep coming back to his resilience. You look at how Spurs won, it wasn’t his plan A, attacking football, but it was the right approach for the moment and brought everything together – that mirrors his career.

“It just had it all today, it all came together on that big stage.”

Taliadoros said the way Postecoglou celebrated both his Australian upbringing and Greek heritage would make other Australians who come from migrant backgrounds take pride in their own stories.

Clarkson also reflected on Postecoglou’s struggles to find a coaching job after a mixed time coaching Australia’s junior sides before billionaire Frank Lowy took charge of Australian soccer.

“He was really struggling, he was working at Football Victoria and coaching Whittlesea Zebras [in the semi-professional Victorian Premier League],” Clarkson said.

“But when he got the Brisbane Roar coaching job [in 2009], that was the line in the sand. I remember it so well, he said to me that whatever happens from this moment, I’m doing things my way – he went to Brisbane, cleaned out their big players and look what happened from there – it’s just incredible what he has done.”

Postecoglou has also raised the bar for Australian coaches, bringing in multiple Australian coaches as assistants during his time in the J.League, Scottish Premier League and now with Spurs where former Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak and former Central Coast Mariners coach Nick Montgomery are on his staff.

“It’s given Australian coaches a pathway and you look at the doors he’s opened,” Clarkson said.

“All of a sudden people can see that Australian coaches can coach – the opportunities he has given people are incredible.”

Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah made a rare post from his official X account to congratulate Postecoglou.

“He did say he’d win in his second season. Congratulations,” Salah said.

Taliadoros took one thing from Postecoglou’s coaching – that he still has more things to achieve.

“People are saying ‘will he or won’t he be staying?’ I turn my mind to what’s next because he’s not finished. He’s on a mission and I wonder what he is thinking about as he continues to write history,” Taliadoros said.

While Spurs fans in Bilbao were taking their seats, Australian fans were flocking to venues around the country.

OzSpurs president Sean Bielski estimated a few hundred of supporters packed the Imperial Hotel in the city for the 5am kickoff.

With an inflatable trophy in hand and his sons Luca and Yasha at his side, Bielski said it was an unforgettable moment when the final whistle ended a 17-year trophy drought.

“I’ve never been in a place so loud,” Bielski said.

“There were grown men crying and you overlooked a room filled with loved ones sharing a moment with each other. It’s just magical, it really is.

“A lot of people never get that experience, so to be part of it with all those people was amazing.”

Bielski said he chose Spurs as his club as a boy when his London-raised grandfather encouraged him to pick an EPL team.

“He told me I couldn’t pick Fulham so we could have a bit of rivalry,” Bielski said.

“Tottenham happened to be playing at the time so that’s when the love affair started.

“I gave my boys the [playful] ultimatum of follow Spurs or move out but I think that following Spurs will make them better people because they will experience the highs and the lows – they got to enjoy a massive high today.“

Re-watch Tottenham v Man United in the UEFA Europa League Final with the full replay, mini match and highlights now streaming on demand on Stan Sport.