Son Heung Min Celebrates First European Title as Spurs Win Europa League

SEOUL, May 22 (Bernama-Yonhap) -- Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung Min has secured the first major trophy of his 15-year European career after the North London club defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the UEFA Europa League final.

The victory at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, on Wednesday (local time) marked Tottenham's first title in 17 years, Yonhap news agency reported.

Brennan Johnson scored the decisive goal in the 42nd minute and Spurs held on firmly to clinch the European crown.

Son, who came on as a substitute in the 67th minute, replacing Richarlison, lifted the first club trophy of his professional career, which began in 2010 with Hamburger SV in Germany.

Since joining Tottenham in 2015, the South Korean forward had reached two major finals -- the 2019 UEFA Champions League and the 2021 English Football League (EFL) Cup -- but lost both.

Tottenham's last silverware prior to this week was the 2008 EFL Cup.

Spurs were also runners-up to Chelsea in the 2016-2017 Premier League season.

Wednesday's win also marked the club’s first continental title since lifting the UEFA Cup -- the previous version of the Europa League -- in 1984.

Son’s triumph has been celebrated widely in South Korea, where he remains one of the nation’s most prominent sporting figures.

-- BERNAMA-YONHAP