It's just who we are, size. 'Since Ange Postecoglou pushed his nine remaining Tottenham players to half the line against Chelsea two years ago, he seemed bound to his fully attacking principles.
Only it was not who they were when it did most in Bilbao when the side of Postecoglou fell deep and went directly to beat Manchester United and end their 17-year-old waiting for a trophy.
Spurs gathered three shots against United, had only 28 percent possession and completed only 115 passes, all the lowest figures that Statistics have registered for a team in a large European final since 2009-10.
How different for the usual 'ange-ball'.
Spurs on average 55 per possession in the competition this season and they usually complete 414 fits, behind only the other large six parties. The 115 tracks managed in Bilbao are less than half as much as even Nottingham Forest. Even forest average possession of 40 percent.
Without James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, Postecoglou went directly. In the infamous 6-3 home defeat against Liverpool in December, a match after which he insisted that he would not change his approach, Spurs long went with only seven percent of their passes. About one in 14 passes. Against United it was 22 percent – slightly less than one in five.
Spurs completed 85 percent of their passes against Liverpool. In Bilbao they completed less than two -thirds.
Tottenham bypassed the midfield against United. Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr hit the ball the same number of times as United Keeper Andre Onana. Full-backs Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie combined more than a quarter of the team's total accents.
The average position cards of both games show how, even in an exciting defeat, Spurs pushed high on the field. Against United, their front line barely came from their own half.
And once they stood in front, they held up for the precious life. Tottenham only had one touch in the United Box in the second half.
It was Tottenham, but not the way we know it. But in the end it worked.