Tottenham's heroes hurt the road to their first trophy in 17 long painful years.
The Spurs team was mocked for too long, doubted and labeled Bottelaars, had seen it all.
But once they have sniffed a real shot on silverware, they have made a vow to change the story.
But make no mistake, this was not about sacrificing the Premier League form for a taste of glory in Europe.
The LilyWhites fell to a gloomy 17th in the prem, which means that lifting their first European trophy in 41 years would not be enough to save the task of Ange Postecoglou.
But the midfield Dynamo Pape Sarr, who started in that magical night in Bilbao before he was immersed in a stop time, revealed how deep the form of competition was cut and how much that Europa League meant.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, the Tottenham star said: “Everyone thinks we have sacrificed the competition for the Europa League, but believe me, we also wanted to be good at the competition.
“We were in pain when we lost games, it had nothing to do with playing in Europe.
“Everyone gave everything to change our competition form, but if I am honest, we just were not good enough in the competition.
“But winning the Europa League, that was really something special.”
SARR is the newest success story of the long-term model of Spurs, in the footsteps of Dele Alli, who arrived for Peanuts for Peanuts and became a Premier League superster.
The North London club took a gamble that signed him from Metz and now he bossed it in midfield and has forever etched in Clubfolklore for that historical victory in Bilbao.
And when he speaks, you feel the fire, you feel the passion and you see what it means for him.
SARR likes to be over the Europa League final, even before he has asked for it again.
He remembers from that night in Bilbao: “It was the greatest night of my life.
“When I turned my back at the end, I was just praying. I thought about how difficult the season was for all of us, for the fans and for our families.
“The road to the final. The people who doubted us, the injuries, the meetings, the conviction we built. It was just great.
“Those emotions, everyone seeing, the people with whom you count every day, finally get their reward. That's why we play football.”
The scenes after that were wild, Spurs threw a huge parade between their last league matches, they knew what that trophy meant for their long -suffering supporters.
The club turned the script. No more 'Spursy'. No more jokes, only the glory that is accompanied by daring.
But Sarr says that the work is not ready. “We only won one trophy, so I will not say that we have changed anything. What we want now is again winning this season.
“Tottenham is huge. We are one of the top 15 clubs in the world, we have to build and continue a winning culture.
“Last season was special, but why no longer winning?”
Winning creates a certain level of expectation.
The Triumph in Bilbao means that Champions League football is back in North Londs.
That means larger nights, larger names and larger expectations, but SARR says that another domestic disaster is not an option and that European experience should not be an excuse.
He added: “If you win a trophy, it is always great, even if you have done it before, it is still special. So imagine you win for the first time.
“The dressing room that night in Bilbao was buzzing, but we all knew immediately that we had to build on it and repair what went wrong.”
A man who led this new Spurs spirit is Captain Son Heung-Min, whose future is in the balance, only the mention of the Son's name brought a smile on Sarr's face.
He does not let me end the question before I jump in: “Listen, Sonny is like Mr. Nice! Everyone who joins the club, he helps you.
“But for me? He is the best person I met in my career. From the first day, the amount of help he gave me has been incredible.
“He asks me about my vacation, checks in on what I did – all to just understand me better and to help improve.
“And yes, Bissouma, he brings energy, good vibes but Sonny? He helps us all. A real captain.”
Now SARR is ready for the next chapter under the New Gaffer Thomas Frank, who replaces Postecoglou and takes the leadership about a team that is going better.
A clean slate, a new challenge but the same dream.
He concluded: “I look forward to going back to work and meeting the new manager and my teammates.
“And hopefully we can do something really special things together.”