Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)
By Jon Clarke in Bilbao
TOTTENHAM fans promised to take revenge for the residents of Bilbao after their native team were knocked out of the Europa League semi-final by Manchester United.
Tens of thousands of Spurs fans took to the streets of the Basque capital last night to drop a giant sack of money for bars and restaurants.
Meanwhile, thousands of Reds fans were out in force in the nearby Plaza Nueva, with neither group meeting in numbers and almost no trouble.
Aside from singing for hours on end, in the upmarket Poza area, the Spurs fans insisted the stars were aligning to win their first trophy for 17 years, winning the English League Cup in 2008.
Local bar owners and restaurateurs told the Olive Press they wanted Spurs to win after seeing their team Athletic lose 0-3 on May 1 at their famous San Mames stadium.
“It will be tight and will go to extra time, but Spurs will win 3-2,” said Pepe, the owner of Anaiak, in Calle Doctor Areilza.
Busy from 2pm serving Spurs fans, he ‘couldn’t believe’ how busy the junction had got by 5pm when police had to close the street as well as next door Licenciado Poza.
Fans took over at least 200 metres of streets close to the San Mames stadium, while they played football and jumped around singing as if they’d already won the final.
Despite their star player Heung-min Son failing to light the stage this season, a Korean trumpeter got the fans singing from a balcony above.
Families from all over the UK were uniting together in their colours.
One London property developer, Nigel, from Elstree, told the Olive Press he was footing the bill for seven people.
“As well as my wife, I’ve got three daughters and two of them have brought boyfriends with them” he said.
“We all drove up from Madrid in a nine-seater. Some people go to the Maldives for holidays, I’m spending my savings on trips like this.”
“The Spanish hospitality has been amazing and we’re having a great time.”
Meanwhile, lots of youngsters were going around on their dads shoulders, despite flares being lit and teenagers clambering up street signs.
The mood was electric, but good humoured, particularly when singing about their most hated ex-player Sol Campbell.
There wasn’t even trouble when some United fans approached the area and bathed them in beer.
Local police kept a very low profile for most of the day, and riot vans only showed up around 9pm.
Their presence calmed things down a little, but they sensibly never stepped in to stop the revelry.
Even when a traffic light collapsed leaving one lad on the street a little dazed, they kept their distance.
Around 11pm as the bars closed, the police largely left the area, as did most of the fans, who needed a good night sleep.
Over in Plaza Nueva, the United fans were having a great time in the sunshine.
Many had taken their shirts off and were going lobster red in the sun, which is not always out in this part of Spain.
As far as they were concerned, they’ve been to this stadium before – just three weeks ago for an easy win – so beating Spurs today should be simple.
It is a critical match for both teams who had terrible seasons and who lie in 16th and 17th position in the English Premier league.
Winning will offer up a place in next season‘s Champions League, which is a huge prize, said to be worth between 60 and 100 million pounds.
The fan zones are open today at midday with tens of thousands of supporters from each side expected to enjoy the day despite not having tickets.
Many were arriving having driven for up to 24 hours from the UK, or flying in via the most complicated routes, sometimes from Portugal or France.
One Manchester fan has even shared his journey online, in which he has travelled from northern England to Bilbao by motorboat.
The Reds supporter will certainly be hoping for smooth sailing this evening.
