However, these jokes are unfair to Tottenham. Spurs were the first English club to win a European competition when they won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1963. Will they win another European trophy this year?
1963: First English success on the continent
In the 1962/63 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup, Tottenham Hotspur won in a crushing final victory over Atletico Madrid. Spurs won 5-1 over the reigning champions of this competition from 1962.
On their way to the final, Tottenham eliminated Sevilla, then Rangers, Slovan Bratislava, and OFK Belgrade in the semi-finals. The final was played 62 years ago on May 15th, 1963, in Rotterdam. Two goals in the final were scored by Tottenham's great attacking star Jimmy Greaves, whose story we wrote about in an earlier Flashback.
Greaves was the top scorer in that year's Cup Winners' Cup and scored many goals in other competitions. He scored a total of 44 goals in 49 matches that season. Tottenham also had a very good season in the English league thanks to this. They finished second behind Everton.
Tottenham's trophy cabinet is not so empty
The narrative that 'Spurs are a big club but they constantly underachieve in terms of silverware' is true from a certain point of view.
Tottenham have had enormous potential in their team throughout their history that has often remained untapped.
However, it is certainly not true that Spurs have never won any trophy. Even before the aforementioned triumph in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963, Tottenham had won the English First Division twice (1951, 1961).
Spurs have also won the FA Cup eight times (1901, 1921, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982, 1991), the League Cup four times (1971, 1973, 1999, 2008), and the Community Shield seven times (1921, 1951, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1991).
Tottenham have also won other silverware in European competitions. Spurs have enjoyed triumph in the UEFA Cup twice (1972, 1984), and they won the former Anglo-Italian League Cup (1971).
Who is the bigger 'loser'? Harry Kane or Tottenham?
A similar, although worse, label of 'loser' was even worn by Harry Kane, one of Tottenham's most prominent figures until two years ago.
Kane also waited a long time to win a major trophy. He lost the 2019 Champions League final with Tottenham and the European Championships final in 2021 with the English national team.
When he transferred to Bayern Munich in 2023, it was expected that he simply could not be unsuccessful in the shirt of the 11-time German champion in a row.
But it happened. Bayer Leverkusen surprisingly became the champion of the 2023/24 Bundesliga. However, in this year's season, Bayern returned to the throne, and Kane's lifelong wait for a major team trophy ended.
If we follow the widespread belief that the League Cup is not considered a major trophy, Tottenham have been waiting a really long time to win a truly valuable and respected silverware - more than a quarter of a century.
2025: All-English final of the UEFA Europa League
This season, Spurs have a great chance to turn things around and win another major trophy. Tottenham have made it to the UEFA Europa League (former UEFA Cup) final. Their opponent will be English rivals Manchester United.
The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League season will conclude at San Mames in Bilbao, Spain, on May 21st.