Son eyeing the trophy Kane failed to conquer at Spurs

Heung-min Son and Harry Kane spent eight years together at Tottenham Hotspur, but the Englishman, tired of seeing an empty trophy cabinet, left in the summer of 2023 to join Bayern Munich. And the move eventually paid for him, with the German giants handing him his first title after being crowned Bundesliga champions earlier this month.

But in a bizarre turn of events, Spurs are on the brink of doing the same. Ange Postecoglou's side dispatched Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-finals to book their ticket to the showpiece in Bilbao's San Mames, where they will face fellow Premier League strugglers Manchester United - only the second all-English final in the history of the competition.

"We've been talking about this for years. The biggest reason I stayed at Tottenham was that I wanted to do something others couldn't achieve. I've been missing that one most important final piece, and I've been trying to find it for the past 10 years. I really hope I can finally complete the puzzle this time. I believe we can achieve it," the South Korean said ahead of the final.

Despite his exit, Kane continues to maintain a positive relationship with Son. "I actually texted Harry and he called me back on a video call. I was really happy to see him happy," the Tottenham skipper said after Kane's title triumph. "He is one of my best friends, and to see a once-teammate achieve so much, I was delighted for him like he's my family."

"With that positive energy, I hope he can support Spurs in the game as well, so we can achieve a good result like his," the 32-year-old added. Should the north London side seal victory, which would end a 17-year trophy drought, Son will be expecting the Three Lions captain to congratulate him back, or better, video call him back.

Between 2015 and 2023, the duo shared the pitch 317 times with the Spurs shirt on. In that time, Son racked up 112 goals and 65 assists, while Kane left with 218 and 47 - 25 of those assists were set up for the South Korea international. With the two leading the attack, Spurs looked to have the perfect tools at their disposal to succeed. But neither Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, nor Antonio Conte managed to do so.

Two final defeats in eight years. The first sucker punch came in the 2019 Champions League. After a miraculous comeback against Ajax to seal their place in the final against Liverpool, Spurs were inches away from glory. But Mohamed Salah's early penalty and Divock Origi's double crushed their dreams. Then came the 2021 League Cup final defeat to Manchester City, with Aymeric Laporte scoring on that occasion.

But after almost a decade of being on the losing side, Son is ready to flip the script. Wednesday's showdown in Bilbao will make him the third player with the most European appearances for Tottenham, overtaking Hugo Lloris to clinch the podium spot. It will be his 71st, leaving him narrowly behind Ben Davies (73) and Kane (76).

With the captain's armband on, he will look to lead Spurs to their first trophy since 2008, when Juande Ramos' men won the League Cup.  Now they are gunning for the Europa League, which could be their third in history after the 1972 and 1984 UEFA Cups, and their first European trophy since then.