The 2024/25 season was a one for the books and lovers of a fairytale story. It was a season of shattered droughts in a campaign that redefined football’s capacity for wonder.

From Crystal Palace's FA Cup fairytale, to Newcastle's domestic catharsis, to Tottenham's and Ange’s European redemption, to Go Ahead Eagles' Dutch miracle, a lot of generational heartbreaks were mended.

 

Across England, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, clubs and players shattered generational curses in a David & Goliath story of the underdog’s rare glory against the odds.

 

This was football’s purest rebellion against the predictable.  In this piece, we delve into each of these historical moments one after the other starting with…

 

🔵🏆Crystal Palace - The South London Liberation; First Title in 119 Years (FA Cup):

 

 

-Final Score: Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City (Wembley, May 25, 2025).

 

-Sole Goalscorer: Eberechi Eze (16th-minute volley).

 

-Decisive Moment: Dean Henderson saved Omar Marmoush’s 36th-minute penalty AND Erling Haaland’s rebound.

 

 

⚫🏆Newcastle United - Ending 70 Years of Hurt (Carabao Cup):

 

-Final Score: Newcastle 2-1 Liverpool (Wembley, March 16, 2025).

 

- Scorers: Dan Burn (33’), Alexander Isak (54’) Chiesa (90+4’).

 

- Context: Ended Newcastle’s longest active English trophy drought (since 1955) .

⚪🏆Tottenham Hotspur  - Europa League Glory After 17 Years:

 

 

-Final Score: Tottenham 1-0 Manchester United (Bilbao, May 21, 2025).

 

-Match-Winning Goal: Brennan Johnson (42nd minute), deflecting Pape Sarr’s cross off Luke Shaw.

 

 

-Iconic Moment: Micky van de Ven’s acrobatic 68th-minute goal-line clearance, denying Rasmus Højlund’s equalizer.

 

-Tactical Context: Spurs recorded only 27.7% possession – the lowest in a major European final since 2009/10 – yet executed Ange Postecoglou’s defensive masterplan perfectly.

 

 

-Legacy: Ended a 6,296-day trophy drought (last: 2008 League Cup) and qualified for the Champions League despite a 17th-place Premier League finish.

⚽ 🏆Harry Kane - Bundesliga Title (Personal First):

 

 

-Title Decider: Kane’s 41st Bundesliga goal sealed Bayern’s final-day 3-1 win over Hoffenheim.

 

-Emotional Weight: First league title after 11 trophy-less years at Spurs.  

 

 

🟥🏆 Bologna - Coppa Italia Resurrection (51 Years):

-Final: Bologna 1-0 AC Milan (Rome, May 2025).

 

-Scorer: Dan Ndoye (53’).

 

 

🦅🏆Go Ahead Eagles - KNVB Cup Immortality (92 Years):

 

-Final: Trailed AZ Alkmaar until Mats Deijl’s 99th-minute penalty, winning 4-2 on penalties.

 

-Significance: First major trophy since 1933.

 

 

🔑 The Blueprint: How History Was Made:

 

1. Tactical Flexibility: It would seem the counter attack and defensive set-up can still be trusted to make champions as Postecoglou abandoned possession dogma for pragmatic defense in the final (27.7% possession).

 

Crystal Palaces' Oliver Glasner also let Pep’s Ma City toy around with the ball like they wanted and got all the possession they could but kept the only important statistics of the FA Cup final for themselves.

 

2. Defensive Heroics: Van de Ven’s clearance epitomized Spurs’ resilience; Romero won Player of the Match after his spirited display headlined by a duel with Maguire.

 

Dean Henderson saved Omar Marmoush’s 36th-minute penalty and Erling Haaland’s rebound shot for Palace in the FA Cup final.

 

 

3. Emotional Fuel: Johnson dedicated the win to "battered" Spurs fans; Kane’s tears symbolized generational redemption.

⚡The Legacy:

The 2024/25 season was a testament to football’s unscripted drama. Tottenham’s Europa League triumph – sealed by Johnson’s scrappy goal and immortalized by Van de Ven’s flying clearance, stands alongside Palace’s Wembley ecstasy and Newcastle’s spoiler alert to EPL run-away champions at the time, Liverpool.

 

As Brennan Johnson declared: "We get battered for not winning a trophy. We had to get the first one" . For Spurs, a 17-year ghost was exorcised not with flair, but with grit – proving glory needs no passport to greatness.

 

🔗You can check out this week’s games on MSport.

 

#UCL #UCLFinal #Inter #PSG #Dembele #Inzaghi #Thuram #Chelsea #Maresca #TodBoehly #ManCity #Pep #Arsenal #Arteta #RealMadrid #Alonso #Barcelona #Flick #ManUnited #Amorim #TAA #Huijsen #Wirtz #Frimpong #Cherki #KDB #Modric #Rashford #Diaz #Nunez #Gyokeres #Sesko #Isak #Delap #MGW #Cunha

⚪The Real Madrid Revolution is Underway- Xabi Alonso's Era:

With Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid chapter closed and a new man at the helm in Xabi Alonso, the Spanish giants begin a new cycle and they are not only doing it in the dugout but on the pitch with a plethora of new signings.

Managerial Change: Carlo Ancelotti has departed, with Xabi Alonso stepping in as the new manager.

Rumors & Links:

• Pursuit of Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller, with a reported €40 million price tag.
  
  

Official & Soon to be Completed:

• Signed Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool for €10 million, allowing the right-back to join the club a month before his contract expires.
  
  

• Acquired Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth for £50 million.

• Benfica’s Alvaro Carreras is reportedly going to be the next signing to be made official by the club.

🔵 Barcelona - Flick Wants Upgrades to His La Masia Squad:

Barcelona failed to add the UEFA Champions League to their La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup triumphs extending their UCL drought to 11 years.

After a successful domestic season in his first season in charge of the Catalan club, Hani Flick has said he looks forward to doing better next season in another attempt to lift that elusive Champions League title and to do that, they will need reinforcements with a couple of huge names linked.

Rumors & Links:

• Potential sale of goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen if Joan Garcia arrives from Espanyol.

  

• Hansi Flick has spoken about Marcus Rashford and Liverpool’s Luiz Diaz as the two players linked to a possible transfer.
  
  

Official & Soon to be Completed:

• No official signings announced yet.

🔴 AC Milan - Allegri Returns Amidst Squad Overhaul:

After a rather disappointing season where AC Milan not only failed to qualify to the UEFA Champions League next season, but also lost out on the Coppa Italia to Bologna, a managerial change seems like the least they could do, but it’s likely they won't end it there.

Managerial Change: Massimiliano Allegri has been reappointed as AC Milan's head coach, marking his second tenure at the club. The veteran Italian league manager penned a two-year deal with an option to extend by a year.

 

Rumors & Links:

• Rafael Leão attracting interest from Bayern Munich and Arsenal, with a reported €130 million asking price.
  
  

• Interest in Udinese's Lorenzo Lucca and Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski to bolster the attack.

  

🔴 Liverpool - Slot's Strategic Overhaul Post TAA:

Liverpool’s Arne Slot reign could not have begun and a better note having lifted the English Premier League title in their very first try and without fuss.

However, like Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs argues, they would want even more next season but to do that they will need more firepower as one can expect.

Rumors & Links:

• The biggest and perhaps most talked about move for Liverpool in the transfer market is the potential 130 million euros plus signing of Leverkusen star, Florian Wirts.
  
  

• Luis Díaz attracting interest from Barca and Saudi clubs.
  
  

• Monitoring Bologna defender Sam Beukema, with a potential €25 million fee.

 

Official & Soon to be Completed:

• Signed Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen for £30 million.
  
  

  

🔵 Manchester City - Guardiola's Post-KDB Squad:

Probably the most underwhelming and disappointing team of the season given the heights they attained the season before, Pep Guardiola’s Man City will look to get back to contending for the title after finishing trophy-less.

Rumors & Links:

• Accelerated pursuit of Lyon's Rayan Cherki, who is keen on the move.
  
  

• Interest in AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders, and Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White to reinforce a City midfield without Kevin DeBruyne.

Official & Soon to be Completed:

• No official signings announced yet.
  
  

🔵 Chelsea - Maresca's Market Moves:

Chelsea’s long-term project under Enzo Maresca seems to be going in the right direction after they not only secured qualification to next season’s UEFA Champions League but also lifted the UEFA Conference League.

 

 

Next season, they would want to move further and that would mean adding to their already stacked squad that will see Estevao and Kendry Paes all join in the summer.

 

 

Rumors & Links:

• Pushing to make Jadon Sancho’s loan move permanent.
  
  

• Interest in Viktor Gyökeres to bolster the attack.
  
  

• Pursuit of Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo amid concerns over Romeo Lavia's fitness.
  
  

• Targeting Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi to strengthen the defense.

 

Official & Soon to be Completed:

• Christopher Nkunku set to leave, with interest from Bayern Munich and Tottenham.
  
  

• Signed 19-year-old Mathis Amougou from Saint-Étienne on an eight-year contract.

• Chelsea have also reportedly completed the signing of Ipswich striker Delap for 30 million euros.
  
  

 

🔴 Manchester United: Amorim's Ambitious Plans

It feels like Manchester United have been down and out for a while now and could not do worse than they’ve done in recent seasons but they somehow managed to finishing 15th in the league and giving Spurs their first major title in a while.

However their Portuguese manager, Ruben Amorim has said that “good times were coming for the club”, and for that to happen, they would be departures and arrivals.

 

Rumors & Links:

• Exploring a swap deal: Rasmus Højlund plus cash for Napoli's Victor Osimhen.

• Alejandro Garnacho is said to be heading out with Napoli the most linked destination.

• Rashford and Anthony will most likely find new homes after their loan spells at Aston Villa and Real Betis respectively.

Official & Soon to be Completed:

• Signed forward Matheus Cunha from Wolves.

 

 

⚪ Arsenal - Arteta's Attacking Aspirations:

Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal team succumbed to another 2nd place finish in the EPL and a semi-final finish in the UCL and cemented their “bottlers” nickname and they know that next season has to be when they start winning.

Rumors & Links:

• Renewed interest in RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko.
  
  

• Pursuing Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyökeres.

 

Official & Soon to be Completed:

• Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi is reportedly on his way to the Gunners after agreeing a deal to join the London side.

🔴 Bayern Munich - Kompany's Continental Vision:

They got back to winning the Bundesliga in the just ended season and now, they have to get back to competing for the UEFA Champions League.

 

 

Rumors & Links:

• Interest in Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku.
  
  

Official & Soon to be Completed:

• Signed Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer, with a contract until 2029.

🟡 Bayer Leverkusen - Ten Hag Takes the Helm:

 

With their idolized invincible manager Xabi Alonso now plying his trade for Spanish giants, Real Madrid, Leverkusen have turned their attention to former Man United manager, Ten Hag.

 

That’s one problem solved. The next is finding replacements for Tah, who joined Bayern, Florian Wirtz, who is reportedly on his way to Liverpool and Frimpong who is already at Liverpool.

 

Managerial Change: Erik ten Hag appointed as head coach, succeeding Xabi Alonso. The Dutch signed a two-year deal.

Rumors & Links:

• Interest in Man United winger, Ale Garnacho.

•  Linked to Swiss defender Albian Hajdari from FC Lugano.

• Targeting AC Milan's Malick Thiaw as a replacement for Jonathan Tah.

Official & Soon to be Completed:

• Signed 19-year-old forward Alejo Sarco from Vélez Sarsfield on a free transfer.

 

 

🔵 Napoli - Conte's Step-up After Scudetto Winning Season:

After initial fears of losing the man who just led them to a fourth Scudetto win, Antonnio Conte has decided to stay at Napoli and according to reports that came on the condition that certain promises will be met including a squad reinforcement to compete in Europe and domestically.

 

Rumors & Links:

• Close to signing Kevin De Bruyne as a free agent.
  
  

• Open to a swap deal involving Victor Osimhen and Manchester United's Rasmus Højlund.

• Interested in Ale Garnacho of Man United.

 

Official & Soon to be Completed:

• No official signings announced yet under Conte.
  
  

 

Note: All information is based on the latest available reports and is subject to change as the transfer window progresses.

 

 

🔗You can check out this week’s games on MSport.

 

#Chelsea #Maresca #TodBoehly #ManCity #Pep #Arsenal #Arteta #RealMadrid #Alonso #Barcelona #Flick #ManUnited #Amorim #TAA #Huijsen #Wirtz #Frimpong #Cherki #KDB #Modric #Rashford #Diaz #Nunez #Gyokeres #Sesko #Isak #Delap #MGW #Cunha