Tottenham Hotspur's trophy-drought extended to 13 years

By Muhammed Enes Calli and Emre Asikci

ANKARA (AA) - It has been 13 years since the last trophy was lifted by Tottenham Hotspur, despite the club ironically are one of 12 founding members of the European Super League, an abandoned tournament receiving strong criticisms from football lovers.

On Sunday, Spurs would finish their 13-year-old trophy-less streak but losing to Manchester City 1-0 in the League Cup final -- also known as Carabao Cup -- at London's Wembley in front of nearly 8,000 spectators, meaning the North London side still have to wait to end the trophy drought.

Tottenham received their last trophy under Spanish manager Juande Ramos when they claim a 2-1 win against Chelsea in League Cup final in Feb. 2008.

The fans saw a dramatic rise of their club in the 2010s, especially after Mauricio Pochettino from Argentina took charge in 2014, leading the Spurs to finish second place in the 2016–17 season, the best place 1962-1963 season.

Although the club referred to as one of the Big 6 in English football, they are yet to become Premier League champions since its inception in 1992.

The Spurs' last league title came in 1961 under manager Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey, who later led England to a victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

Tottenham were again really close to ending the trophy drought after moving the UEFA Champions League final in 2019 at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.

But they lost to Liverpool 2-0 in the club's first UEFA Champions League Final, thanks to Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi's goals.

After making a bad start to the 2019–2020 season, Pochettino was fired, Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho was appointed to replace him despite his term lasted only 17 months as the team failed to meet expectations under him.

Mourinho, who won at least three trophies with every club he coached during his career, was seen as a new hope to guide Tottenham to silverware; but "the Special One" was sacked just days before Spurs' last shot for a trophy this season in the League Cup final on Sunday against Manchester City.

- Trophy drought continues under helm of Mason

Ryan Mason was given the top job for the remainder of the season following Mourinho's departure last week, but the rookie boss couldn't manage to deliver their first silverware.

The 29-year-old rookie manager Mason also became the youngest manager to take charge of a side in a League Cup final (29 years, 316 days), surpassing Italian head coach Gianluca Vialli with Chelsea in 1998 (33 years, 263 days).

Mason was only taking charge of a game at this level for the second time after the academy coach was begun into the top job at the North London club last week.

Following the narrow defeat in London, the spectators witnessed the scene of Tottenham's South Korean star Son Heung-min crying on the pitch while he struggled to hold back tears at Wembley.

Son, 28, who has been playing since 2015 for the Hotspurs, still looks to claim his first trophy at the club.

Tottenham are currently in seventh spot with 53 points at the Premier League standings as it seems almost impossible for their fans to see their clubs in Champions League next season.

The London football side, the first British club to clinch two different major European cups, won two UEFA Cups, two league titles, eight FA Cups, four League trophies, seven FA Community Shields, and one European Cup Winners' Cup in total.

Apart from Tottenham, Manchester City have written their name into the history of the Carabao Cup, leveling Liverpool's record of eight victories and the Red's record of four in a row (1970, 1976, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021).

The City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola has currently clinched 31 titles in his managerial career that began at La Liga's Barcelona and continued with more achievement at German giants Bayern Munich.