Dougal Corden and son Stanley celebrate in Spain as Tottenham take the Europa League trophy home with them

IN the middle of San Marnies Square, Bilbao, there was a sea of white Spurs shirts as far as the fans’ beer-bleared eye could see.

Their conductor found a cafe table is enough for a stage, and with his arms to the heavens, he leads the hoarse choir in preparation for the Europa League final. Where else would you want to be?

Spurs are a club who are consistently also-rans, serial losers, never quite achieving what its deliriously loyal fanbase feel they deserve.

But every trip comes with hope that this time would be their time.

And so it proved to be in Spain last night (Wednesday), the tournament won with a dogged display – sneaking a goal through winger Brennan Johnson and then defending as if their lives depended on it.

It was not a vintage performance but for the scores of Spurs fans from Camden and across north London who had made the trip – many with complicated routes to the Basque country – it was a moment which kicked off a party that will be remembered forever.

Dr Lucy O’Rourke makes it to the stadium after a roundabout journey

For Dartmouth Park resident Dougal Corden and his son Stanley, the trip to watch Spurs enjoy some Europa League glory began at 6am on Wednesday morning at St Pancras. They hopped on the Eurostar to Paris, then grabbed another train to Bordeaux, and from Bordeaux a change to Hendaye, then another train to San Sebastian… followed by a taxi journey to Bilbao, to arrive at the stadium at 6pm.

“Flights were £1,400,” he said. “So we skipped that. It’s been a long day of travel but you have to do what you have to do.”

This is the result of dynamic pricing on air fares when your team reaches a final. Suddenly, a city break isn’t so cheap. Mr Corden was joined by 27 other Spurs fans on the same epic itinerary.

“As a fan, you’ve just got to do these things – regardless of the result,” he added.

Dan Sheridan from Kentish Town and, below, the scenes in the city centre

Others described equally roundabout routes from NW5 to northern Spain.

Dan Sheridan, who lives in Caversham Road, Kentish Town, bagged a bucket flight to Majorca – and then took a ferry from the Balearics to Barcelona. “From there, we hired a car,” he said. “It was the most affordable way. I’ve seen Spurs win – and lose – many a time on the screen in the Assembly House but we just had to be here.”

As your diligent Spurs correspondent, I beat the price hikes by booking a flight in January with my son. We decided that if our team was knocked out before the final, we’d go to Bilbao anyway and soak up the sights, visit the Guggenheim, learn a bit about the region’s history and culture.

But Spurs, against the odds – in a season which has been their worst for donkeys – stumbled their way into the Europa League final and the museums and art galleries would have to wait. As we made our way to Gatwick on Tuesday morning, we began to spot the human stream heading to northern Spain.

The little Cockerel motifs on shirts and caps became more ubiquitous, and then, as we queued up to board, the realisation dawned on all that everyone was here for the same reason.

These were the Tottenham faithful: the fans who have decided to emblazon their passion forever in ink somewhere on their person. The people of Bilbao, too, had come out for the game.

Dan Carrier and son Luc

The city’s side had lost in the semi-finals to United, and they greeted Spurs fans as the avengers. Everywhere you looked brought nods and smiles and rounds of Buena Suerte.

Perhaps the Basques, who have fought for their region for decades, who stood up to Franco, whose towns and village walls are painted with political slogans about the downtrodden and justice… perhaps they could see a bit of themselves in the Tottenham story.

All of this would have been worth the trip, even if the result hadn’t been so satisfying. Singing is good for you.

Perhaps that is an underlying reason football fanaticism grips people: the 30,000-odd Spurs fans who found themselves in a Bilbao square on Wednesday afternoon is evidence enough for me. It floods the brain with happy chemicals: endorphins, serotonin and dopamine – substances Spurs fans’ brains are often not overrun with by the performances of those on the pitch.

Fans from Camden Town

A proven stress-buster, singing is for everyone

You don’t need any equipment, and there’s no such thing as a bad singer. As the good bar staff of this pretty city will testify, classic ditties belted out by 5,000 Cockney accents, a few pints in, creates a spectacle. Last night, in Spain, there was an even more reason to raise our voice.

Spurs, Ange, the fans – they had all done us proud.

And thanks for having us, Bilbao!