The look on Ange Postecoglou's face said it all. He roared as the final whistle sounded in Frankfurt, punching his fists forward as the relief, stress and pride poured out of his body.
The Spurs coaching staff swarmed together into a big group hug, pulling the Australian into it and Guglielmo Vicario ran from his goal to leap on top of them all.
There was something fitting about Postecoglou having shed his big jacket so he ended the game in his jumper, evoking memories of his trophy-laden years at Celtic during which time that jumper became somewhat synonymous with success.
The 59-year-old then set off on to the Deutsche Bank Park pitch, seeking out his various beaming players to enjoy the moment with them.
Postecoglou knows what these players have gone through. He saw them limping from one game to the next during the winter injury crisis, getting worked over by the sports science staff, barely training just so they could be wheeled out again for 90 minutes or so every three days.
For all of the pain in a miserable Premier League season, this was their reward and hopefully there's more to the journey yet.
For Spurs fans, seeing the players celebrating in Europe in those green kits would have brought back some memories of 2019.
That year Tottenham had stuttered and stumbled in the Premier League in the second half of the season, albeit not to the degree of this campaign, but their special European performances had propped them up.
This was another big European night for the memory banks and after a season of disappointment and fracture with the fans so for one night everyone was together again.
The supporters could see the effort the players had put in. This was the young group's most mature performance of the season and they saved it for their biggest game so far.
The Tottenham players have had some uncomfortable moments in front of the travelling fans in recent months, having to take their anger out at poor performances and sometimes trying to remonstrate with them.
This time there was no need, there was only unity in celebration. Players like Brennan Johnson, who has had an uneasy relationship with the fanbase, went over to the pocket of Spurs fans at the final whistle and roared his delight and punched his fist towards them.
Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison followed suit, the 19-year-old and his brave vice-captain, who had been battered by Kaus Santos for the penalty that was dispatched by Dominic Solanke to send Spurs to the semi-finals. Maddison and Bergvall were called in to undertake the mandatory drug-testing after the game and took celebratory selfies as they waited.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero shared an embrace in front of the fans before both enjoying their moment with the supporters. Both centre-backs have huge admiration for one another and when they're both fully fit and firing they're one of the best defensive partnerships going with their blend of pace and aggression. Spurs and Postecoglou have missed them as a pairing dearly over the course of this campaign.
Destiny Udogie had his moment with the fans, continually pointing to the club's cockerel on his chest, perhaps a little message to them after recent links with Manchester City.
Postecoglou kept a respectful distance from the fans, walking over and applauding them from behind the players but wary of taking any credit when he hasn't been the most popular figure in recent months among many in the fanbase.
The players had shown on the night that they were still fully behind Postecoglou and his way. Disciplined and brave displays like that don't come from a team that has abandoned their manager.
"It would be very easy for the players and staff, they could have left me in a pretty vulnerable place in terms of them splintering, but I’ve never felt that (even) with all the noise around our season," said Postecoglou afterwards.
"They’ve been so united in believing in what we’re trying to achieve here and that is what gave me heart all along that if we got our own slice of luck in terms of getting some players back that I really believed this team could achieve.
"That is what keeps driving me. It isn’t so much my belief in them, it’s their belief in what we’re doing and both players and staff have been outstanding. I am the front man for it but they take responsibility for it as well and all my decisions and everything I do, but not at any stage have I felt they lost any belief in me or what we’re doing. That is crucial when you’re having a difficult season, but there is also a season of opportunity there."
Postecoglou is not a hands-on, cuddly figure for his players, he's more a removed father figure who sets the tone and says things that get inside their head and heart.
Yet on that pitch in the time after the final whistle, everybody wanted a hug from the Spurs head coach. So delighted was he with the teenage Bergvall that he lifted the Swede up into the air - no mean feat with the youngster a big 6ft-plus midfielder.
Postecoglou and Maddison roared at each other and Solanke got a huge bear hug for his match-winning role. Every player got the Postecoglou treatment and to be fair to the Tottenham boss, he has always had their back.
Some of his predecessors have launched publicly into the players as well as the club. Postecoglou has taken the hits on the chin himself and ensured the players on the whole were rarely in the firing line.
This was a night when everything came off. Spurs were without captain Son Heung-min but Postecoglou made the call to select Mathys Tel on the left wing, knowing the 19-year-old has experience of taking on Frankfurt from Bayern and has never lost to them. That record continues.
The teenager was a constant threat to the hosts and formed a strong partnership with Udogie, who was Tottenham's star player on the night. There was plenty of eye-rolling when Djed Spence was left out of the team, but Udogie proved in the first leg that he is recapturing his best form and this night in Germany again showed that.
The 22-year-old was everywhere, tackling at one end before bursting forward on a pitch-long run. In the final moments of the encounter he ran down the right-hand side of the pitch, taking the ball away from danger and towards the corner.
Udogie made nine ball recoveries, two interceptions, blocked one shot, made one clearance with his feet and another with his head. He also won eight duels on the night. When he beat Hugo Ekitike to one ball around the Spurs box, Bergvall celebrated it like a goal.
The backline, led by the noisy and always instructing Vicario, was mostly dominant. Inside a noisy stadium with the hosts throwing everything at their guests, there was always going to be the odd chance but on the whole the Italian goalkeeper had relatively little to do.
In front of him, Pedro Porro was a ball of energy, having been rested at the weekend, and Micky van de Ven looked more like his pre-injury self, with those lightning fast runs returning, including one crucial one in the first half to stop Ekitike just as he looked set to pull the trigger after a sprint through on goal.
Van de Ven looked shocked at a question the previous day about whether his hamstring injuries had him concerned about the remainder of his career. The 23-year-old shot that down and his performance in Germany did the rest of the talking.
Romero was the rock of the defence, taking a big whack to the head late on but having absolutely no intention of coming off.
The Argentine won nine of his 14 duels in the match and produced more successful defensive actions than anyone on the pitch. He made eight ball recoveries, four interceptions including some key early ones, while making 10 clearances and five with his head, while blocking one shot.
Van de Ven was close behind with 10 clearances, six headed ones and three ball recoveries, while Porro managed six clearances, three headed ones, five ball recoveries and one interceptions.
It's a testament to their characters that Romero, Vicario and Bergvall had all made big mistakes on Sunday at Wolves, yet were near faultless in the hostile atmosphere of the Deutsche Bank Park. Odds were that they would crumble amid the din but if anything it only focused them further.
Bergvall put in another age-belying display and that £8.5million paid to Djurgarden last year is looking like one of the biggest Tottenham transfer bargains in recent memory.
The youngster was incredibly disciplined alongside the battling Rodrigo Bentancur, managing nine clearances, four headed ones, four ball recoveries and blocking two shots. He made three successful dribbles to relieve the pressure on Spurs and his manager's hug and lift at the end said it all.
Maddison had bravely taken the hit for the penalty and wanted to play on, but always looked to be feeling the effects and signalled to the bench, seeming to hold his hip, even if his initial treatment was for his head. Dejan Kulusevski replaced him and fitted in seamlessly in front of Bergvall and Bentancur, Postecoglou finally having options to change things effectively.
It was bewildering that neither the referee nor his assistant failed to see the clear penalty and the man in the middle had to be directed to his pitchside monitor.
"I thought it was a clear penalty. I’m not sure why it needed VAR," said Postecoglou. "When a player wins the ball and gets cleaned out, if that was a defender it definitely would probably have been a red card. It’s definitely a penalty. I don’t think it needed a review. Again, I think we got what we deserved."
On the midfielder's health he said: "He is fine. Unbelievable courage in that moment to put his body on the line knowing full well that he was going to get a pretty severe knock and I was surprised it wasn’t a red card. Super courageous from him. He is sore but I’m sure that has all been numbed knowing that he has helped us progress to the semi."
Spurs did get what they deserved. They were the stronger team across the two legs and should have wrapped up the win in the first tie.
There was a certain irony that in the biggest game so far Postecoglou showed his pragmatic side as the game wore on, switching to a back three with Kevin Danso coming on after a month out and looking like he'd never been away.
Spurs had less of the possession on the night and sat deep looking to counter at points, which they did effectively and had enough chances - again like the first leg coming in a second half spell including Romero heading inches wide and Kulusevski having shots.
Up front with Tel and Johnson willing runners, Solanke battled away and deserved his goal. It was his first since January 4, around his knee injury, but you would not have known, such was the calmness of the spot kick. He won 11 duels on the night and on the biggest stage gave his all for Tottenham.
Spurs are now through to the Europa League semi-finals with the chance to create something historic out of a season that seemed to be heading towards anything but.
Postecoglou was asked after the game whether he felt relief after so much talk about his position.
"I think I said yesterday, I am the same manager today that I was yesterday so if people think us winning tonight makes me a better manager or whoever thinks I wasn’t doing a good job yesterday, should be feeling the same way," he said.
"I don’t care, it doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t affect what I do. For me, it’s always about the dressing room. Do the players believe? Do the staff believe? That’s much more important than what others may make of me.
"So, unfortunately for a lot of you, you’re going to have to put up with me for a little bit longer, mate, so let’s see how that goes."
It was a parting shot to the media before he stood up. It was said like a joke but his face suggested it was actually anything but.
The Australian had earned it though. His game management and team selection on Thursday night was spot on and he now has the chance to deliver what he had always wanted to bring to Spurs.
It was a night when everything came together for Postecoglou and his players. The season thankfully is far from over. All eyes are on Bodo/Glimt and the possibility of only a second European final for Spurs in 41 years.
It's been too long and Postecoglou's second season trophy history might just go from a stick to beat him with to something that can only be applauded. Tottenham have been starved of success in recent years and now they have the chance to taste it in the most unlikely of seasons.
