On Wednesday, May 21, the Europa League final will be played between Tottenham and Manchester United. At San Mamés, the stadium of Athletic Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain, both teams are essentially playing an away game. It’s an all-English final. Read all about it in this article.
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League is the second most important European football competition, after the Champions League. It was launched in 2009 as a replacement for the UEFA Cup or the European Cup III. Tottenham also played in the first final of the European Cup III, winning 3-1 on aggregate against Wolverhampton Wanderers—another all-English final.
But whether the Londoners will succeed this time is another matter. Admittedly, both teams are in poor form, but Tottenham sits one place lower in the Premier League and faced slightly less formidable opponents in the Europa League. That said, United is also having a dreadful season, alternating between good and bad performances.
The stakes are high: the winner is guaranteed a spot in next year’s Champions League. That would be a massive redemption for both teams’ seasons. For Tottenham, who haven’t won a trophy since 2008, and for United, who are hoping for both sporting and financial revival, a win would mean a great deal.
Tottenham
Hotspur Football Club was founded in 1882 by students led by Bobby Buckle. A few years later, they adopted the name Tottenham Hotspur to distinguish themselves from London Hotspur. Tottenham won the double in 1961, the FA Cup in 1962, and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963 under their most successful manager, Bill Nicholson. It’s now been since 2008 that the Spurs last won a trophy.
This year, they have no chance of winning anything in the Premier League. The Londoners currently sit in 17th place, an absolute disappointment for The Blues. In the FA Cup, they made it only to the fourth round. But in the Europa League, it quickly became clear they were among the stronger sides—with 5 wins in 8 matches and 17 points, they finished a solid fourth. The round of 16 and quarterfinals were challenging, but all doubts were erased in the semifinal. Tottenham can now fully focus on this cup, and they will.
Perhaps it will once again be Brennan Johnson who scores for the Spurs. The Welshman is Tottenham’s top scorer this year with 17 goals. He’s followed by Dominic Solanke with 15 goals, James Maddison with 12, and Heung-min Son with 11. Their coach is Greek-Australian Ange Postecoglou, who won the Premier League Manager of the Month award in his first month at Tottenham. He had a very promising start in London, but the team is still searching for real success.
Manchester United
This English club was founded in 1878 and is the most successful team in English football. Much of that fame is thanks to Sir Alex Ferguson, who became the club’s manager in 1986. United has won the English league title twenty times and was also the first winner of the Premier League. Home games are played at the iconic Old Trafford.
Like Tottenham, United has had a hellish season. Coach Ruben Amorim and his men have struggled to climb out of the slump they’ve been in since the beginning of the season. Back then, the players were still under the leadership of Erik ten Hag, who was dismissed due to poor results. So far, little improvement has been seen from the team, which currently sits in 16th place in the Premier League. In the English Cup, the Red Devils were eliminated in the fifth round, and in the Europa League they barely managed to edge out Lyon in the quarterfinal.
United does, however, have talent in its ranks. No real standouts, but certainly no unknowns either: including Christian Eriksen, Rasmus Højlund, and Matthijs de Ligt. Also worth mentioning are Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, and Alejandro Garnacho.
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