Europa League raises its value
Print Edition
JOSE Mourinho had just been repeatedly tossed into the air by members of his backroom staff when the jubilant Manchester United manager beckoned his son, Jose Jr, onto the field.
They danced in each other’s arms before falling to the ground, where they shared a long, warm embrace.
Mourinho never could have thought that winning the Europa League, following United’s 2-0 victory over Ajax Amsterdam would mean so much to him.
In 2013, Mourinho, newly hired as Chelsea manager for the second time‚ was dismissive of the competition, saying he didn’t want to win it and it “would be a big disappointment to me”.
Four years later and it has saved his first season at United.
For Mourinho and many other managers, the value of the much-derided Europa League has increased massively following UEFA’s decision to award a UEFA Champions League qualifying place to the winner at the start of the 2015-16 season.
The UCL’s poor relation can be a long slog of a competition‚ the winner will end up playing at least 15 games during its campaign‚ but teams across Europe seem to be taking it seriously once again.
No more so than in England.
Premier League sides, more than anyone else, used to treat it with contempt by fielding reserve teams for matches. The competition wasn’t worth the effort, with the effects of playing on Thursday night, having an impact on league performances the following Sunday. For English clubs it was all about the Premier League and its vast riches on offer.
Since the Premier League’s inaugural year in 1992, England has provided just six of the 50 finalists in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, a disappointing figure given the wealth and quality of the league. United is the third English winner after Liverpool in 2001 and Chelsea in 2013.
The mindset is changing, though. Qualifying for the UCL via a top-four finish in the Premier League has never been tougher, with six teams‚ Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Liverpool, United and Arsenal, genuine heavyweights.
Two will always miss out, so qualifying for the UCL through the back door, via the Europa League‚ is increasingly enticing. The fact a team can win a trophy while doing so adds to the lure, as Mourinho pointed out on Wednesday.
“We go to the Champions League by winning a trophy, not by finishing second, third or fourth,” Mourinho said, a comment clearly serving as a little dig at Tottenham, City, and Liverpool.
It will be interesting to see how Arsenal approaches the Europa League next season after its fifth-place finish in the Premier League.
AC Milan, a seven-time European champion, will be the other stand-out name in the competition should the Italian team get through two qualifying rounds.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
