Manchester United and Tottenham will strike him in the Europa League final in Bilbao, the two parties desperately looking for salvation from the first global league campaigns via silverware and a gold ticket in the Champions League for next season. A potential jar of honey of 100 million pounds ($ 133 million) to reach the first European competition is at stake at the San Mames stadium between two languid sides near the bottom of the flight in English. The Red Devils of Ruben Amorim are 16th and with 18 championship losses will undergo their worst high-flying campaign in half a century, since their relegation of 1974.
One place Lower Lie Ange Ange Postcoglou’s Spurs, broke a club record 21 times in the league, and on the track for its worst season since its return to the higher level in 1978.
With the two teams fixed on Europe, their diving to the lower tables of the table has only accelerated in recent weeks.
United is without victory in eight championship games, their worst race of this type in the history of the Premier League, falling in Chelsea on Friday during its last outing before the final.
Tottenham also dropped to defeat Aston Villa for his fifth defeat in six league games.
The Spurs are twice winners of this competition, but their victory in 1984 was the last European trophy of the club and they have not won any Argentia for 17 years.
They reached a first final of the Champions League in 2019, but failed in another entirely English battle in Spain, losing against Liverpool in a dull competition.
“When you look at the historic backdrop of this club in the past 20 years, I think that (this final) could be a turning point,” said postcoglou last week.
Despite the gradual decrease of United since former legendary manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, they won the FA Cup and League Cup in the last two seasons under the predecessor of Amorim, Erik Ten Hag.
The Portuguese has endured a hot period since its care in November, winning only six of its 26 Premier League games.
But the Europa League was a different story while United beaten the real Sociedad and Bilbao athletic, on each side of a famous response of 6-4 to beat Lyon 7-6 on the aggregates in the quarter-final which sparked memories of the dramatic victory of the Champions League of the Club in 1999.
Amorim, however, is aware of the magnitude of the task he faces to run the English champions 20 times.
“I am not concerned about the final, it is by far the smallest problem of our club,” said the former sports boss of Lisbon.
“We have to change something deeper than that.”
Four in a row?
Tottenham was once considered few problems for a uni-conqueror.
The former Grand Roy Keane de United revealed once the Ferguson team conversation was limited to a “guy, it’s disdainful spurs”.
This season, the London team won the three meetings, twice in the Premier League as well as in the League Cup, with Postcoglou undefeated in five games at the helm against United.
“If you think of the chances, it is difficult for the club to lose four times in a row,” said Amorim.
With players like Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, United has both experience and quality at their disposal.
“They know how to win trophies, Tottenham does not do it,” said the former Unique midfielder, Paul Scholes, who played alongside Keane.
Despite the diabolical national form of the team, the Portuguese coach should remain, reinforced by the strong undefeated increase in the Europa League final.
You can’t say so much postcoglou. The Australian is almost sure to leave if he does not hold his promise to win a trophy in his second season in charge.
The unluckyness of the Spurs with injuries this season continues with the fields James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and Dejan Kuluski, all disappeared for the final, but the son of Captain Heung-Min is back in good shape.
They survived an arctic trip to the Bodo / Glimt semi-final, but Postcoglou can still be frozen even if his team triumphs.
“(If we win) it will upset many people, right?” said the Australian.
“Who cares if we struggled in the league … I can’t wait to be there and it should be an excellent match.”
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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