Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have given Football Daily plenty of ammunition over the years, but with both sealing their place in a European final on Thursday with comfortable victories in their respective semi-finals, this is not meant to be a snide missive about their latest achievements. Sure, Athletic Club can only recruit players from an area the size of Wales, were missing their first-choice centre-back Dani Vivian through suspension, their best three attacking players through injury (Iñaki and Nico Williams, plus Oihan Sancet), were 3-0 down from the first leg and still gave United’s band of global internationals a frightful scare by taking a first-half lead at Old Trafford. But fair play to United,they roared back in the second half, and ended as comfortable winners, 4-1 on the night and 7-1 on aggregate. In reaching the final, Ruben Amorim has a real and tangible reason to be proud of his team, and it’s also nice to see Mason Mount being good at football again.
And sure, Bodø/Glimt’s total transfer spend last summer (€7m) was just over 10% of the fee Tottenham paid for Dominic Solanke (Bodø also sold players last summer for a total of €18.6m, a profit of more than €11m), and the Norwegians’ stadium has a capacity that would make them the 16th largest ground in League Two, but genuine credit should be given to Spurs for succeeding in the Arctic Circle where others have failed – this season Porto, Besiktas, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Olympiakos and Lazio have all been beaten by Bodø in Bigger Vase. Tottenhamput in a professional displayand deserve their place in the final. Chapeau.
Ange Postecoglou has a big opportunity now to do one of the least Spursy things of all time by winning this major trophy, a result that would also probably mean the Australian keeps his job and delivers on that much-mocked promise of flamin’ silverware in his second season. “If it’s so easy to get to a final, then why doesn’t everyone who finishes in the top three do it?” barked Postecoglou. “It’s going to upset a lot of people isn’t it? Who cares if we’re struggling in the league? It’s a separate thing. It’s got nothing to do with league form. I couldn’t care less who’s struggling and who’s not. I think both us and Manchester United have earned the right to be there.
“I love winning,”continued Postecoglou, ignoring his own comments on Spurs’ league form in the paragraph above. “That’s what I’ve done my whole career. People will dismiss it, that’s fine. We’ve been losing players, key players, and yet they’ve still found a way to stick together. That gives me the belief that the challenge we have of trying to overcome a tough opponent in a massive game.” At least the two finalists will be evenly matched. Despite their much maligned Premier League campaigns, Manchester United (15th) and Tottenham (16th) are just one game away from a European trophy and the riches of Bigger Cup qualification. Just think how manyOld Trafford staff lunchesthat could potentially pay for. Tottenham might even be able to renew Fraser Forster’s £75,000-a-week contract. From the bottom of Football Daily’s can of Tin, good luck to both teams in the final.
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“It’s not the moment to talk about the future. Now we know, we want to have a proper farewell on Sunday for some players and for myself. We have to enjoy this moment with mixed emotions. We can be happy and proud of what we have achieved during this time. I’m very thankful from the first day to the last one. You’ve got the announcement finally after chasing it” – Xabi Alonsoannounces his departurefrom Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season (and has a jab at hacks doing their jobs), paving the way for a widely expected move to Real Madrid.
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