As Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United prepare to meet in Wednesday’s UEFA Europa League final, football writer Ben Bloom looks at just how important the match is for each club.
Spurs and Man Utd's UEFA Europa League showdown is unlike any of the five previous all-English European finals.
Never before have two clubs gone into such a glorious occasion off the back of quite so much struggle.
Separated by just a point in the Premier League standings, Man Utd (39) and Spurs (38) sit above only the three relegated sides in 16th and 17th positions respectively.
For United, a worst ever Premier League finish is a certainty by some considerable margin, while Spurs must rise three places to avoid the same fate.
Between them, the pair have lost 39 and won just 21 league matches this season.
Redemption, in the form of a major European trophy, UEFA Champions League qualification and a hefty financial boost, could scarcely be of greater importance.
The quest for silverware
Spurs fans need no reminding how rare it is to win a trophy. They have lost their last four finals (2018/19 Champions League, 2020/21, 2014/15 and 2008/09 EFL Cup), and have not lifted silverware since beating Chelsea in the 2007/08 EFL Cup final.
The wait is significantly longer in Europe, dating back to a penalty shootout victory over Anderlecht in the 1983/84 UEFA Cup final.
Ange Postecoglou believes winning a trophy could have a major impact both outside and within the club.
“I feel like it could be a turning point in terms of the way the club is perceived but also more how it perceives itself, which is the biggest thing,” he said.
“Because until you do that, irrespective of what else you accomplish, people are always going to say, ‘But you have not won anything.'
“That’s the hurdle this club has to overcome because it’ll always be there. Until you actually do it, then you are fair game for people to say, 'You have always kind of fluffed it on the big stage.' ”
There is no such silverware drought for Man Utd, who lifted the FA Cup last season and EFL Cup the year prior.
Nonetheless, there is a necessity for 20-time English champions to claim regular trophies.
A first European triumph since the 2016/17 Europa League would go some way to alleviating the strain on a team who Ruben Amorim earlier this year dubbed “maybe the worst” in United’s history.
Watch Man Utd set the scene
A Champions League return
Aside from trophy joy, victory will also provide a spot in the Champions League next season.
This season has been one of only five in which United have not featured in Europe’s leading club competition since 1993, while Spurs have been involved five times over the past decade.
The cachet of Champions League football will be vital to both club’s finances, with an estimated £100million at stake through various income streams associated with featuring in the competition.
Inclusion will also help attract the best players as both teams look to overhaul their personnel this summer.
However, Amorim has admitted he is unsure whether his United side are ready for a Champions League return.
Asked if the club’s long-term progress may benefit without midweek football, he said: “That is my feeling. We need more time with the team. We need to arrange a lot of things in Carrington that we need more time to do.”
Managers under scrutiny
At the end of a season marked by underperformance, both Amorim – who only took charge of United in November – and Postecoglou have faced scrutiny over the future of their positions.
Following defeat against West Ham United earlier this month – United’s seventh successive winless Premier League match – Amorim suggested that if next season starts with the same poor form it may be time for “new persons to occupy this space”.
He later clarified: “I am far from quitting. What I am saying is we need to perform this season, and in the future we need to perform, or else they [the executive] will change us.”
Early in this campaign, Postecoglou boldly stated that he always wins a trophy in his second season as a manager.
Indeed, he won the Australian title with both South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar, and the Japanese league with Yokohama F Marinos. He also won the Scottish Premiership with Celtic and the Asian Cup with Australia - all in his second season or year.
Hitting back at those who have cast doubt over his future, Postecoglou said a Spurs Europa League triumph would “upset a lot of people”.
What would defeat mean?
Given how much is at stake for the winners, defeat in the final for either would be a bitter pill to swallow given their awful domestic season.
“If we don’t win it is going to be really tough,” admitted Amorim. “The patience of the fans and you guys [the media] next year is going to be on the limit.”
Attempting to reset from a lowly league position and no European football is a different prospect entirely to starting 2025/26 as a Champions League side.
Defeat for Spurs would also perpetuate the idea of a club of nearly men.
Amorim has suggested defeat would render an otherwise successful Europa League campaign a “waste of time”.
He said: “My message to the players is we have to win or it doesn’t matter.”
