How two of England’s worst teams made it to a European soccer final

Two of England’s worst-performing soccer teams have somehow found themselves in a high-stakes European tournament final. 

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, who’ve served up shambolic displays in the English Premier League all year, will square off in the Europa League final Wednesday in Bilbao, Spain. The winner clinches automatic qualification for the prestigious European Champions League and the multimillion-dollar payout that comes with it. 

It’s difficult to overstate how abysmal these iconic soccer teams have been in the English Premier League this season. 

Manchester United is 16th in the table, barely above the relegation zone. Its much-maligned Cameroonian goalkeeper, Andre Onana, has been prone to calamitous mistakes. And its forward line, spearheaded by Danish striker Rasmus Højlund, has been largely impotent. The entire team has scored only 42 goals in 37 league games throughout the entire season. 

“I always had this feeling of frustration for the season,” Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said Friday after his team’s 18th defeat of the Premier League season. The young Portuguese coach acknowledged that winning the Europa League on Wednesday wouldn’t compensate for the shocking performances fans have been subjected to all year. “Europa League is not enough,” he said bluntly. 

One of the few teams actually below Manchester United in the league table? Tottenham Hotspur, colloquially known as “Spurs.” The London team sits 17th, one position away from relegation to a lower league.

Spurs’ malfunctioning midfield and a slew of injuries haven’t helped their dismal league position. Their captain, Heung-min Son, has underwhelmed. The South Korean star has failed to fill the goal vacuum left by England captain Harry Kane, who departed for German giant Bayern Munich two seasons ago. And Spurs have lost more than half of their games this season. 

In contrast to Amorim, who has conceded his coaching hasn’t been up to snuff, Tottenham’s Australian manager, Ange Postecoglou, has talked more glowingly about his performance despite leading Tottenham to its worst Premier League finish in history. 

“I don’t think there’d be another manager who gets to a European final that’s had their ability to manage questioned as much as I have,” he said defensively in an interview with TNT Sports last week. 

Postecoglou said he and Amorim are experiencing similar judgments ahead of the final. 

“For both of us, this is a significant game, because it can really salvage what many will look at as either a disastrous year or, I think, in our perspective, certainly a historic year,” he said. 

Despite their poor play in the Premier League, both squads have risen to the occasion in the Europa League. Manchester United hasn’t lost a match on its way to the final, brushing past Spanish club Athletic Bilbao and French club Lyon en route. Tottenham has also been impressive, defeating German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt, Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and the breakout team of the tournament, Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt. 

European soccer elitists turn up their noses at the Europa League because of its second-rate status. The Europa League is considered junior varsity compared with the Champions League. The latter features soccer royalty like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. The Europa League tournament’s appeal lies in the fact that the winner automatically qualifies into the Champions League, club soccer’s most prestigious tournament with the highest caliber of play. 

Playing in the Champions League also means revenue generated by television rights, sponsorships and ticket sales. 

Every team in the Champions League gets about $20.8 million from the governing body, UEFA. Plus, there’s prize money, with each win in the tournament garnering an additional $2.3 million and even bigger paydays for making it to the latter stages. 

Both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur could use that injection of cash to buy new players and overhaul their squads over the summer. Without it, they could be left languishing in the league table yet again next season. 

“How much money you make is not why you get into the Champions League; it is what you do with that money,” Postecoglou said at a news conference in April. “I’ve always said it’s not just about having money; it’s how you spend it.”

Meanwhile, Amorim is hoping more cash can fund a cultural reset among the Manchester United squad and return the team to a winning mentality. 

“The culture in the team … we need to change that. We need to be really strong in the summer and to be brave,” he said at a news conference this month when he was asked about new players coming in. 

How Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur found themselves in this final despite dreadful performances this season is a mystery to many. Some argue it’s the financial might of the Premier League that allows even its worst teams to go far in European competition. Others say it’s a freakish anomaly. What can’t be squabbled over is how important a win Wednesday would be for both fan bases. 

Fans of Manchester United, one of the most widely supported teams on the globe, are the butt of world soccer’s joke. The club’s gradual demise after the retirement of their legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 has led to snickering from fans and jeering by rivals. A trophy at the end of the season should quiet the haters, at least for the summer. 

For Tottenham Hotspur, a victory would bring a welcome trophy for its dusty silverware cabinet. The club hasn’t won a major competition since 2008, losing in four different finals. Postecoglou, a journeyman manager who has been successful in previous stints in Australia, Japan and Scotland, confidently declared that “I always win things in my second year” in a postmatch interview in September. A win Wednesday would prove him right.

Tottenham has beaten Manchester United all three times they have played each other this season. But Manchester United’s players have found it within them to roll back the years in cup finals, shocking the world by defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final last season and picking up the English League Cup trophy the year before. 

Who caps a season filled with despair and dread with delight is anyone’s guess. Both fan bases will be hoping for a reprieve from the ridicule.