Europa League Final: It’s All or Nothing for Man United and Tottenham

It's all or nothing when Manchester United and Tottenham meet in the Europa League final on Wednesday.

For the winner of the all-English showdown in Bilbao there is the mother of all get-out-of-jail-free cards with entry to the Champions League.

For the loser, the abyss of no European soccer next year, the indignity of so many unwanted records broken, and uncertainty hanging over the futures of those who have presided over such a spectacular fall.

That's what's on the line at Estadio de San Mamés when two English soccer giants get one last shot at salvaging the season.

Seasons of woe

Long gone are the days when United dominated the Premier League and challenged the summit of European soccer on a regular basis. But even after 12 years without winning the English title, this season has represented a new low.

United is 16th out of 20 in the standings after a club-record 18 defeats in a single campaign since the Premier League began in 1992. It is also certain to register its worst-ever points total in the era, as well as its lowest finish.

“We know this season has been nowhere near good enough for this club and for our standards,” United defender Harry Maguire said.

Tottenham is one place below United having lost 21 times in the league — also a club record in the modern era.

Spurs — Champions League runner-up in 2019 — are aiming for a first trophy since the 2008 English League Cup.

Champions League lifeline

It is rare that such a major final has so much riding on it beyond the trophy itself.

Neither team has looked capable of challenging for a top five position in the Premier League, which would secure Champions League qualification. But in a season when both teams occupy the last safe spots before relegation, they have a mind-boggling lifeline to the Champions League via the Europa League.

The Champions League offers the prestige of playing beside teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona, draws prospective signings, and comes with huge financial rewards.

Real Madrid earned almost $154 million from winning the competition for a record-extending 15th time last season. Total prize money has increased from $2 billion last season to $2.7 billion in this expanded season.

United, in particular, could do with some of that money at a time of job losses and cuts under new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, while coach Ruben Amorim hopes to rebuild his squad in the offseason.

“We are supposed to be in the Champions League. Europa League here is not enough and you have that feeling here,” Amorim said. “The best way to help us get in the top in a few years is the Champions League — it’s not (winning) the cup (Europa League).”

Trophy drought

While a return to the Champions League is also enticing for Tottenham, the chance to end its trophy barren run may be even more appealing.

Not even top-class managers like Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte ended Spurs' wait for major silverware.

It could be destiny that Ange Postecoglou is the man to end the drought, having boldly predicted early in the season that he always wins a trophy in his second year.

That was true at previous clubs Brisbane Roar, Yokohama F Marinos and Celtic, but it would be remarkable if he continued that run on the back of such a desperate campaign.

“It’s not for the want of world-class players. This club has had world-class players,” Postecoglou said. “It’s not for the want of world-class managers. They’ve had world-class managers. It’s something else that’s going to change this club.”

By contrast, United has continued to win trophies despite its failure to win the Premier League since former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

This could be the third straight year United ends the season with silverware after winning the 2023 League Cup and the 2024 FA Cup.

Under pressure

Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag as United coach in November but has not been able to turn its form around.

He's lost 14 of his 26 league games, including six of the last eight.

While there has been no suggestion his job is under immediate threat, he has raised doubts about his position, admitting he is embarrassed by his team's form.

Postecoglou is two years into the job at Spurs and became the club's fourth permanent manager in four years when joining from Celtic in 2023.

A major trophy would put a different complexion on a season in which Spurs have dramatically fallen since he led them to a fifth-place finish in his first year.

He and Amorim have spoken of the similarities about their positions.

“I guess from an emotional standpoint and the noise around the club,” Postecoglou said. “We’re kind of dealing with similar things of something that is so fantastic in terms of a European run, and also something that’s obviously the opposite of that, the other extreme in the league.”

Double Dakar Rally motorcycle champion Sam Sunderland is gearing up to ride around the world in 19 days, a record bid that the Briton expects to be mentally more challenging than anything he has done before.

The bid, launched on Thursday, targets a record of 19 days, eight hours and 25 minutes set in 2002 by Kevin and Julia Sanders for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by motorcycle.

To beat the feat, which is no longer recognised by Guinness World Records because of the dangers involved, the 36-year-old will have to ride 1,000 miles every day and on public roads across Europe, Türkiye and into the Middle East, Reuters reported.

A flight will take him on to the Australian outback, New Zealand and the Americas. From there, he and the Triumph Tiger 1200 go to Morocco and loop back through Europe to Britain.

What could possibly go wrong?

"I don't think you can ride around the world and cover that many miles a day without having a few hiccups along the way," Sunderland told Reuters with a grin.

"When I try and compare it to the Dakar it's going to be probably, in some sense, tougher. Not physically but mentally.

"In the Dakar you've got a heap of adrenaline, you're super focused, things are changing quite often which makes you have to react. And this is like: 'Right, those are your miles for the day, get them done'. It's more like a mental fatigue."

ONE DIRECTION

The target time excludes ocean crossings but the journey, starting in September, must go one way around the world and start and finish at the same location on the same machine.

Two antipodal points must be reached on a journey through more than 15 countries and 13 time zones. The Dakar rally covers 5,000 miles over two weeks.

"I was trying to put it into perspective for my mum the other day, and my mum lives in Poole in the south of England, and I was like 'Mum, it's like you driving up to Scotland and perhaps halfway back every day for 19 days'," said Sunderland.

"I'm on the bike for around 17 hours (a day). I set off at 5 a.m. and arrive around 10, 11 p.m. most nights. So definitely later into the day you feel that sort of mental fatigue setting in, and to stay focused and stimulated is not that easy.

"But at least I don't have dunes and mountains to deal with and other riders in the dust, and hopefully not getting lost either."

"I need to behave, let's say, I need to follow the rules of the road and be a good boy with it," said Sunderland, who announced his retirement from professional racing last year.

Sunderland will have a support crew of six travelling behind by car, for security and assistance, but the Red Bull-backed rider expects to be well ahead.

He also hopes his bid will have a positive effect.

"In the news today, it's all sort of doom and gloom in the world, with all the wars going on," he said. "And I think it's quite nice to show people that you can still get out there and experience the world for what it really is."

Europa League Final: It’s All or Nothing for Man United and Tottenham