So, Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur both of England have qualified for the final of the UEFA Champions League to be played on Saturday 1st June at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
So, Arsenal and Chelsea, both of London, England are to also play each other in the UEFA Europa Cup on Wednesday 29th May at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Liverpool booked their place in the Champions League final with a spectacular bouncebackability against Barcelona whom they beat 4:0 on Tuesday, after trailing 3:0 from the first leg; and Tottenham did the same on Wednesday, recovering from a home first-leg defeat and a 2-0 second-leg deficit to win 3-2 against Ajax Amsterdam and progress on away goals.
On the other hand, Chelsea and Arsenal fans face a long and difficult journey to Eastern Europe for the Europa League final after their teams dispatched Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 on penalties and Valencia 7:3 aggregate score respectively to set up an all-English Europa League final in Baku.
The match results of the last three days means both the Champions League and Europa League final will be played between English clubs this season. This is the first time all four finalists in Champions League and Europa Cup will be coming from one country.
You can guess the hype and pomp in the English media – football has come home to its origin.
While congratulating the English and it’s Premier League operators, they shouldn’t be carried away by the ‘football has come home’ hype because very few Englishmen make up the teams and officials of the four clubs they are celebrating.
For starters, none of the managers of the four teams is English. Liverpool manager is German while that of Spurs is Argentine. The manager of Chelsea is Italian and his Arsenal counterpart is Spanish. In fact, no Englishman is managing in current top 11 EPL league table. You have to look to Crystal Palace at number 12 to see Roy Hodgson as manager.
The footballers in the four finalists teams are a pot pourri and blend of many countries. While Liverpool can boast of only James Milner, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson in their starting 11, Spurs probably just have Harry Kane, Danny Rose, Harry Trippier and Eric Dier as regulars. The same or even a worse trend runs in the line-up of Chelsea where you have to use a tooth comb to look for English players.
Yet the English league is now touted as the toughest and best in Europe. Yes, it is tough because there are no winter or summer breaks and the players wages are something else. But the footballers making waves are mostly from Spain, France, Belgium, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and other countries.
Yes, the trophies are coming to England, won by teams populated and coached by foreigners. But is the football coming home?
Image credit: UEFA.com, BBC.com.
Epa Ogie Eboigbe, veteran journalist, broadcaster and public affairs specialist writes and analyses current and historical issues with a ‘wise pen’.
