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Pre-match postbag. “As someone who was lucky enough to have spent six months of a master’s degree living in Bilbao, during Marcelo Bielsa’s reign when they thrashed Manchester United home and away en route to the final, I can’t help but feel it’s a travesty that Athletic aren’t playing tonight. But then, like back in 2012, they’re quite good at bottling it. A bit Spursy, almost” – James Walter
“I’ve been a long distance Spurs supporter since 1975 and has seen a fair amount of disaster and too few trophy highlights (all on the telly). With that success rate it would probably be better for the outcome of the final if I supported my three Danish countrymen in the United squad tonight - but I’ll keep hoping for a little bit of recent glory. COYS!” – Lars Bøgegaard
“Lads, it’s United vs Tottenham. It is not every day you get to watch a Europa League final where both sets of fans are singing ‘you’ll be sacked in the morning’, and we’re not even sure about which coach” – Ben Barclay
“Could the convergence on San Mamés be the largest amassment of British legions in this part of Spain since the Peninsular War of the early 19th century? Interestingly, the term guerrilla warfare came out of this conflict, and I have a feeling that we will see plenty of this tactic on the pitch today. Irregular attacks, unexpected ambushes, chaos in the ranks, panicked retreats, close combat, attrition and ragged glory” - Peter Oh
Our man David Hytner is watching all of the red-carpet arrivals in Cannes San Mamés. “Just got to the ground to see Ian Wright being serenaded on his way into the VIP entrance by a large group of Spurs fans. Which certainly made him smile. David Dein, too, who was with him, along with Theo Paphitis. Bumped into Thomas Tuchel moments before and it really is one of those occasions when the stars are out. The anticipation is building!”
Ruben Amorim talks to TNT. “I am relaxed now … I did my job … now it’s with my players and I am really confident … I really enjoyed the last two trainings … when you have these kind of trainings you feel relaxed, so I trust in the guys … so I have that feeling and I’m really confident … Mason Mount in this moment gives us a balance … really good attacking but one extra midfielder … also to have speed on the bench … legs to change the game … in the beginning it is really important to feel the game and we are getting better at that … the result is not going to change so much [regarding transfers] … it can help to add one more if we need … the most important thing is the feeling of winning … we need to deliver that feeling … I am not thinking about the money … we will arrange money because we are a big brand … we are a club that needs that feeling … without trophies it’s really hard to get a connection … we are getting better … this team can step up … I truly believe my players are going to do it.”
Ange Postecoglou speaks to TNT. “A great feeling … a special night … as a club we haven’t had too many of these moments recently so it’s important we take it tonight … we’re looking forward to it … the moments you remember … the stuff you share with your family … we’re going to need some running power tonight … we’re going to have to work hard … United are a tough opponent … a couple of key players we have to shut down … we’re going to have to be really disciplined … it’s a final … form doesn’t count for much … head-to-head record doesn’t count for much … it’s all about today … we all come and go but the fans are the constant … we want to give something back.”
Ange Postecoglou has gone with Richarlison ahead of Son Heung-min up front. The Spurs captain has been struggling with a foot problem, and takes a place on the bench. Pape Matar Sarr is the only starter for the 2-0 loss at Aston Villa to keep his place.
Ruben Amorim prefers Mason Mount to Alejandro Garnacho up front. Joshua Zirkzee, previously thought to have been out for the season, is named as a sub. There’s only one change to the starting XI from the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea, with Leny Yoro coming in for Viktor Lindelof.
The teams
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Sarr, Bissouma, Bentancur, Johnson, Solanke, Richarlison.
Subs: Austin, Whiteman, Danso, Son, Tel, Gray, Spence, Odobert, Davies, Scarlett, Moore, Ajayi.
Manchester United: Onana, Yoro, Maguire, Shaw, Mazraoui, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu, Diallo, Mount, Hojlund.
Subs: Bayindir, Lindelof, Zirkzee, Eriksen, Garnacho, Dalot, Ugarte, Heaven, Evans, Mainoo, Amass, Collyer.
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany).
How Spurs reached the final. They beat Qarabağ, Ferencváros, AZ, Hoffenheim and Elfsborg during the group, finishing comfortably in fourth. They’ve since beaten AZ in the round of 16, Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarters thanks to a Big Ange Defensive Masterclass (!), and the first Norwegian team to reach the semi-finals of any European competition.
How United reached the final. They had to wait until matchday four for their first mega-league victory, but then beat PAOK, Bodø/Glimt, Viktoria Plzeň, Rangers and FCSB en route to third place. They’ve subsequently seen off both Basque giants in Real Sociedad and Athletic Club of Bilbao, relatively easy victories sandwiching an absurd one over Lyon.
Both of these clubs have contested an all-English final in Europe before. Tottenham Hotspur won the very first Uefa Cup final, in 1972, by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 on aggregate. The decisive and most memorable moment of the two matches was the Martin Chivers thriker at the end of the first leg at Molineux. Manchester United saw off Chelsea on penalties in the 2008 Champions League final after a 1-1 draw at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. The most memorable moment of that one? Oh JT.
The clubs have faced each other many times back home, naturally. Manchester United have the upper hand here as well, with 95 wins to Tottenham’s 57 (and 52 draws). But while the overall history skews red, the recent stuff is pure lilywhite. Spurs are unbeaten against United in the last six, wining four and drawing two. They’ve won all three of their previous meetings this season, the high-point being the 3-0 rout at Old Trafford last September.
Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United have met each other in Europe before. A long time ago. In December 1963, Spurs were the holders of the Cup Winners’ Cup, United the most recent FA Cup winners. They were drawn in the second round of the Cup Winners’ Cup, and Spurs won the first leg at White Hart Lane thanks to a Dave Mackay piledriver and Terry Dyson taking late opportunistic advantage of a careless Tony Dunne backpass.
A week later, the second leg at Old Trafford was just seven minutes old when Mackay – described by this paper as “barrel-chested and bursting with energy” – broke a leg in an accidental collision with Noel Cantwell. United had already by this point taken the lead through a David Herd header, but Tottenham’s ten remaining men battled hard, and though Herd scored again just after the break, Jimmy Greaves restored his team’s aggregate advantage almost immediately after. United’s numerical advantage eventually told, though, and Bobby Charlton scored twice in the last 13 minutes to see Matt Busby’s side through.
Whether it was worth United’s bothering is a moot point. In the quarter finals, they beat Sporting Club 4-1 at Old Trafford, only to capitulate 5-0 in Lisbon three weeks later. Still, they were a team generally trending in a positive direction, with George Best about to be folded into the mix. Bill Nicholson’s glory-glory side were heading the other way, Mackay’s injury ending his imperial phase, John White soon cruelly taken away by a bolt of lightning. A pivotal tie for both clubs, in retrospect. And here we are again.
Preamble
C’mon kids, let’s stop talking this down. Because while it might be true that …
… yeah, that … because while that might be true, two genuine European heavyweights are facing off in Bilbao tonight. For a proper European trophy. Never mind what it means for Champions League qualification, the size of the summer purse, the destiny of the managers … silvery shimmering glory is up for grabs here, and you can be sure that’s what every last one of the fans who have battled so hard to wind their way down to Bilbao are preoccupied with. So yes, let’s stop talking this down. Up! Up! Up! It’s the Europa League final! It’s Tottenham Hotspur! It’s Manchester United! It could well be a wild nonsensical classic!!! Kick-off is at 9pm Basque o’clock, 8pm BST. It’s on.
