Europa League life and death battle! Manchester United competes for UEFA Champions League tickets, Bilbao vows to realize his dream of winning the cup at home

For Manchester United, winning the UEFA Cup is not just another trophy. It's also about survival. After a worst season since relegation in 1974, the second most important European trophy in Bilbao on May 22 will bring the club back to a arena where they both desire and (from a financial standpoint) must return: the Champions League.

Over the past 30 years, Manchester United's operating model has always been based on the premise that they can participate in (or at least the goal is to participate in) the top European tournaments, which means that even if they fail to qualify for the competition, there is no corresponding adjustment to salary expenditure. But failure to win the UEFA Cup would mean that Manchester United missed the Champions League for two consecutive seasons, which has never happened since they first participated in the Champions League in 1993.

But Manchester United faces more than a question of honor, and participating in top European tournaments worth about £100 million can relieve concerns about financial collapse and meeting the Premier League’s profitable and sustainable development obligations. This will also make United more attractive to players in the summer transfer window, which is crucial to building a roster next season. As Manchester United coach Ten Hager said last month: "Parking in the Champions League can change everything." But for Athletic Bilbao, which blocks Manchester United's advance to the final, the situation is completely different.

Athletic Bilbao is experiencing its best La Liga season in 11 years, and is almost returning to the Champions League after more than ten years of separation. This will only be their third time to participate in the top European event, and they will cherish this opportunity. Since the fourth place in the domestic league is basically locked, the UEFA Cup is purely about honor for this Basque team, and they are expected to win the first European trophy in team history.

But this season's Europa League is even more important than the 1977 League Cup final or the 2012 Europa League final (both of them lost). This is a lifetime opportunity to win the cup at home, and they will never give up easily.

The world's only Athletic Bilbao coach Valverde said after eliminating the Wanderers in the quarterfinals and meeting with Manchester United in the semi-finals: "Look at the performance of the fans today, look at the happiness you bring to them. The greatest meaning of football is to make people happy.\" Valverde, who led the team to win the King's Cup in 2024 and ended the club's 40-year championship drought, has indeed made Bilbao fans feel the ultimate joy.

\"This is even more extraordinary" Although it is Liverpool's marketing slogan, if there is a club worthy of such a declaration, it must be Athletic Bilbao. The club is famous for its policy of "only selecting players with connections with the Basque Country" and they use the slogan "the only one in the world" to demonstrate this tradition. While this policy may limit the team's higher achievements, it also creates an unbreakable bond with fans, so the madness of celebration is epic when they win the championship. After winning the Copa del Rey, Athletic Bilbao held a carnival party that has been recorded in history. Instead of choosing to cross the city center for the open-top bus, their championship parade was launched, a legendary barge, the old ship that had been silent for forty years in the Ocean Museum, waiting for the team to revisit the Nelvion River after winning the championship again.

About millions of fans flocked to the streets to witness the grand occasion, and the players were drunk just like the fans. Forward Iniaki Williams recalled: "We drank beer like beasts. The older generation always described the grand occasion of celebrating on Gabara, but the experience was surreal. The next week was crazy. The next night we were drunk against Villarreal and almost won the game again!\"

Valverde's Golden Age

Even though we pursued a unique material selection policy, Athletic Bilbao is still the third successful club in Spanish football history after Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​with 24 Cups of Dec (second only to Barcelona) and 8 La Liga titles. In the early 1930s, they were the overlords of Spanish football and won four league titles within seven years before the civil war broke out. The 1950s ushered in a revival. After being crowned the double champion in 1956, the following year, the new champion of the Champions League met Manchester United in the quarter-finals. Although he hit "Basby Baby" 5-3 at home, he finally suffered a 5-6 overall score.

The 1980s ushered in another glorious period. The team not only achieved consecutive league championships, but also passed a violent showdown in history in the 1984 Cup of del Rey final (compared to the conflict at the Catuha Stadium last week, it was simply a witch). The team defeated Barcelona led by Maradona to achieve a double championship. The wave of football commercialization in the 1990s did impact Bilbao's reputation and its localization model, but during Valverde's two coaching sessions, the team ushered in two new golden years.

The first golden period appeared when he was in charge of coaching for the second time: he led the team to the Champions League for the first time in 18 years, reached the final of the Cup of Kings, and defeated Barcelona with a total score of 5-1 to win the Spanish Super League. The qualification for the European competition in his four seasons was never lost, and when he switched to Barcelona, ​​Bilbao immediately fell into a trough of missing the European competition for six years.

In 2022, after experiencing the turbulence of Barcelona's career (although he won La Liga consecutively, he was criticized for being shocking reversals by Rome and Liverpool for consecutive UEFA Champions League) and was dormant for two and a half years, Valverde returned to Bilbao. Now he is using his record to prove to the world that he has always been that tactical master. In the King's Cup winning parade last season, the fans' singing "Valverde is a magician" is exactly the best footnote.

Steel defense line and lightning offensive

In the King's Cup last season, Athletic Bilbao defeated Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, and finally defeated Mallorca in the final. Although the league missed the Champions League qualification in fifth place, the afterglow of the carnival celebration did not affect the season's form. The Basque Lions have remained unbeaten in 16 league games (nearly five months) until they lost to Atletico Madrid in March. During this period, they ended the curse of not beating Real Madrid for 18 games in the league and had nine years of no victory over Real Madrid. Now they are leading sixth place Betis 6 points in the Champions League qualification battle (5 rounds left).

Such a record stems from the strongest defense line in La Liga: the championship league with 26 total goals conceded, of which only 10 goals were conceded at home. This is not good news for Manchester United, which scored only 39 goals in the league (typically fifth from the bottom). The only negative is that the number one scorer Sansett was confirmed to miss the first round due to a hamstring injury, and there is still suspense whether he can make a comeback in the second round. But the Basques still have sufficient firepower: Inijaki Williams contributed 20 goals + assists in each competition this season, scored the winning goal against Las Palmas last weekend, and previously scored twice away in the UEFA Cup group stage.

Manchester United also needs to focus on Alex Berenger and Guruzeta, but the one that needs to be vigilant is Inijaki's younger brother, Nico Williams, who has suffered a lot in the European Cup final. Although Williams' performance in 10 league goals this season is slightly worse than last season (16 times), this is not unrelated to the transfer rumors: after the failure to transfer to Barcelona last summer, he continued to have scandals with giants such as Barcelona and Arsenal, and was trapped in the whirlpool of rumors of leaving the team.

Europa League Key Master

Although the domestic performance was a bit dull, Nico Williams showed his strength on the European stage and became a winner and loser. In the second leg of the 1/8 final against Roma, he scored twice in San Mames and led the team to reverse the game. When he played against Rangers again in the quarter-finals, he scored a key goal to secure the semi-finals. This brings Bilbao one step closer to his dream of home finals. If he wins the championship, they will become the fifth team to win the European trophy at home after Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Feyenoord.

This youth training treasure said emotionally: "For me and all Bibao fans, entering the finals in Bilbao will be the supreme glory. It is like a childhood dream come true. We who have been playing for the club since childhood have always been looking forward to the moment of winning the championship. Due to the special significance of this year's final, the UEFA Cup is of great significance to us. Perhaps only Bibao can understand this emotion. "

\"The grand occasion of winning the King's Cup last year is still in front of us. Just imagine if we can hold up the UEFA Cup in our hometown, we must dare to dream and maintain our beliefs. We have an extraordinary team, and this year is destined to be our season. As long as we continue our current competitive state, we will have the opportunity to stand on the final stage and be crowned the champion. \"

Glory Memory

Manchester United's visit awakened the treasured memories of Bilbao people. The 2011-12 Europa League double-winning Red Devils in the 1/8 finals are still the most glorious chapter in the club's European history. At that time, the Manchester United team, led by Sir Ferguson, was completely different from the current Manchester United, which was "probably the worst in history". Under the training of "madman" Bielsa, the Basque Lions defeated the Premier League overlord in both rounds.

The captain Ilaura recalled: "It is unforgettable to suppress them at Old Trafford. At that time, Manchester United had just finished the Champions League final and was England's well-deserved overlord. This victory made us convinced that since we could defeat Manchester United in this way, we could defeat any opponent.\"

Munyain, who scored the third goal in the Dream Theater, added: "For witnesses, beating Manchester United with stars is like a dream. If fans can relive the old dream, it will be of great significance.\" This expectation is turning into practical actions: there are only 3,000 away team tickets in the second leg, but 15,000 subscription requirements are received.

A lifetime opportunity

Nico Williams, who was only nine years old at the time, now knows the weight of those two classic battles more than anyone else. After eliminating the Wanderers, the new generation leader admitted: "Every child dreams of playing football in Old Trafford. The legendary stadium carries the precious memory of Munia's goal. We will go all out in the first leg of San Mames and bring it with us. The claws rushed to Manchester to let Manchester United see the true Bilbao spirit, and we have won there long ago! Although Manchester United performed poorly in the league, they showed their background against Lyon. \"

The epic showdown with Lyon in the quarter-finals proved that this Manchester United can not only perfectly execute Tenhager's tactics, but also destroy the Great Wall due to lack of attention. They are better at replicating the desperate escape of the Ferguson era that violates the laws of competitive. But public opinion generally believes that Bilbao is too powerful for the Red Devils. Although Manchester United performed a feat of three goals in 7 minutes in despair in the last round, the Basques wrote the legend with more shocking beliefs. In this era of gold and dollar football, they always firmly believe that local youth training is the only source of players.

The moment of destiny that has been waiting for a full 120 years is finally close to you. Athletic Bilbao will never let historical opportunities slip through your fingers.