Looking at the presence of English clubs in the two European arenas, the balance of power has changed. Money is key, but not all.
22 years after having to play in third place, Man City is now present in the semifinals of the Champions League. (Image: Getty Images)
Looking at the presence of English clubs in the two European arenas, the balance of power has changed. Money is key, but not all.
The British flag is flying high again in Europe and the two English finals like the 2018/19 season are completely repeatable, with Chelsea – Man City in the Champions League and MU – Arsenal in the Europa League. Before you dream of that scenario, though, pause for a moment and think about the amazing change in English football.
About two decades ago, even those with the richest imagination could not imagine a day when Chelsea and Man City walked on their journey to conquer Europe’s peak, while MU and Arsenal sought a salvation. for the season in the 2nd tier arena.
At the turn of the 21st century, MU and Arsenal are the two dominant forces in the Premier League. They rarely bother with the rest and spend time searching for European glory. Chelsea and Man City do not have that comfort. The two grappled with their own problems, mostly with regard to money.
Before Roman Abramovich took over the Blues, this team owed £ 80 million and faced bankruptcy. The Citizens is also deeply in debt after trying to get out of the 3rd league and back to the Premier League, playing a derby with MU instead of Macclesfield Town in a stadium with only 6,000 spectators.
When the problem is money, it’s easy to solve if there are bosses like Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour, who suddenly one day discover their love for football and step into Chelsea, Man City, then make a transformation. spectacular. Two teams that are inferior to their history suddenly become giants, overthrow old forces and write their own history.
Arsenal Vice President David Dein once described how Chelsea functioned as follows: “Abramovich parked his Russian tank on our doorstep and shot out £ 50 bills.” Dick Law, Dein’s assistant, corrected: “I think it looks more like a 1,000 bill.”
There’s a pretty big jealousy here. The Russian billionaire once learned about the possibility of buying Arsenal but ignored it and Dein was extremely angry when he knew it. As for Sir Alex Ferguson, he accused Chelsea of ”ruining football” and scolded Man City, “a noisy neighbor” that was “spending money in a suicide fashion”.
In a less extreme way, former Newcastle President Sir John Hall said that in football, people don’t have to pay, only so far, bosses spend more money. “We, Aston Villa, Everton and Liverpool, Arsenal or MU all burn a lot of money, but the tycoons have taken everything to new heights. The bottomless pocket allows them to do anything, ”commented Hall.
But Hall added, billionaires from all over the world “have changed the game and the way football is run”, not just about money. As seen, in the period of 2013 up to now, MU’s actual expenditure is 780 million pounds, not much less than Man City (854 million) and double Chelsea (380 million), triple Liverpool (231 million). What about Arsenal, with 445 million spent, they are the third most expensive team in the Premier League, just less than two Manchester teams.
Money is very important in football, but it must be efficient to drive big ambitions. MU and Arsenal are slow to adapt and then fall behind. Efforts to spend money to level the gap can help them catch up with Chelsea and Man City, but not now.
“We have reached the semi-finals of the Europa League and this is like a true big game in Europe, because Roma is a rival with a long history,” MU coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said after overcoming Granada. April 16 morning.
“It is wonderful to be one of the four strongest teams in Europe. This is not an achievement, because Man City has entered the semi-finals of the Champions League once. We are creating another history, ”Man City coach Pep Guardiola said on Thursday.
A team trying to write history in Europe’s most famous league, a team trying to exaggerate the stature of the second-tier arena sounds ironic. However, this is how football plays out.
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