Fiorentina pushed the EVEN line, Dnipro beat the +1/2, Sevilla took the -1/2, and obviously Napoli blew away the +1. Recreational purposes only, of course.
Another benefit of Europa league is that this years final is held in Warsaw, Poland. if you want to go check it out message me, I have 1 ticket for sale in category 2.
Napoli vs Sevilla is my bet. Was my bet even before the recent score lines. Pretty even on paper too. Napoli has the better attack and Sevilla have the better midfield.
Sevilla as a Team has a Compact Midfield and Napoli is strongest i could say Upfront but then the surprise team of the League has been Dnipro,they've played as a Team and has been wonderful,they've played pretty good soccer the times i've watched them and they know how to "ACT" even under immense pressure.I think Sevilla would win it they seem to be the best at getting on with that the League is all about even at that i hope Napoli does,i like them as a Team and i hope Benitez wins it and return to England lol.
I do not think Benitez will go back to England now.He will extend his contract probably.He is showing good results.As for who will win Europa league my favorite is Sevilla as well but you never know.
I still can't bring myself to sleep on Dnipro. They've won all 3 knockout matches at home against Brugge, Ajax and Olympiakos. I'm not sure if any of those teams are as good as Napoli, but all of those teams are having very good seasons. Going in there and coming out 1-1 last week is very impressive.
So, it's Sevilla - Dnipro. On paper, this is a mismatch. Sevilla is impressively running teams off the pitch. Dnipro scrapes by, round after round. But Dnipro have the hopes of an embattled nation on their shoulders. I am extremely proud of what they have done.
That's not absurd at all. A lower division team is not in Europe, is out of the cups early and doesn't have much TV or sponsorship money so needs to maximise ticket revenue. The sorts of EPL teams in the Europa League generally don't have very large squads and therefore don't have the depth to compete on multiple fronts, especially when staying in the EPL is so competitive and important. Those clubs are not prestigious. The onus is not on fans and teams to show respect to a competition, but on the competition organisers to make their competition relevant and appealing. It's clear that Uefa has failed to make their tournament relevant in Europe's biggest sports market.
League One club Bradford City isn't in European competition, but they didn't go "out of the cups early." They played 8 games in the 2014-2015 FA Cup and 8 games while finishing second in the 2012-2013 Capital One (League) Cup.
They should cancel the Europa League, but won't b/c of money. Who cares if the winner qualifies for the Champion's League? Do better in your domestic league and you can do the same. It is a second-rate trophy that nobody cares about, so why risk injuring players to win it. I honestly thought the Cup-Winners Cup should have been kept around instead of the Europa/Uefa but whatever...
I miss the Cup Winners Cup as well. The last edition was in 1999. There really was no choice but to scrap it once they decided to expand the Champions League to include domestic league runners-up (1997), not to mention third and fourth place teams in some countries (2000). If the CWC had continued there would have been many countries being represented by non-cup winners due to their having qualified for the CL. It would have devalued the merits of the competition.
Yeah, but in doing so and disregarding the EL they loose coeff. points with the risk loosing aCL spot. So in the end their attitude leads to lesser chance to qualify for a CL spot. But is it only disinterest in this competition? When you see how EPL top teams get shaved, washed and dryed, as we have a saying in the Netherlands to , by continental clubs in the CL, maybe it is a convenient excuse. Anyway, why do they think if they havenot the stamina to face 3d rate opponents as is suggested and compete domestically, do they expect to last longer in a competition, the CL that proves for high budget EPL teams to be a struggle and also have the stamina to qualify for the CL by reaching one of the eligable spots. I think the brains of those in charge suffer from mad cow disease.
Atletico Madrid wins Europa League gets experience then almost wins Champions League (sigh Sergio Ramos header)
I don't mind the EL, i like the idea of the competition but UEFA should scrap the 3rd placed team from the UCL dropping down to the EL... They should also find a way to bring it down to 8 groups. Just my opinion tho
Porto won the UEFA Cup and then the Champions League under Mourinho. It's an important competition for teams which are trying to establish/re-establish themselves in Europe.
Fans and club from big leagues probably don't care much about it, especially the biggest clubs, but I think there are many fans who do care. There were like 200k Rangers fans travelling to Manchester to watch Rangers in the finals some years ago, just to stand in front of TV screens in Manchester, because there was no room in the stadium. Dutch, Portuguese, Turkish etc teams have big and loud crowds in Europa League, great atmosphere. Champions League has become too much about the big leagues. Small leagues have been left behind because of TV money, and many legendary teams from small countries have no chance in the Champions League now. But they have a chance in the Europa league, and fans seem to care about it. Big crowds, great atmosphere. I personally love Europa League, it feels like a journey back in time sometimes.
I prefer it the way it is right now, I think 3rd teams going there raises the profile of the competition. Otherwise it would even more just about Champions League. Getting to Champions League group stage and getting blown out in every game and finishing 4th would become a bigger achievement than winning the Europa league. We'd also miss out on some legendary quality teams from smaller leagues, like Porto, Olympiakos, Galatasaray, Shakhtar this year, because their Euro season would be over. I think it's fun to have these teams in the Europa League, especially since they don't have much chance in the Champions League anyway because it's a competition between a few very rich national leagues now. These tickets from CL group stage basically make Europa League look like a "who's who in smaller European leagues," with some teams from big leagues thrown in. I think it's more fun than if Europa League was just a competition for second rate teams from every league.