How much the FA Cup still matters is a much discussed topic of conversation among English soccer fans.
It is a subject brought into even sharper focus at this time of year when the world’s oldest senior knockout soccer tournament reaches the third round stage, the point when teams from England’s top two divisions enter the event.
Conventional wisdom has it that the FA Cup has now lost much of its lustre.
The advent of the Champions League concentrates the minds of sides at the top of the English Premier League, whose domestic focus is on winning the league title or at least finishing in the top four to guarantee themselves a place in European club soccer’s elite competition.
Meanwhile teams near the bottom of the Premier League are so concerned about being relegated from the lucrative top flight, they will often rest their best players from Cup ties in a bid to keep them fit for league matches instead.
And yet despite these changes in attitude the so-called “Big Four” of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have, with the exception of Portsmouth’s 2008 triumph, monopolized the FA Cup between them since 1996.
Tomorrow’s tie between record 11-time winners Manchester United and fallen giants Leeds United at Old Trafford promises to be a good guide to the FA Cup’s current standing.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has often fielded under-strength teams in the FA Cup in recent years.
Following their 5-0 thrashing of Wigan on Wednesday, the English champions are now just two points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea as they chase an unprecedented fourth successive title.
There is also the matter of their upcoming Champions League tie against Italian giants AC Milan.
Last season, Ferguson fielded a near reserve side in the FA Cup semi-finals and paid the price when United were beaten by Everton.
But the intriguing, or depressing depending on your point of view is that Leeds, who beat United in a gruelling 1970 FA Cup semi-final that featured two goalless draws before a solitary goal from late Scotland great Billy Bremner settled the tie, might not be at full-strength either.
Leeds are eight points clear at the top of League One, English soccer’s third tier, and manager Simon Grayson, speaking after the draw, said: “It’s the league that counts ... Promotion is the priority here and everybody knows that.”
Current holders Chelsea face Watford in a repeat of the other 1970 semi-final.
Arsenal face West Ham tomorrow, reviving memories of the 1980 final when the Hammers became the last team from outside the top flight to win the FA Cup.
The Gunners make the short trip to east London with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insisting he is ready to sacrifice the club’s FA Cup hopes to keep their Premier League title challenge on course.
Wenger, whose side are just four points off top spot, has won the FA Cup four times in his 13 years with Arsenal.
But the Frenchman said: “The Premier League is always more important than the FA Cup. The Premier League is so hard that you want to take care of your position.”
But for Liverpool, away to second division Championship side Reading today, the FA Cup offers a chance to salvage some silverware from what has already been a disappointing season that has seen the Merseysiders fail to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
“It’s always been important but you know that when you’re out of the Champions League, the people think about silverware and the FA Cup is very, very important for us,” said Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two