Who needs Euro final more, Man Utd or Spurs? Berhalter Jnr on going it alone, Beckham at 50

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Hello! A game of last-man-standing between Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou? It’s what the people want.

On the way:

Who Needs It Most? Man Utd and Tottenham on brink of face-off for Europa League title

Football is never done until it’s done — Manchester United’s ‘portrait of pandemonium’ against Lyon proved that — but there’s only minor jeopardy in predicting that the Europa League is headed for an all Premier League final.

After the first leg of the semi-finals on Thursday, United lead Athletic Club 3-0 and Tottenham Hotspur lead Bodo/Glimt 3-1. However incompetent they might be, neither United nor Spurs are likely to phone it in from here. On the contrary, they’re primed to collide in Bilbao’s San Mames stadium on May 21. It’s written.

Which is great, because a match-up like that would be the definition of dog-eat-dog; the survival of the least unfit. By a quirk of fate, the Europa League is throwing together two clubs and two coaches who need the trophy and the spoils from it badly. One of those bosses might be supping in the last-chance saloon.

United’s victory for the ages over Lyon a fortnight ago was a name-on-cup result. With that behind them, they looked reborn last night, with Harry Maguire mimicking Lamine Yamal out wide (above) and two Bruno Fernandes goals reiterating where United would be without him. Spurs got their act together too, albeit at the cost of more injuries. They’re seizing the day — but whose stakes are higher?

£100m match

(Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)

In terms of simple self-preservation, the Europa League matters more to Ange Postecoglou. He’s two years into his reign at Spurs and he’s losing the public vote. May 21 could be Judgement Day for him. Ruben Amorim is still at the ‘not my fault, look at the dross I inherited’ stage at Old Trafford. I feel like only one of their heads is on the block.

But financially, United have so much more on the line. Whatever else can be said about Spurs, they’re institutionally stable. United, in contrast, are a club beset by debt and a club making redundancies at will (Laurie Whitwell revealed yesterday that another pair of senior departures are pending). There’s a trophy to be had but the greater value of winning the Europa League is qualifying for the Champions League. That’s what United’s eyes are on.

The rewards are self-explanatory. For one thing, Champions League involvement makes recruitment easier. Elite players are more interested if you can offer them elite competition. But financially, UEFA’s top tournament is paying out in spades — more lucrative than ever after its revamp for 2024-25.

To recap:

• This season, clubs earned £15.8m ($21m) just for qualifying for the Champions League. In the league stage, every win was worth £1.8m and every draw £600,000. Each place in the table earned an extra £234,000, up to a possible total of £8.4m.
• UEFA’s ‘value pillar’, or its central distributions based on historical European performances and rankings, can pay out up to £38m.
• Reaching the last 16 claws in another £9.3m, and then it gets really serious: £10.6m for the quarters, £12.7m for the semis, £15.7m for the final and £5.5m for winning the damn thing.

Do the maths and it’s obvious what the Europa League final is: by adding in matchday income and commercial deals, it’s a £100m clash, or thereabouts. For a variety of reasons, neither Spurs nor United dare lose it. Bring it on.

News round-up

English FA announce changes to rules for transgender women

Among the many things Donald Trump said after his second inauguration as U.S. president was this: “As of today, it will henceforth by the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.”

It was Trump entering the debate about sex-based rights, a debate which is consuming many walks of life. Football has spent years accommodating trans and non-binary people — compassionately in the eyes of some, and controversially in the eyes of others.

In England, the Football Association created rules in 2015 to allow transgender women to play in women’s teams (it’s worth saying here that in 10 years, only 72 transgender footballers have featured at grassroots level). Individuals were medically assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Those rules were tightened up a month ago but yesterday, the FA announced that as of June 1, transgender women will no longer be allowed to participate in women’s football, as a consequence of a high-profile UK Supreme Court ruling which you can read about here.

This has been welcomed by those who think biological males in sport risk the safety of women and girls and place them at a competitive disadvantage. They argue that trans players are still entitled to involve themselves in men’s matches. Trans players, meanwhile, say a ruling like the FA’s leaves them with nowhere to go. With entrenched views on either side, the middle ground — if it even exists — stands empty.

In-form Berhalter Jnr explains how he had to ‘do it by himself’

(Simon Fearn-Imagn Images)

Chasing a career as the progeny of a famous footballer means living with the shadow. Some examples, like Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert, feel suitably distanced from it. Others, like Giuliano Simeone at Atletico Madrid, have it sitting right on top of them.

Sebastian Berhalter is somewhere in between. His father, Gregg, doesn’t manage his club — Vancouver Whitecaps — but he’s a very recent USMNT coach, he’s employed elsewhere in Major League Soccer, by Chicago Fire, and the degrees of separation are small.

Behalter, a 23-year-old midfielder, is on a hot streak with Vancouver. His fourth goal in six games helped dump Inter Miami out of the Champions Cup on Wednesday. Jeff Rueter went to interview him and I thought I’d bring you this comment about Triple G, which goes some way to explaining why Berhalter Jnr found a pro path:

“He was super hands-off growing up. It was always, like, ‘You’ve got to do it by yourself’. It kind of instilled that into me, my work ethic — ‘OK, if I want this, I’m gonna have to go get it.’” In a cut-throat world, it’s a healthier strategy than nepotism.

Around TAFC

Catch a match

(Selected games, times ET/UK)

Premier League: Manchester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers, 3pm/8pm — Peacock Premium/Sky Sports.

Saturday: Premier League: Aston Villa vs Fulham, 7.30am/12.30pm — USA Network, Fubo/TNT Sports; Arsenal vs Bournemouth, 12.30pm/5.30pm — NBC, Peacock Premium, Fubo/Sky Sports; La Liga: Valladolid vs Barcelona, 3pm/8pm — ESPN+, Fubo/Premier Sports. German Bundesliga: RB Leipzig vs Bayern Munich, 9.30am/2.30pm — ESPN+/Sky Sports. Serie A: Lecce vs Napoli, 12pm/5pm — CBS, Paramount+, Amazon Prime/OneFootball; Inter Milan vs Hellas Verona, 2.45pm/7.45pm — CBS, Paramount+, Amazon Prime/TNT Sports, OneFootball. MLS: Inter Miami vs New York Red Bulls, 7.30pm/12.30am — MLS Season Pass/Apple TV.

Sunday: Premier League: Brighton vs Newcastle United, 9am/2pm — USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports; Chelsea vs Liverpool, 11.30am/4.30pm – Peacock Premium/Sky Sports. Scottish Premiership: Rangers vs Celtic, 7am/12pm — CBS, Fubo/Sky Sports. La Liga: Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo, 8am/1pm — ESPN+, Fubo/Premier Sports.

And finally…

Premier League

You’ll think of David ‘Goldenballs’ Beckham as the part owner of Inter Miami. The veterans among us remember him more as the winger with the laser-guided right foot, who showbizzed his way through Manchester United, Real Madrid, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and LA Galaxy. Quite a resume.

Beckham turns 50 today and what I always found peculiar about him was that between retiring and launching Miami, he didn’t really seem to do anything of note — not like that sumptuous lob against Wimbledon back in the day (above).

Nonetheless, his profile hasn’t dipped. He’s got more celebrity friends than I have bones in my body. His 88million Instagram following is way beyond that of any current Premier League star. Does the average follower think of him as an ex-footballer? Are they familiar with that 1996 lob? If the answer to those questions is no, it highlights another big talent in Beckham, beyond his right foot: effortless relevance.

(Photo: Zohaib Alam – MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images)

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