There was a time when the FA Cup reigned supreme, as the tournament of choice in England, right up until the early 2000s.
Even with the English Premier League gaining precedence as one of Europe’s important top tier leagues, the FA Cup was treated with respect by managers. But with Sir Alex Ferguson gone, Arsene Wenger is probably one of the last of that breed, who still reveres the oldest national football tournament in the world.
Of course he would, considering that he is tied on six FA cup wins, along with long gone George Ramsay. Wenger now stands a chance to win his seventh FA Cup, cementing his place in football history, at least in England, as Arsenal beat Manchester City to meet Chelsea in the final to be played in May.
But not all managers accept the importance of the FA Cup, with good reason. Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United won the FA Cup in 2016, but since the club failed to finish in the top four he was sacked not too long after. In 2013, then City manager Roberto Mancini lost the final to Wigan, and was then sacked two days later.
This year in May 2017, as we approach the finals of the FA Cup, fans in Goa are discussing about the importance of England’s FA cup compared to the other second trophies like Copa del Rey (Spain) and Deutsche Pokal (Germany) that are treated with respect. If a team wins the FA Cup, they earn £1.8million but each club gets £2m per place they finish in the Premier League, so if three points can make a difference to where you end up in table, it is more valuable than winning such a prestigious trophy. On the other hand, it has been pointed out that winning a trophy, especially the FA Cup is still a significant achievement for the players and the fans.
FA Cup winners in recent seasons have included Wigan and Portsmouth, while Aston Villa, Hull and Cardiff have appeared in finals in the last 10 years. On May 27, Arsenal and Chelsea, who have surpassed Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino expectations about the best team in London, will face each other in the FA Cup finals and fans from both teams can’t wait to boast about yet another trophy.
