Long live the Europa League

The UEFA Europa League is better than the Champions League, and I’ll die on this hill. People (and by people I mean Premier League snobs) look down upon the tournament unless their team is in it. They're entitled to their wrong opinions. I for one, prefer the obscure. Who doesn’t love watching Red-Star Belgrade (shoutout to my guy Milan Borjan) vs SC Braga? And, while the tournament doesn’t offer the same financial gains as the Champions League, it’s still loads of fun, and my motto is if you’ve had fun, you won. The Europa League offers something the Champions League doesn’t, and that’s chaos. Absolute chaos.

This eclectic mix of club sides means a wider variety of matchups in comparison with the Champions League, giving travelling fans a chance to experience some of Europe’s more unique away days alongside trips to some of the continent’s traditional giants. You can see trips to Milan, Oslo, Lisbon, Vienna, London, Brondby, Istanbul, Warsaw, Moscow, Belgrade,Mareseille, Almaty, and everywhere in between. With a knack for championing the underdog while offering up goals and upsets, the Europa League often has the feel of a continental FA Cup or Copa del Rey with its obscurity and unpredictability.

It’s also the perfect place to scout future talent: Deco, Sergio Aguero, Willian, Dani Alves, James Rodrigues and Falcao all cut their teeth in the Europa League, while Jose Mourinho wouldn’t be where he is today had he not won the competition with Porto in 2003. Celtic lost to that Porto side and their fans still look back fondly at that run, spearheaded by Swedish legend Henrik Larsson. Celtic famously sent over 80,000 fans (since affectionately nicknamed "The Bhoys from Seville") in droves to see the final in Seville, and literally took over the city.

Think of Norwich City’s win over Bayern Munich (then the UEFA Cup), Maradona’s Napoli in 1989, prime R9 with Inter, Fulham’s Clint Dempsey and his single-handed demolition of Juventus, Braga defying the odds and beating Liverpool en-route to an all-Portuguese final against Porto in 2011, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla’s dominance over the tournament, Villareal upsetting Manchester United on penalties this past year, or Middlesbrough’s bonkers run to the 2006 final. Liverpool fans often cite that night in Istanbul against AC Milan as their greatest European night, but the wild 5-4 win over Alaves in the 2001 UEFA Cup Final was more entertaining than any of them. I still look back fondly on Miguel Garcia’s last second goal in the 2005 semi-final to send Sporting through to the final, in their own stadium! Sporting then proceeded to lose the UEFA Cup final in their own stadium 3-1 to CSKA Moscow, who I had never heard of prior to that game, after having the lead, and it still haunts me to this day.

But that’s why I love it. The sheer unpredictability, the obscurity, and the chaos. It might not suit the Premier League snobs, but the Europa League is the perfect antidote to a busy working week and a fine segue into the weekend’s football. So while some people may give it a hard time, even calling in a "Mickey Mouse Trophy," I'll be here, savouring something they'll never truly appreciate. Long may it continue. Long live the Europa League.