The All-English road to Madrid
On June 1, Liverpool will take on Tottenham Hotspur in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final. This is the second ever All-English final, following Moscow 2008 and the first time an English team will win the trophy since Chelsea in 2012.
For Liverpool, it’s a familiar story as this is their 9th appearance in the final of Europe’s premier club competition and their 2nd successive final, having come up short against Real Madrid in Kiev 1 year ago. Conversely, It’s uncharted territory for London-based Tottenham Hotspur who’ve reached the final for the 1st time in their 136 years of operating.
Few would have predicted that these two clubs would be the 2019 finalists, their presence is testament to an all round English resurgence in European competition since the 2017–18 season, following Spanish dominance of much of the decade.
Liverpool’s charismatic coach Jürgen Klopp will be hoping that the adage of the third time being the charm holds true; having tasted defeat with Dortmund in the 2013 final, and again with the Reds in 2018.
Liverpool are in the midst of their greatest ever season, their current Premier League points tally of 97 would have won them the English title in 25 of the last 27 years. They’ve scored 89 goals and conceded a miserly 22, the reds have finally become the well-oiled gegenpressing machine Klopp envisioned when he joined them back in 2015.
Defender Virgil Van Dijk and goalkeeper Allison have shored up a once leaky defence, augmenting the lethality of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané up front.
However, an air of uncertainty hangs over Anfield because for all their swashbuckling play, defeat in the final would see Liverpool go trophy-less for the 7th consecutive season.
Additionally, Klopp has lost 6 consecutive cup finals dating back to 2013. Leading many to question his coaching competency or if supernatural forces continually conspire against him.
For Mauricio Pochettino and Spurs, this season came straight out of left-field. The London Club have become the butt of many jokes due to their uncanny ability to exhibit title challenging form at the start of a season and sputter out towards the business end of things.
Their perennial choking has led to the coining of the adjective ‘spursy’, meaning to have success within reach but ultimately throw it away.
However, 2018–19 has proven to be a different story; despite having spent much of their season at Wembley while their new stadium finished construction and having the exact same squad as last season.
Spurs managed to clinch 4th in the Premier League, and emerged as runners-up from the group of death in the Champions League. Yet in the knockout stages they went from strength to strength beginning with a 4–0 thrashing of Dortmund in the round of 16.
In the quarter-finals, they stunned English champions Man City 4–4 on aggregate to progress on away goals. In the semis, against a more fancied Ajax side they came from 3–0 down to tie it at 3–3 and progress on away goals once more.
At the Wanda Metropolitano on June 1st, Liverpool will be hoping to channel the spirit of Istanbul, where they came from 3–0 down to win their previous European Cup on penalties in 2005. Spurs on the other hand, will be looking to finally prove that they are truly among Europe’s elites.
