Europa League LIVE: Ange’s Spurs head north of the Arctic Circle to chase final berth
Ange Postecoglou has claimed that “Spurs does crazy things to people” after Arsène Wenger said that Tottenham Hotspur should not qualify for the Champions League if they win the Europa League.
Tottenham hold a 3-1 lead heading into Thursday night’s semi-final second leg against Bodo/Glimt in Norway, and Postecoglou’s team are on course to face Manchester United in an all-English final, with the winners qualifying for the Champions League.
The fact Tottenham are 16th in the Premier League table, one place below United, has sparked debate over the merits of the Europa League winners taking a Champions League place.
Ange Postecoglou.Credit: Getty Images
Asked if the Europa League winners should qualify for the Champions League, former Arsenal manager Wenger, now Fifa’s chief of global football development, said: “No – they should qualify automatically for the Europa League again, but not necessarily for the Champions League.
“Especially when you’re in the Premier League, where already five teams qualify. I think it’s something [for Uefa] to think about and to review.
“On the other hand, people will tell you that to keep the Europa League focused, interesting and motivated you need to give them that prize [of qualifying for the Champions League].”
Postecoglou, the Tottenham head coach, was asked about Wenger’s comments and said: “Well, I mean that’s a debate that’s been raging for years, like at least the last eight days! I’ve said it before, mate, Spurs does crazy things to people. It does, it does. You put the club into any sentence or any issue, and invariably they all come out and try to diminish as much as they can.
Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal manager, is now FIFA’s chief of global football development.Credit: AP
“Last year, fifth didn’t get you into the Champions League, this year it does. What does that mean? There are competition rules and the rules say that the winner goes into [the Champions League] and it’s not the first year, and there isn’t an asterisk against it that you have to do something else as well.
“But it’s Spurs, mate, they love it. They love it. Oh, they love it, you love it, don’t you?”
Asked whether he thought Wenger’s association with Arsenal may influence his opinion, Postecoglou said: “I don’t want to go down that road because I’ve got a great respect for Arsène. He’s one of the legends of the game, but it does crazy things to people, mate, I love it. I love it, bring it on. It’s going to upset people, so that makes me happy.”
Should Tottenham or United win the Europa League, they would be in line to set the record for the lowest-placed team in an English league season to qualify for Europe’s biggest cup competition.
That is still currently the 1981-82 Aston Villa team, who finished 11th in the First Division that season but played in the European Cup the following campaign as the defending champions.
Sevilla finished 12th in La Liga in the 2022-23 season, but re-qualified for the Champions League the following season by winning the 2023 Europa League.
On Wenger’s claim that Spurs and United should not qualify for the Champions League, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario added: “Everyone can have their thoughts on everything in life. I don’t agree, but it doesn’t matter. They are the rules.”
