SPURS will attempt to win a first trophy in 13 years when they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on April 25.
And the added extra for Tottenham is that, considering they are currently ninth in the Premier League, a Wembley win will guarantee a spot in Europe next season.
Jose’s European chances are still aliveCredit: PA:Press Association
But it will not be the Europa League.
If Spurs do win the Carabao Cup, they will be flying the flag for England in the inaugural Uefa Europa League Conference.
Should Manchester City triumph at Wembley, then the sixth-placed Premier League team will be heading into uncharted territory.
This competition is a dream for groundhoppers but not so good for stroppy managers of a big club.
Liverpool, the 2019 Champions League winners, could end up in the Europa Conference League if City triumph at Wembley and they finish sixth.
Some teams might even prefer to actually finish seventh.
The English team will have to win a two-legged play-off in August before entering the group stages of a tournament which will have representation of three clubs each from Wales, Northern Ireland, Moldova and Armenia.
There will be eight groups of four. And this stage will even include teams who were knocked out of the Europa League play-off. The final will be staged in Albania on May 25 2022.
Harry Kane could be blazing a trail in the Europa Conference League next seasonCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The first round of qualifying will be on July 8 – three days before the Euro2020 final at Wembley.
The competition will have no impact on the UEFA Champions League but the Europa League group stage will be reduced from 48 to 32 teams.
The final will be staged at the Arena Kombetare in Tirana. The new stadium is also the venue of England’s World Cup qualifier on March 28.
The game next month has been in doubt at this venue because of a pitch issue but that seems to have been resolved.
WAY TO JO
FOOTBALL clubs are known for their hypocrisy as they expect loyalty from both fans and players – but show very little of it themselves.
So well done to Coventry for their outstanding treatment of Jodi Jones, a winger who is recovering from a THIRD anterior cruciate knee ligament injury in less than three years.
Jones’ current contract runs out at the end of the season and he is not expected to be back until April. But Coventry have already offered him a new contract for next season – and he has just signed it.
This is class from the Championship club. Other teams could learn a thing or two.
Jones had been handed a new deal by Coventry despite injury hellCredit: PA:Empics Sport
DON’T DIS ME
IVAN GAZIDIS spent nine years at Arsenal as chief executive yet his stint in the same job at Milan was nearly over before it started.
Having swapped the Emirates for the San Siro in 2018, he had a poor relationship with sporting director and club legend Paolo Maldini and struggled with his Italian.
Yet despite losing the city derby on Sunday to rivals Inter, Milan are still second and things are looking up massively for Gazidis.
He enjoys a much better relationship with Maldini and won plaudits for back-tracking on a decision to fire manager Stefan Pioli and replace him with Ralf Rangnick.
In his last Sky Italia interview, Gazidis impressed the locals with his massively-improved language skills.
In contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo still struggles WITH Italian and cannot even say Juventus properly. He pronounces it ‘Giuve’.
But for Gazidis, life is more settled and his only issue has been getting a space at the training ground because midfielder Franck Kessie keeps parking in his spot. The Ivorian now insists on being called Presidente.
Former Arsenal chief Gazidis is now enjoying la dolce vita in MilanCredit: AFP or licensors
RAISE THE BAR
LUIS SUAREZ is now at Atletico Madrid rather than Barcelona – but he still does everything with pal Lionel Messi.
Suarez owns a bar-restaurant across the road from the beach in Castelldefels, the players’ home town.
So now Messi is building his own bar – just 100m away from Suarez’s.
Suarez’s restaurant is just down the road from Messi’s new bar outside BarcelonaCredit: Instagram
Luis Suarez shows his talent as he joins Atletico Madrid in training
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
