LOLLLLLLLLL.

Well,

I know...

Mind games expert. Grande Mourinho! Hope he wins, be great to see Utd in Europe again.

Shrug.

Winning the Europa League as a trophy means almost nothing to me. Winning the CL qualification means everything to me, for this season anyway.

winning the europa league means nothing? wow, what a shitty statement to make.

Why?

it's the 2nd most important trophy in europe. now count how many teams there are in europe. you belittle something of great worth, just because you assume you 'deserve' to be in the CL. you can't isolate what winning the trophy entails and the trophy itself. if you value what winning the trophy gives your team, then winning the Europa League as a trophy should mean everything to you, not "almost nothing." It is a means of giving you what you want. If you hold value to CL qualification, then you have to hold value of the same importance to the trophy itself. And since it seems you want CL qualification more than anything, then the Europa League trophy as a useless inanimate object is worth everything to you. Basically the trophy is your daddy.

Agree with Gonzi, don't forget the European super cup...
Games like this are what Makes players like Lindgard or Rashford grow as players, taster silverware joy and battle to taste it again.

A little off topic but I have been following Celta Vigo lately because they are hosting Madrid, if the game was not delayed Vigo would have caused troubles to Madrid.
With This form of last season Madrid has free 3 pts...

Relax people I'm sure you misunderstood what @Sun is saying here. From what I understood, and @Sun can correct me if I'm wrong, "Europa League Champion" doesn't look good in Manchester United's record book nor its trophy cabinet. Had he been an Everton fan the statement would've sounded ludicrous. But UTD fan who has seen his team lift the trophy in 2008 (At least, that's what I remember reading before) and have seen them two more times in the finals, I'm completely fine with what he said.

Let's face it @Tiki @Gonzi, you guys would rather your team lose in the knockout stages than to see them play in the EL. I'd hate it lol.

Let's face it @Tiki @Gonzi, you guys would rather your team lose in the knockout stages than to see them play in the EL. I'd hate it lol.

That's really the crux of it.

@Madridista Good point. However, I think after losing Fergie and those hard time, Manchester United fan should take anything they can get. ;)

Three things :

1. He is right : this will be last throphy that United never won ! So history is inthe making .
2. Road to Champions League
3. Mind games genius and reason for all of you to talk and journalists with media to make money

Well it's important for CL, for the most players, for the club knowing recent European results after Fergie, for Mourinho because it's his 7th year being trophyless in Europe.
Its not as important as PL or CL but with circumstances it's the most important game in United season. And for transfer market, Players like Griezmann can change a team trajectory but no CL means no Griezmann.
Im not saying EL is at CL importance level, but for United its vital.

For Mourinho who want to make a dig at Benitez belittling his win with Chelsea, but yeah things have changed and the cup is really that important now. Liverpool not winning last season was a big blow for them.

the uefa decided after the 2014/15 onwards that the champions of this tournament qualify directly to the Champions League, so as to give greater importance to the tournament and an additional incentive for the teams to win it.

So when Mourinho now declares that it is an important trophy and wants to win, it does not contradict his statement in 2013, and also because this tournament is the only one that lacks our trophy cabinet and we will be i guess the 4th or 5th team to win all the possible european trophies.

@quicky i hope you guys do your best in europa league next season coz i dont see a way where you will be able to compete with chelsea, liverpool, city, united and spurs for a qualifying spot to the champions league in the upcoming seasons.

EL is the second fiddle in terms of cups in Europe. The "top" teams rather compete for the the best trophy (CL). At this point in time United is not good enough, and hasnt been since SAF left, to compete in the CL. So, currently, this is the best they can get. Its a trophy, a decent cash price, and a direct qualification into the CL AND it also allows you to compete for the UEFA Super Cup.

My question is: being crowned champion of EL is equivalent to reaching which stage of CL?

I feel like being a semi finalist and being EL champ is almost the same.

@All The only important thing about Man U being in the final is for the UCL qualification. I'm sure if there was another way for them to win it they would've stopped caring for this cup.

You guys are acting like Utd has been sh!t for 25 years hahaha. My opinion still remains, if your team was in it you wouldn't care either. He only cares about qualifying. That's all.

If he wins the Europa League, then I'll take back every single word I've said against him this year. And I've said too much.
Champions League qualification means everything, exactly!
Can not say they faced some tricky opponents tho. Easy road to Finals.
They have still one game to play. Possibly the hardest opponent (left) they'll face in this competition.