NOT SO TIN POT?
Unveiled not so much to great fanfare as widespread indifference back in 2019, Tin Pot has gone on to become that rarest of Uefa wheezes – an actual really good idea. Billed as Europe’s third-tier competition, it gives the fans of teams who wouldn’t normally get to qualify for Big Vase an opportunity to enjoy a taste of European competition, while any teams that qualify are guaranteed to earn £2.5m before they’ve even kicked a ball. While such an amount is small beer to the likes of Aston Villa, Fenerbahce or Lille, it constitutes quite the lottery win for minnows such as Iceland’s Breiðablik, crack Faroese outfit Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag and other teams Football Daily had never heard of before they qualified for this season’s group stage.
Of course, it’s not all about money, and there’s plenty of glory up for grabs. Not even one-time trophy Hoover José Mourinho could disguise his unbridled glee at adding the inaugural competition with Roma to his extensive silverware collection. If toy manufacturer Hasbro ever decides to make a David Moyes Action Man, you can bet your bottom dollar it would reference West Ham’s triumph last year when you pull the string in its neck. An ideal opportunity for Premier League sides to end long trophy droughts, Newcastle fans had their collective beady eye on on next season’s Pot until Manchester United lobbed a massive spanner in the works by winning the FA Cup, eliminating Eddie Howe’s side from the competition before they’d even had a chance to play in it.
In Athens tonight, this season’s final is being contested by Olympiakos and Fiorentina – and victory matters a great deal to both. Owned by Nottingham Forest’s mild-mannered and in-no-way-controversial leader Evangelis Marinakis, the Greek side are hoping to avoid becoming the fifth team to lose a European final in their own city. Fiorentina remain scarred by last season’s defeat at the hands of Moyes’ happy Hammers, one of two cup finals they lost last term under Vincenzo Italiano. “I hope our hard work, all the detailed attention we have given to this competition will bring us the cherry on the cake,” said the man whose name sounds like something a Fast Show writer might have dreamt up for a foreign manager.
Having masterminded victory in Big Vase with Sevilla last season, Spanish coach José Luis Mendilibar is hoping to do the same in Tin Pot with Olympiakos a year later. After his side spanked six past Aston Villa over two legs in the semi-final, they are bound to fancy their chances of heaping more final misery on Fiorentina. “They are different teams and circumstances that led us to this final,” said the 63-year-old, upon being asked to compare this final to last year’s. “This is a different ending.” Whether or not it will be a happy one remains to be seen.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Scott Murray for minute-by-minute coverage of Olympiakos 2-2 Fiorentina (aet, 5-4 on pens) in Tin Pot final, kicking off at 8pm BST.
NEW BROOMS AT BARÇA AND BAYERN
Having practically begged Xavi to stay as manager and then sacked him weeks later, Barcelona are understandably keen to move on – and have swiftly replaced him with Hansi Flick, who has been out of work since getting the heave-ho from the Germany job last September. Flick, who guided Bayern Munich to a treble in 2020, has agreed a two-year deal at everyone’s favourite crisis club.
“It’s a big honour and also a dream for me to sign my contract here in Barcelona, to work for this amazing club, and I’m happy to start,” said Flick. “The club is unbelievable. Everyone here loves this club and tries to give their best so they have success. We can achieve a lot together.” Hansi’s mood will no doubt be lifted further by news of a potential €1m bonus if he can win Big Cup again.
As for Bayern, they confirmed the appointment of Vincent Kompany at a teatimely-email-unfriendly-time of 4.01pm. “I’m looking forward to the challenge at FC Bayern. It’s a great honour to be able to work for this club,” cheered former Burnley manager Kompany, presumably having just ran the 900-odd miles from Turf Moor to secure the gig at the Allianz Arena.
WIN A DAVID SQUIRES PRINT!
Thanks to our friends at the Guardian Print Shop, we are giving away more David Squires cartoons. To enter, just write us a letter for publication below. We will choose the best of our letter o’ the day winners at the end of each week and that worthy winner will then be given a voucher for one of our top, top cartoonist’s prints. And if you’re not successful, you can scan the full archive of David’s cartoons here and buy your own. Terms and conditions for the competition can be viewed here.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We should be really happy that we have these owners and not guys who bought London clubs and other stuff. I wouldn’t have survived a year at Liverpool [with them in charge]. ‘Great development but not good enough, sack him!’ Then finally, they play football where people think they might be back and they sack the manager anyway” – Jürgen Klopp signs off from English football with digs at Chelsea and several others in his farewell appearance at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena.
“Rod de Lisle’s musings [Tuesday’s letters] about an easy job for the FA Cup engraver made me think about the football team with the world’s longest name: Clwb Pêl Droed Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, who play in the North Wales Coast West Football League. They must surely have trophy engravers regularly waking up in a cold sweat. The club are celebrating their 125th anniversary this year; I’d like to suggest all the players and staff receive an engraved tankard to mark the occasion” – Steve Malone.
“Mention of Hans-Jörg Butt’s 50th birthday brought this sublime-to-ridiculous passage against Schalke to mind. A reminder that neglecting the day job never ends well” – Mike Slattery.
“Re: Bochum’s Sheffield Wednesday-esque playoff comeback [Tuesday’s Football Daily]: did you know that Bochum has a road called Sheffield-Ring? The cities are twinned, and the Steel City reciprocates with the Bochum Parkway” – Alun Williams.
“When José Mourinho had all his players behind the ball it was derided as parking the bus. However, when Manchester United employed the same tactics in the FA Cup final it was acclaimed as a stroke of genius. Football is indeed a funny old game” – José Mou Bob Steel.
“For Paul McSheaffrey [Tuesday’s letters], my issues with Camra’s leadership are not that serious really, we’re still all on the same side. It’s more a series of disagreements with individuals that a lot of people would boil down to ‘he’s quite annoying’. That said, annoying the people in charge and being wrong are not always the same thing, just ask Neil Warnock” – Ed Taylor.
“Great to see Sir Jim Ratcliffe getting to grips with Manchester United’s injury woes. I feel confident that with Sir Dave Brailsford’s help, it will all be sorted in a jiffy” – Graeme Whillis.
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Alun Williams, who now has the chance to win a David Squires cartoon from our print shop at the end of the week. Terms and conditions for all this can be viewed here.