Finals of 3 European Cups: Who will make history?

A host of historical details have come together, even before kick-off, in all three European Cup finals this season. The only question remaining is: which team will history ultimately remember?

Is Palace following the example of Forest of old?

The six teams competing in the finals of three European cups this season have only won a combined total of four continental trophies (excluding the Super Cup). These are Aston Villa's 1982 European Cup Winners' Cup, Arsenal's 1994 Cup Winners' Cup, PSG's 1996 Cup Winners' Cup, and PSG's 2025 Champions League title. For Rayo Vallecano, Crystal Palace, and Freiburg, this is their first appearance in a final.

Never before has the tradition of teams reaching the finals of three European cups been so "thin." Of course, the smaller the collection of titles, the more precious the glory ahead becomes for all six teams about to take to the field.

The first final will take place mid-week (2 AM on May 21st): Aston Villa will compete against Freiburg for the Europa League title. Following that, at 2 AM on May 28th, the UEFA Conference League final will be held between Rayo Vallecano and Crystal Palace, followed by the Champions League final between PSG and Arsenal (11 PM on May 30th).

Arsenal (left) are full of hope to win the Champions League for the first time.

PHOTO: REUTERS

This season's UEFA Conference League will undoubtedly produce a new champion. It will also be the first continental trophy for the winner of the final. Vallecano is just a "village-level" team in Madrid, a city already boasting two giants, Atletico and Real Madrid. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, is embarking on its first European adventure.

In the past, English football had a legend in Nottingham Forest. Immediately after being promoted (1976-1977 season), they won the league title (1977-1978), thus qualifying for the European Cup for the first time. Forest then won the European Cup again in their first appearance (1978-1979). Thanks to their status as defending champions, they qualified again and won the European Cup once more the following season (1979-1980). Now, can Crystal Palace do the same? They won the FA Cup for the first time last season, thus making their first appearance in European competition this season (originally the Europa League, but Palace had to switch to the Conference League because they share the same owner as Lyon in the Europa League). If they win the Conference League, Palace will qualify for the Europa League next season, also a first in the club's history.

English football on the verge of glory.

The Europa League winner will qualify for the Champions League next season, an unimaginable reward for Freiburg fans. If Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth in the Premier League, then the sixth-placed team will also qualify for the Champions League next season. The Europa League final is therefore extremely important for English football, although, overall, all three European finals this season are highly watchable for English fans.

This is the first time in English football history that a team has reached all three European finals in a single season. The UEFA Conference League is a relatively new competition. Previously, even before the Conference League existed, but the European Cup Winners' Cup did, English football had never reached all three finals simultaneously. According to Opta, the probability of England winning all three European cups this season is 21.6%. The only other time a country has won all three European cups simultaneously was in the 1989-1990 season (Italy).

For some inexplicable reason, Opta's supercomputer calculated a 55.8% chance for Arsenal to win the Champions League. Everyone knows their opponent in the final, defending champions PSG, is the superior team. Nevertheless, Arsenal still has a chance to win the Champions League, for the first time in the club's history. If PSG wins, they will join the giant Real Madrid in the feat of successfully defending their title in this prestigious tournament (apart from Real, no team has ever successfully defended the Champions League title). Furthermore, PSG is already the first French club to reach the Champions League final for two consecutive seasons.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chung-ket-3-cup-chau-au-lich-su-se-goi-ten-ai-185260517204455667.htm