Changes to the group seedings meant that finishing top still left us open to drawing a strong 2nd placed team; thankfully we were paired with a new opponent in Sevilla.
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The inaugural game of the European season, the UEFA Super Cup, saw us slope off to Skopje, Macedonia, to face Real Madrid for the chance of some early silverware.
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The 2016/17 Europa League final (our 15th game in this years tournament) left just AFC Ajax in the way of a return to the heights of European football, and that all important missing trophy.
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The last time United lost at home in Europe was under Fergie against Madrid 4 years ago, and we’ve won all 5 matches at Old Trafford this season. After a late goal away at Anderlecht there was a lot to do to make it through to the semi-finals; the return leg treated us to yet another draw before a relieving late winner in extra time from Rashford. It’s not been an entirely convincing Europa League run but we’re just two games away from the final now with our next opponents Celta Vigo.
The Europa League has provided a real mixed bag of trips for United this season, with the competition’s practice of squeezing in an extra knock-out round adding further complexities. It meant that the game in Rostov was one too many for me, coming just 13 days after the draw – which itself was 12 hours after we’d got home from Saint-Etienne! Thankfully United negotiated another tricky visit to Russia (the club even paying for fans visas) and made it through to quarter finals to face Anderlecht of Belgium, a team prominent in our history.
The knockout stages are what cup competitions are all about. The intensity of each tie really steps up as only the best teams remain, with a win taking you that bit closer to the final. After a slightly shaky start United qualified for the last 32 of the Europa League with a final group game win in Odessa. Following what was for once rightly dubbed the ‘group of death’, with some long trips and and intense situations, United were treated to a match much closer to home; Saint-Etienne, France’s most successful football team.
Across a season of European football I usually get to all but one of United’s games on the continent. Whilst I’d love to travel every time it really comes down to a cost and time-off-work decision between two of the three group games; this year I opted for the match against Zorya Luhansk ahead of a return to Istanbul for Fenerbahce.
There’s one constant in my trips abroad to see United; general aspects of travel and culture aside, it’s sampling the local beers. Whether that’s the cheap £1 pints in Ukraine, pricey fiver equivalents in Denmark or the broad range on offer from Belgium, there’s always a different appeal when drinking on the continent. With no European travel now until mid-February, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to review a Beer52.com craft beer pack.
With the 2015/16 season ending in a disappointing 5th placed finish alongside an overdue cup final win, it meant United were once again bound for the Europa League. Winning the competition would guarantee entry to next years Champions League, a feat we couldn’t manage after being knocked out last season by Liverpool, though of course we’d hope for at least a top 4 finish this year. This season has started well (defeat to City aside) with Mourinho and exciting new signings largely looking good, whilst the first taste of European football takes us to Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
With this summers European Championships in France, a trip to China and an early start to the season with the Community Shield at Wembley, it’s felt like football hasn’t really stopped this year. For some teams in Europe it basically didn’t. Whilst the draw for the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League group stage took place on Friday, the tournament actually started 2 months ago for those in the 1st qualifying round at the end of June. Should any of those teams manage to make it all the way to the final, due to be hosted at Sweden’s Friends Arena in Solna, Stockholm, they’ll have been playing in the Europa League for 11 months. It’s no wonder the competition is considered so gruelling by many.
Following 4 nights in Shanghai and a first taste of Chinese culture, the next stop in my trip was Beijing for United’s game vs City on 25th July. This was due to take place in the impressive Birds Nest stadium, China’s national stadium built for the 2008 summer Olympics. First though, I had to make the 700+ mile journey between the two cities.
After maybe 3 months of planning from first conceiving the thought of travelling to China, my trip to see United’s preseason tour in Shanghai and Beijing finally came into being. In that time I’d managed to just about sketch out my 2 weeks in the country, learn some (very) basic Mandarin and also change jobs. A whirlwind few months which worked out well, just enough time to sort all of my travel and tickets without anxiously over-planning my first trip to Asia.
2015/16 was a season of unpredictability in Europe, ultimately disappointment with an early exit from the Champions League and then from the Europa League last 16. When I summarised my season of travels in March I was optimistic about United’s chances of securing a top 4 finish and with 3 games of the season left there is still a glimmer of a chance of making it. Either way, we’ve almost certainly got a place in the Europa League with 5th/6th in the league virtually guaranteed and an FA Cup final still to compete in. It’s not the level we’d quite like to see United compete at but it still provides an opportunity to travel to some of the smaller footballing nations of Europe.