How Long It's Been: Tottenham Hotspur Won a Trophy

Of course, they released a DVD.

Note: This was first written on February 24, 2018, the 10th Anniversary of the previous occurrence, and has been updated.

Yesterday, May 21, 2025, a date which will live in infamy, Tottenham Hotspur won a trophy.

They won the Final of the UEFA Europa League -- a tournament known from 1958 to 1971 as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and 1971 to 2010 as the UEFA Cup -- at Estadio San Mamés, in Bilbao, in the Basque region of northern Spain, beating fellow English team Manchester United, 1-0. Brennan Johnson scored the only goal, in the 42nd minute.

These teams somehow got to the Final of this tournament, even though, out of 20 teams in the Premier League, Man United are 16th, and Tottenham, or "Spurs," are 17.

This season, the top 5 teams in the Premier League, and the winners of the Europa League if they are not among the preceding, qualify for the UEFA Champions League, the top European tournament. In this case, those 5 teams will be League Champions Liverpool FC, Spurs' North London arch-rivals Arsenal FC, United's intra-city arch-rivals Manchester City (winners of this season's FA Cup), and, with 1 game left to decide it, 2 of these 4 teams: Newcastle United (winner of this season's League Cup), West London team Chelsea, Birmingham team Aston Villa, and East Midlands team Nottingham Forest.

The bottom 3 teams get relegated to the 2nd division of English soccer, "The Championship," and replaced by the top 2 teams and the winner of a playoff of teams 3 through 6. So, the teams finishing 18th, 19th and 20th.

In the PL, a win is 3 points, and a draw is 1 point. Newcastle, Chelsea and Villa have 66 points. Spurs have 38 points. Leicester City, in 18th place, have 25. This means Spurs are twice as close to being relegated as they are to qualifying for the Champions League the usual way.

The English media have loved Tottenham for a long time, with their 1961 team becoming the 1st in the 20th Century to win both the English top flight, then called the Football League Division One, and the Football Association Cup in the same season. This is called "doing The Double," and the Baby Boomers in England loved them for it.

When Arsenal did the same in 1971, it was a different time. The Boomers had grown up, and this Arsenal side was a side for their kids, or maybe their younger brothers.

Unless you were raised in a family that loved Arsenal, you were raised to hate Arsenal - as if the two were the only teams in London. There are 12 League clubs within the M25, London's version of a road "beltway," and usually half of those are in the top flight, now called the Premier League.

When Arsenal had a run of success, 1987-94 (2 League titles, an FA Cup, 2 League Cups and the now-defunct European Cup Winners' Cup), they were not loved by the public outside North London as the 1981-84 "Spurs" side were (winning 2 FA Cups and a UEFA Cup).

When Arsenal became perhaps the greatest team in English history between 1998 and 2006 (3 League titles, 1 unbeaten, 4 Cups, 2 of them as part of Doubles), they gained admirers all over the world, thanks to the growth of satellite TV coverage. But, despite winning next to nothing, Spurs always got the more flattering coverage in the media.

As a result, when Arsenal lost the 2011 League Cup Final, that made it 6 years since they'd won a trophy. They won the 2005 FA Cup, but haven't won the League since, lost the UEFA Champions League in the 2006 Final and the 2009 Semifinal; lost the FA Cup in the 2009 Semifinal; and lost the League Cup in the Final in 2007 and 2011, and in the Semifinal in 2008 - which brings me to today's focus.

The League Cup is kind of a weird competition. All 92 clubs in the Football League, in all 4 divisions, are eligible for it. This makes it different from the FA Cup, where every Club in England, and, through an arrangement, a few teams in Wales, are eligible for it. That's over 700 teams.

Each round is a single match, with home field advantage chosen by a lottery, until the Semifinal. Then, it's 2 legs, home-and-home. The Final, as is that of the FA Cup, is held at Wembley Stadium in West London, England's national stadium.

The FA Cup was founded in 1871. The League Cup was not founded until 1960, and thus has considerably less prestige. For a club with the kind of support that Tottenham have, winning it would be huge. For a club with the kind of support that Arsenal have, winning it would be nice, but there are more important things, and they are - at least, theoretically - within reach.

This is not the case with Tottenham. They have not won the league, under any name, since that 1961 Double. They have had close calls the last 2 seasons, but blew it - or, as they say in England, "bottled it" - both times.

Indeed, late-season collapses have happened to Spurs several times in recent years. The template was 1987. When they took the field (or "the pitch") at their former home of White Hart Lane at a Semifinal replay of the League Cup on March 4, they had a chance at a unique domestic "Treble": Winning the League, the FA Cup, and the League Cup in the same season.

But Arsenal won that game, and the Final against Liverpool. Spurs fell apart in the League, and choked in the FA Cup Final. In a span of 73 days, they went from a good chance at a unique feat to having won nothing.

(Manchester United won a "European Treble" in 1999: The League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League. Others teams have done this in other countries, but not in England. Manchester City won a domestic Treble in 2021, and a European Treble in 2023.)

In 2006, 2012 and 2013, Spurs had a great chance to finish ahead of Arsenal. Each time, they were ahead going into the last game of the season. And, each time, the results didn't go their way. They did not finish ahead of Arsenal between 1995 and 2017. (The 2006 occurrence is the most notable. One does not simply discuss "The North London Derby" without mentioning that occurrence. It is folly.)

In 2007, the North London rivals met in the League Cup Semifinal. In the 1st leg, at The Lane, Spurs blew a 2-0 lead, and it ended 2-2. In the 2nd leg, at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium, it was 1-1 after regulation. Away goals didn't matter, so extra time (we would say "overtime") was played, and Arsenal quickly scored twice to win 5-3 on aggregate.

In 2008, the situation was reversed. Until this season, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has played mainly reserves in the League Cup, trying to get them experience for more prestigious games. The 1st leg was at the Emirates, and it was a 1-1 draw. The 2nd leg, at The Lane, was no contest, as Tottenham, mainly starting their starters against "Arsène Wenger High School," won 5-1.

Spurs soon released a DVD of this game, titled The Perfect Game. A, It was starters against reserves. Big deal. B, How can it be "perfect" if you let in a goal? Morons.

February 24, 2008: Tottenham beat West London club Chelsea 2-1 to win the League Cup at Wembley Stadium. Although Didier Drogba, a.k.a. "Dogbreath," another of the most hated opponents Arsenal have ever had, due to his goals against them and his obvious and unrepentant diving, opened the scoring, Tottenham got a penalty that was buried by Dimitar Berbatov, the Vulgarian Bulgarian, and the game went to extra time. Jonathan Woodgate, a defender, scored the winner in the 94th minute.

Spurs fans acted like they'd won the League and the Cup - instead of just the League Cup. It was their 1st trophy of any kind since the 1999 League Cup. Those are the only 2 trophies they've won since their last FA Cup win in 1991, and they haven't even been to a Final in that tournament since, going 0-4 in Semis, including 0-2 against Arsenal. And that 1961 League title remains their last.

As Arsenal's trophy drought grew, to 7 years, 8 years, 9 years, before it finally ended at 9 with the 2014 FA Cup, the English media harped on it more and more. "Arsenal's trophy drought" became a catchphrase, a cliche, a meme.

Spurs have now surpassed that. But did anybody talk about "Spurs' trophy drought?"

No, because that only happens to big clubs. When Manchester United went 26 years without winning the League, from 1967 to 1993, it was talked about constantly. Liverpool went 30 years without winning the League, from 1990 to 2020, and it was talked about constantly.

And now that Arsenal have gone 21 years without winning the League, since 2004, it is talked about constantly. Just as it was from 1971 to 1989, when, to borrow the phrase of author and Arsenal fan Nick Hornby, it was "Eighteen fucking years!" And when Arsenal reached the climax of the 1971 season, before winning both the League and the FA Cup that year for "The Double," their last trophy was the 1953 League title, right before Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, and they said, "Arsenal haven't won a trophy since the Coronation."

So, big clubs get this treatment. Tottenham don't. That's because Tottenham are not a big club.

Oddly, it was their recent "world-class" striker, Harry Kane, who was mocked for not winning a trophy, for club or country. Even after he left for Bayern Munich, the biggest sports team in Germany, in his 1st season with Bayern, they didn't win a trophy. Finally, they won the Bundesliga this season, and so, like his former team, Kane finally won a trophy.

But Spurs are a club that didn't win a trophy for 18 years, 2 months and 25 days -- 6,296 days. How long has that been?

*

At the time, Molson Coors, which owns the London-based Carling brand of beer, held the naming rights to the tournament. From 2003 to 2012, it was known as the Carling Cup. Previously, another brewery had it 2004-12: The Worthington Cup. This was a far cry from 1982-86, when Britain's national Milk Marketing Board had it and it was the Milk Cup; or 1993-98, when it was the Coca-Cola Cup.

Betting company Littlewoods held it 1986-90, the now-defunct electronics company Rumbelows 1990-92, Capital One 2012-16, no sponsor last year (it was just "The EFL Cup," for "English Football League"), and now, Thai-based (but Brazilian-sounding) energy drink Carabao: The Carabao Cup.

Of the 16 players Tottenham named as possibilities for use in that game, only one ever won another trophy with an English team, Dimitar Berbatov with Man United. Most of the others, including "Spurs legends" Ledley King (nicknamed "Leadfoot Queen" by Arsenal fans), Tom Huddlestone (known as "Hundredstone" for his hefty weight), Robbie Keane, Jermaine Jenas and Aaron Lennon had long and frustrating careers. And manager Juande Ramos was fired early in the 2008-09 season.

Tottenham have since torn down White Hart Lane, and moved into a new stadium, still named Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The joke is that, after years of playing in a stadium that Arsenal fans called "The Shithole," they built a stadium that actually looks like a toilet bowl.

On February 24, 2008, Manchester United were then the holders of the Premier League title, and were about to win it again. Chelsea were the holders of the FA Cup, and were about to be succeeded as such by Hampshire club Portsmouth. Man United would beat Chelsea in the Final of the UEFA Champions League -- which, like the Super Bowl, is selected in advance, in the hope of getting a neutral site. So these 2 big English clubs faced each other for the championship of Europe in... Moscow. Man U succeeded AC Milan.

Neymar and Kevin De Bruyne were 16 years old, Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah were 15, Harry Kane and Paul Pogba were 14, Christian Pulisic and Declan Rice were 9, Gianluigi Donnarumma was about to turn 9, Ebereche Eze was 8, Erling Haaland was 7, Bukayo Saka was 6, and Myles Lewis-Skelly was a year and a half.

Current Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglu was managing Panachiki FC in Greece. Current New York Red Bulls manager Sandro Schwarz was playing for Wehen Wiesbaden in Germany. Current New York City FC manager Pascal Jensen was coaching with Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Tom Tibodeau of the Knicks was an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics. Brian Daboll of the Giants was the quarterbacks coach for the Jets. Alain Vigneault of the Rangers was an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Patrick Roy, the legendary goaltender now the head coach of the Islanders, was head coach of the minor-league Quebec Ramparts. Sheldon Keefe of the Devils was head coach of the minor-league Pembroke Lumber Kings. Jordi Fernández of the Nets was working at a basketball academy in his native Spain. Aaron Glenn of the Jets was in his final season as a player, with the New Orleans Saints. Aaron Boone of the Yankees was playing for the Washington Nationals. And Carlos Mendoza of the Mets was playing for the Trenton Thunder, then the Class AA farm team of the Yankees.

In North American sports, the defending World Champions were the Spurs -- San Antonio, not Tottenham -- the New York Giants, the Boston Red Sox *, the Anaheim Ducks, and the Houston Dynamo were the holders of the MLS Cup. The Heavyweight Champion of the World, depending on who you believe, was either Ruslan Chagaev (recognized by the WBA), Oleg Maskaev (WBC), or Wladimir Klitschko (IBF).

The Olympic Games have since been held in Britain, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Korea, Japan, France, and China twice. The World Cup has since been held in South Africa, Brazil, Russia and Qatar.

The Mayor of London was Ken Livingstone. The Prime Minister was Gordon Brown. The current holders of those offices, Sadiq Khan and Theresa May, respectively, were both then serving in the House of Commons. Queen Elizabeth II was the monarch -- that hasn't changed.

The President of the United States was George W. Bush. Barack Obama was running to replace him. So was Joe Biden. The idea that Donald Trump could become President, or that any President would do the things he's done, and say the things he's said, was ridiculous -- and should have stayed that way.

The Governor of New York was Eliot Spitzer -- for another 22 days. Kathy Hochul was the Clerk of Erie County (which includes Buffalo). The Mayor of New York was Michael Bloomberg. Eric Adams was in the New York State Senate. The Governor of New Jersey was Jon Corzine. Phil Murphy was National Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

The Pope was Benedict XVI. The current Pope, Leo XIV, was then Robert Francis Prevost, Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine. The Prime Minister of Canada was Stephen Harper. The holder of the Nobel Peace Prize was former Vice President Al Gore, for his work to stop the ill effects of climate change -- which is one of several examples of the Nobel Committee showing the need for separate awards for Peace and Humanitarianism. While Gore certainly deserved an award, what he got this one for had nothing to do with either preventing or stopping a war. There have since been 4 Presidents of the United States, 7 Prime Ministers of Britain, and 3 Popes.

There were still living veterans of World War I; the subsequent civil wars in Germany, Poland, Russia and Finland; the Mexican Revolution, the Turkish War of Independence, Mussolini's March On Rome, and the Brazilian Revolution. There were still living people who had survived the sinkings of the RMS Titanic, the RMS Lusitania, the SS Morro Castle, the SS Eastland, the USS Panay, the HMS Hood and the USS Juneau.

All 7 of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books had been published, but only the 1st 5 films had been made. Later in the year, Suzanne Collins would publish The Hunger Games. George R.R. Martin had published the 1st 4 A Song of Ice and Fire books, but Game of Thrones had yet to debut on television. Same with The Walking Dead, which had, at that point, only existed in comic book form.

Films premiering in the late Winter of 2008 included Cloverfield, Mad Money, The Other Boleyn Girl, Will Ferrell's 1970s basketball film Semi-Pro, and the 4th (but not the last) Rambo film. Daniel Craig was James Bond, Brandon Routh was Superman, Christian Bale was Batman, and David Tennant was The Doctor.

Girlfriends aired its last first-run episode. Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Breaking Bad and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles had recently debuted. No one had yet heard of Richard Castle. The Number 1 song in America was "Low" by Flo Rida (Tramar Lacel Dillard) and T-Pain (Faheem Rashad Najm). Michael Jackson was still alive.

Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.52 would buy now -- or, more to the point of the country in question, £1.00 then is about £1.71 now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 41 cents, and a New York Subway ride $2.00. The average price of a gallon of gas was $3.32, a cup of coffee $2.45, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $6.39, a movie ticket $7.20, a new car $23,429, and a new house $290,400. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the preceding Friday at 12,381.02.

The tallest building in the world was Taipei 101 in Taiwan. The age of social media was well underway, but, as yet, there was no Pinterest, no Instagram, and no iPad. Sony PS3 and Wii were battling it out to be the leading home video game system.

In the Winter of 2008, Cyprus and Malta adopted the euro as their currency. The Kivu conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was ended by a peace deal. Iran launched its 1st rocket into space; 18 years later, they have not yet had any manned missions. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia issued a formal apology to the Stolen Generations, Aboriginal children taken from their families to be raised "white" for much of the 20th Century.

And the subprime mortgage crisis resulted in stock markets around the world crashing on January 21, and again on February 5. The Great Recession was underway, but few people suspected that it would get as bad as it did later in the year. Indeed, at this point in the 2008 Presidential election, both the Republican candidates, led by Senator John McCain of Arizona, and the Democratic candidates, led by Senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, had foreign policy matters, especially the ridiculous Iraq War, as their main focus.

Mount Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary, and chess legend turned conspiracy theorist Bobby Fischer, and 1950s FA Cup hero Jimmy Dugdale died.

Most of the famous people born in 2008, who turn 17 in 2025, are "stars" on YouTube and TikTok. Cameron Crovetti, who plays Ryan, Homelander's son on The Boys, was born on March 12. Iain Armitage (who played the title role in Young Sheldon) was born on July 15. Sunny Sandler, who has followed her father Adam into acting, was born on November 2.

February 24, 2008. Tottenham Hotspur won a trophy, the Football League Cup, then known as the Carling Cup, defeating Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.

It took them 18 years and nearly 3 months to win another trophy. In the interim, arch-rivals Arsenal have won 4 FA Cups.

Tottenham are the biggest joke franchise in sports -- any sport, any country. Here's a joke:

A mistake was made, and a game against Tottenham was scheduled for the same day that Arsenal were away in the Champions League. Arsène Wenger tells his players, "Boys, go, and leave Tottenham to me. I will play them all by myself."

So the team goes to the Continent, and, at halftime, they check their phones, and see: "HT: Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal, Arsène Wenger 10'." That gives them the boost they need, and they win their game. But when they're done, they see "FT: Tottenham 1-1 Arsenal, Arsène Wenger 10', Aaron Lennon 90'+4."

The Gunners get back home, and they see Wenger, still in his kit, sitting on a bench, head in his hands. He looks up, and says, "Boys, I let you down." They say, "What are you talking about? You held them off for 93 minutes, all by yourself. Even at the end, they only managed a draw. You even scored in the 10th minute."

"Yes," Wenger says, "but I got sent off in the 12th."

Tottenham: A joke forever. 

List of Arsenal Cup Finals, 1927-2019

Today, Arsenal lost the UEFA Europa League Final, in truly pathetic fashion. For importance of game, divided by performance, it may have been the worst game in the 123-year history of the team.

The team could have added to its long list of glories. They did not.

Arsenal Cup Finals

April 23, 1927, FA Cup Final, at the original Wembley Stadium, West London: Arsenal lose to Cardiff City of Wales, 1-0. In their 1st Cup Final, Arsenal are victimized by a freak play. Hughie Ferguson of Cardiff is stopped by Arsenal goalkeeper Dan Lewis, but the ball squeezes through his elbow and back into the net. This is the only time a team from outside England has won the FA Cup.

April 26, 1930, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal defeat Huddersfield Town of Yorkshire, 2-0. The goals are scored by Alex James and Jack Lambert -- no relation to the later legendary Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker. It is The Arsenal's 1st major trophy. They win their 1st Football League title the next season.

April 23, 1932, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal lose to Newcastle United of the North-East, 2-1. Bob John of Arsenal opens the scoring. Newcastle's 1st goal comes when Jimmy Richardson stopped an errant pass at the end line, or over it (thus it was out of bounds, and should have been a goal kick to Arsenal) as many people thought, and crosses it back to Jack Allen, who scores it, and later adds the winner.

This may have been the 1st time in a big game that Arsenal had been robbed by the officials. It would not be the last.

April 25, 1936, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal defeat Sheffield United of Yorkshire, 1-0. Ted Drake is the scorer.

May 4, 1941, Football League War Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal and Preston North End of Lancashire play to a 1-1 draw. A replay is necessary.

May 31, 1941, Football League War Cup Final Replay, Ewood Park, Blackburn, Lancashire: Arsenal lose 2-1 to Preston.

May 15, 1943, Football League War Cup Final, Stamford Bridge, West London: Arsenal lose 4-2 to Blackpool of Lancashire.

April 29, 1950, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal defeat Merseyside club Liverpool, 2-0. Reg Lewis scores both goals.

May 3, 1952, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal lose 1-0 to Newcastle. Right back Walley Barnes twists his knee in the 35th minute, with the score still 0-0. No substitutes were allowed in English soccer until 1968, so The Arsenal were down to 10 men for the last 55 minutes of the game.

George Robledo, a Chilean playing in England, scores the goal. Arsenal would win the League the next season, but didn't play for a major trophy again for 15 years.

March 2, 1968, Football League Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal lose 1-0 to Leeds United of Yorkshire. The League Cup began in 1960.

March 15, 1969 League Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal lose 3-1 to Swindon Town of Wiltshire in extra time. The pitch (field) was a mess because of a previous event. Then, half the Arsenal team was stricken by the flu -- similar to the lasagne story at Tottenham in 2006, although not with sinister implications.

Then it rained. On the day before the game, the Arsenal players who felt well enough to get out of bed went to look at the pitch, and told the officials it was unplayable, and the game should be postponed. It wasn't. The officials screwing Arsenal over did not begin with Arsène Wenger becoming their manager, or even with the start of the Premier League in 1992.

Despite Swindon being a 3rd division team, they led Arsenal from the 35th minute until the 86th, when Bobby Gould scored. But the weakened players couldn't handle extra time on a bad pitch, and allowed 2 goals by Don Rogers, the 1st one on a defensive error by centreback Ian Ure, who would be abused by Arsenal fans for this mistake for the rest of his career.

This may still be the most disastrous loss in Arsenal history, ahead of the famous losses to Walsall in the 1933 FA Cup and the 1983 League Cup, and "The Wrexham Disaster" in the 1992 FA Cup.

April 22, 1970, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final, 1st Leg, Stade Constant Vanden Stock, Anderlecht, Belgium: Arsenal lose 3-1 to Anderlecht. Trailing 3-0 in the 82nd minute, Ray Kennedy scoring a goal giving them a lifeline -- or a "Ray of hope," as the newspapers called it. But Arsenal would have to win by at least 2 goals in the home leg to take this trophy -- 3 if Anderlecht got an away goal.

April 28, 1970, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final, 2nd Leg, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, North London: Arsenal beat Anderlecht, 3-0. Eddie Kelly scored in the 25th minute, and then came John Radford in the 75th and Jon Sammels just 1 minute later. Thus, Arsenal won 4-3 on aggregate. Given the away goals rule, Sammels' goal was not necessary, but it was welcomed.

The Fairs Cup began in 1958. It was renamed the UEFA Cup for the 1971-72 season, and the UEFA Europa League for the 2010-11 season.

May 8, 1971, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1. Regulation ended scoreless, and Steve Heighway gave Liverpool the lead in extra time. But Arsenal followed with goals by Eddie Kelly and the iconic blast and lie-on-the-ground celebration by Charlie George. Having already won the League, by beating Tottenham away 5 days earlier, Arsenal thus clinch "The Double."

May 6, 1972, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal lose to Leeds 1-0. The Centenary Cup Final had a pregame ceremony where many previous Cup Final heroes were introduced. But, having just missed another League title, Arsenal fall short of successfully defending the Cup, losing on a diving header by Allan Clarke.

Starting goalkeeper Bob Wilson was injured, and his replacement, Geoff Barnett, has been blamed for allowing the goal. This is unfair: I've seen the video many times, and it was a great shot. Wilson wouldn't have stopped it, either.

May 6, 1978, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal lose to Suffolk team Ipswich Town 1-0. Liam Brady is played even though injured, and Roger Osborne scores the only goal, in the 77th minute.

May 12, 1979, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal beat Manchester United 3-2. Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton score in the 1st half, and Arsenal lead 2-0 late. But United score in the 86th and the 88th to tie it. Then Alan Sunderland scores in the 89th to win it. Brady assisted on all 3 Arsenal goals. It becomes known as "The Five-Minute Final."

May 10, 1980, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal lose to East London team West Ham United 1-0. Trevor Brooking scores early, and the Gunners can't equalize. The Hammers remain the last team from outside the top division to win the Cup -- and this remains their last major tropy.

May 14, 1980, European Cup Winners' Cup Final, Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium: Arsenal play Spanish team Valencia to a 0-0 draw, then lose 5-4 on penalties. Brady is soon lured away by the money of Juventus. A year later, Stapleton is lured away by Manchester United.

In 1985, Heysel would host the European Cup Final, at which 39 fans were killed due to a wall collapse inside. The game was played anyway, and Juventus (with Brady already having been sold) beat Liverpool. I've talked to some Arsenal fans who were at the 1980 Final, and they said the stadium was already unsuitable for a major event then.

April 5, 1987, League Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1. There was a daunting statistic: Liverpool had never lost when Ian Rush scored, and, sure enough, he opened the scoring for the Scousers. It looked like Arsenal's bid for a 1st trophy in 8 years would end with a bit of a hangover from their dramatic Semifinal win over arch-rival Tottenham.

But Charlie Nicholas, one of the highest-profile, and thus most disappointing, acquisitions in Arsenal history, justified the team's 1983 faith in him by scoring twice, netting the winner in the 83rd minute.

April 24, 1988, League Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal lost 3-2 to Luton Town of Bedfordshire. In one of their few seasons in the top division, Luton won their only major trophy, as a ghastly mistake by backup Arsenal centreback Gus Caesar gifted Danny Wilson an equalizer in the 82nd minute, and Mark Stein got the winner at the death.

As with Ian Ure in the League Cup Final 19 years earlier, Caesar was never forgiven by Arsenal fans. As with Ure, Arsenal would find some glory in the next few years -- in this case, the League title in 1989 and 1991 -- but he wouldn't be a part of it.

April 18, 1993, League Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal beat Sheffield Wednesday of Yorkshire, 2-1. This was the 1st match in the history of European soccer in which players wore uniform numbers of their own choosing and their names on the back. Previously, numbers were assigned to positions, not players, and thus putting names on the back would have been cost-prohibitive.

John Harkes of Wednesday, a native of Kearny, Hudson County, New Jersey, becomes the 1st American to score a goal at Wembley, and gives the Owls the lead in the 8th minute. But Paul Merson equalizes in the 20th, and Steve Morrow wins it in the 68th.

Ironically, Morrow did not receive his winner's medal at the postgame ceremony. Arsenal Captain Tony Adams tried to pick him up and carry him off the pitch on his shoulders, but slipped, and Morrow landed on his arm and broke it. He was given his medal at the FA Cup Final the next month.

May 15, 1993, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal and Wednesday play to a 1-1 draw. By a weird turn of events, the only time this has ever happened, the opponents for the FA Cup Final are the same opponents as were in the League Cup Final. Arsenal take a 1-0 lead on an Iran Wright goal, but Wednesday find an equalizer. The game goes to a replay. It will be the last time: From the 1993-94 season onward, if the Final is still tied at the end of extra time, it will go to a penalty shootout.

May 20, 1993, FA Cup Final Replay, Wembley: Arsenal beat Wednesday 2-1. As he had in the 1st game, Ian Wright opens the scoring. Former Tottenham star Chris Waddle equalizes for Wednesday. Extra time is played, and just when it looks like there will be penalties, in the 119th minute, Arsenal take a corner, and rarely-used centreback Andy Linighan heads the ball into the net.

His partner in central defense was David O'Leary, making his 722nd and last appearance for The Arsenal, still a team record.

May 4, 1994, European Cup Winners' Cup Final, Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark: Arsenal beat Parma of Italy, 1-0. Given the presence in the Parma lineup of Gianfranco Zola, Faustino Aspirlla and Thomas Brolin, and the absence from the Arsenal lineup of Wright, suspended due to yellow card accumulation, Parma were solidly favored.

But a mistake in the 20th minute led to an Alan Smith goal, and "the famous back four" of right back Lee Dixon, centrebacks Tony Adams and Steve Bould, and left back Nigel Winterburn held on for the quintessential "One-nil to The Arsenal" victory. Along with the League title win over Liverpool in 1989, this is considered manager George Graham's masterstroke.

May 10, 1995, European Cup Winners' Cup Final, Parc des Princes, Paris: Arsenal lose 2-1 to Real Zaragoza of Spain. The worst Arsenal season in 19 years included a 12th-place finish, and Graham being fired, not for poor performance but for managerial improprieties. Arsenal were still in the CWC, due to being defending Champions. The game went to extra time, but Zaragoza's Turkish midfielder Mohamed Ali Amar, who went by the nom de soccer Nayim, lobbed the ball over Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman in the last minute.

Nayim played 5 seasons for Tottenham. To this day, Tottenham fans sing Nayim's name, because his goal defeated and embarrassed Arsenal, even though the game in question had nothing to do with Tottenham.

May 16, 1998, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-0. Having already won the League, this clinches The Double. There would be no repeat of the upset wins of 1932 and 1952 for "The Toon," as Paul Merson in the 1st half and Nicolas Anelka in the 2nd dusted them.

This was Arsenal's 1st cup final under manager Arsène Wenger. Under him, Arsenal would play in 13 cup finals. Under all other managers combined: 24, not counting replays and 2-legged finals.

It would also be their last game at the old Wembley. The old stadium, which opened in April 1923, the same month as the original Yankee Stadium, was closed in 2000, demolished, replaced with a new one, and opened in time for the 2007 FA Cup Final.

May 17, 2000, UEFA Cup Final, Parken Stadium: Arsenal lose to Galatasaray of Istanbul, Turkey, 4-1 on penalties following a scoreless game. The Copenhagen stadium, site of the 1994 Cup Winners' Cup Final, would not be the site of a 2nd great Arsenal win on this occasion.

May 12, 2001, FA Cup Final, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales (then named the Millennium Stadium): Arsenal lose to Liverpool, 2-1. With Wembley having been closed, this was now the biggest stadium in the United Kingdom, and thus, for the 1st time, the Final was held outside England, and wouldn't return until the new Wembley opened in 2007.

As with Arsenal against Newcastle, Liverpool found the 3rd time against Arsenal to be the charm. Liverpool committed some blatant handballs, but they weren't called. Still Freddie Ljungberg gave Arsenal the lead in the 72nd minute. But Michael Owen scored in the 83rd and the 88th, giving Liverpool the win.

May 4, 2002, FA Cup Final, Principality Stadium: Arsenal beat Chelsea of West London, 2-0. As with the year before, the game was scoreless well into the 2nd half. As with the year before, Arsenal broke the deadlock, this time with a screamer by Ray Parlour in the 70th minute. But unlike the year before, Arsenal managed to get a 2nd, by Ljungberg in the 80th, and that that iced it. Four days later, Arsenal beat Manchester United at Old Trafford, and won their 3rd Double.

May 17, 2003, FA Cup Final, Principality Stadium: Arsenal beat Southampton of Hampshire, 1-0. Robert Pires, who seemed to specialize in scoring against Southampton, did so again, in the 38th minute, and Arsenal held on.

May 21, 2005, FA Cup Final, Principality Stadium: Arsenal beat Manchester United, 5-4 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw. The season before, Man U had beaten Arsenal in the Semifinal before winning the Final and taking the Cup away. Earlier this season, they had cheated their way to ending Arsenal's 49-game League unbeaten streak.

This was a very rough game, as were most AFC-MUFC games, but Arsenal held on, and extended the game to penalties. Ruud van Nistelrooy and Lauren traded successful conversions, but Jens Lehmann stopped Paul Scholes, and that made the difference. Ljungberg scored for Arsenal. Both 3rd round shooters made theirs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie. So did both 4th round shooters, Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole. Roy Keane made his in the 5th round, but Patrick Vieira, in his last act as an Arsenal player, made his, and Arsenal got the Cup back.

May 17, 2006, UEFA Champions League Final, Stade de France, Saint-Denis, outside Paris: Arsenal lose 2-1 to FC Barcelona. Arsenal's 1st game for the European Cup was ruined in the 18th minute, when goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was wrongly sent off for how he stopped Samuel Eto'o, making him the 1st player ever sent off in a European Cup/Champions League Final.

Then Wenger made a key mistake: He had to take an attacking player off, so that he could sent in backup keeper Manuel Almunia, but he chose Pires, instead of a younger, less-proven player like Cesc Fàbregas or Aleksandr Hleb.

Incredibly, Arsenal took the lead in the 37th minute, on a goal by a defender, no less, Sol Campbell. The 10 Gunners held the lead against the 12 Blaugrana until the 76th minute, when Eto'o scored a goal that was clearly offside. In the 80th, Juliano Belletti scored the winner.

This was probably the most crushing defeat in Arsenal's history, and it was the end of the era: Not only was it the final season for Highbury, but it was the final game in Arsenal's colors for Campbell (though he would briefly return in 2010), Pires, Cole and Dennis Bergkamp. Henry remained for 1 more year.

February 25, 2007, League Cup Final, Principality Stadium: Arsenal lose 2-1 to Chelsea. As was his habit, Wenger started mostly kids in a League Cup match: The only players in his starting XI who were in his usual XI were Fàbregas and Kolo Touré. In contrast, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho had all of his usual starters at the start.

It almost worked: Theo Walcott scored in the 12th minute. But Didier Drogba, the diving master from the Ivory Coast, equalized in the 20th. In the 63rd, Abou Diaby went for the ball, and accidentally kicked Chelsea captain John Terry in the jaw. As Terry is one of the most execrable people in the sport in the last 20 years, this earned Diaby goodwill that his performance never did. Drogba scored the winner in the 84th.

February 27, 2011, League Cup Final, new Wembley Stadium, London: Arsenal lose 2-1 to Birmingham City. It wasn't Arsenal's 1st visit to the new Wembley: That was the 2009 FA Cup Semifinal, a 2-1 loss to Chelsea.

For once, Wenger went against his kids-in-the-League-Cup policy, and went for it. Like everyone else, he had heard the whine of "Arsenal haven't won a trophy in X years" reach 6, and he wanted it.

But Fàbregas was unavailable due to injury, and Arsenal really could have used him. Birmingham City, known for being a dirty team -- their Martin Taylor had infamously broken Diaby's leg in 2006 -- were terrible, and would be relegated at the end of the season. Even a half-strength Arsenal team should have handled them.

But Nikola Zigic scored for the Brummies in the 28th. van Persie scored in the 39th, and it remained 1-1 until the 89th, when Zigic shot, and, in attempt to block it, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny
collided with centreback Laurent Koscielny, allowing a loose ball that Obafemi Martins fired into the net.

It was probably the most humiliating Arsenal loss since the 1969 edition of the event, against Swindon Town. And it was the beginning of the idiotic #WengerOut movement.

May 17, 2014, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal beat Hull City of Yorkshire, 3-2 in extra time. The trophy drought had reached 9 years. And when Hull scored 2 goals in the 1st 8 minutes, it looked as if it would be extended to a 10th season, and perhaps be the end of the line for Wenger.

But Santi Cazorla scored in the 17th. A long lull followed, including halftime. Koscielny scored in the 71st to tie it. It went to extra time, and, in the 109th minute, off a cheeky backheel by Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey scored. He copied Charlie George's 1971 celebration, sliding on the (new) Wembley turf and lying on his back.

The last 12 minutes of the game were agony for Arsenal fans, especially those of us in America who had joined, thanks to the growth of satellite TV, since the last trophy, and had never won one with the team. When it was over, there was so much joy and relief. And yet, Wenger looked happier than any of us.

May 30, 2015, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal beat Aston Villa of Birmingham, 4-0. I watched this game at Mulligan's in Hoboken, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan. There, the TV screens are on the ground floor and the bathroom is in the basement. I was trying to hold it until halftime, but I couldn't make it. I was finishing up, washing my hands, in the 40th minute, when a huge roar went up. Since there were about 100 Arsenal fans in the place, and only 6 people wearing Villa colors, I knew it was an Arsenal goal.

As I got up the stairs, I yelled, "Who scored it?" The answer came back: "Walcott!" Perfect: The previous season, in the 3rd Round game against Tottenham, Theo Walcott had scored, but had also gotten injured, and missed the rest of the season. That injury cost Arsenal dearly in the League, but not in the Cup. Still, he missed it. Watching the halftime highlights, I saw the goal, and the look of elation on his face. It was easy to see just how much this meant to him.

The 2nd half started a little nervy. It looked like "a movie I'd seen before": An Arsenal player (sometimes Walcott) would score in the 1st half, and they'd hang on for dear life before allowing an equalizer. Not this time: Alex Sanchez scored a beauty in the 50th, Captain and centreback Per Mertesacker scored in the 62nd, and Giroud finished it off in the 90th.

The pressure was off -- but then, having won it the season before, there wasn't as much pressure anyway. This win was nice, and I'm glad Arsenal got it. But it would never mean as much to me as the one before did. It sure meant a lot to Theo, though.

May 27, 2017, FA Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal beat Chelsea, 2-1. Chelsea had been a "bogey team" for Arsenal since the 2004 Champions League Quarterfinal: It seemed, the bigger the game, the better Chelsea was, and the less effectiveness Arsenal had. Not this time: Alexis scored in the 4th minute to settle our nerves early.

But, again, it seemed like one of those hang-on-for-dear-life games. Sure enough, in the 76th minute, Diego Costa, who had succeeded Drogba as Chelsea's Master of Cheating, equalized. It looked like a game of "Name Your Poison": Would you rather lose in regulation, in extra time, or on penalties?

What do we say to the God of Defeat? Aaron Ramsey, once again, said, "Not today." As in 2014, he took a Giroud pass and put it into the net, this time a header in the 79th. Chelsea were completely deflated, and it was 3 FA Cups in 4 years.

February 25, 2018, League Cup Final, Wembley: Arsenal lose 3-0 to Manchester City. Every previous Arsenal cup final defeat had been by 1 goal or on penalties. Sergio Aguero scored in the 18th, but it was still only 1-0 as the hour mark approached, so there was hope. But Vincent Kompany scored in the 58th, and that was it. David Silva's goal in the 65th was just a cherry on their sundae.

May 29, 2019, UEFA Europa League Final, Bakı Olimpiya Stadionu, Baku, Azerbaijan: Arsenal lose 4-1 to Chelsea. In spite of having an obvious penalty denied early on, Arsenal were the better team in the 1st 35 minutes, but began to break down.

New manager Unai Emery needed to straighten them out at halftime. He didn't: Former Arsenal forward Olivier Giroud scored in the 49th, and it was all downhill from there. Alex Iwobi scored in the 69th to make it 3-1 and give some hope to those Gooners who somehow made it to Baku against long odds, but it wasn't going to happen.

Overall: Won 17, lost 21, drawn 1. 2-6 in European Finals, 15-15-1 in domestic ones.

How Long It's Been: Arsenal Played a Europa League Match

Top row, left to right: Ray Parlour, David Seaman,

Dennis Bergkamp, Martin Keown, Emmanuel Petit.

Bottom row: Patrick Vieira, Lee Dixon, Tony Adams,

Marc Overmars, Thierry Henry and Sylvinho.

Today, at 2:45 PM U.S. Eastern Time, Arsenal Football Club will host 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., the German soccer team commonly known as simply 1. FC Köln, of the city usually printed as "Cologne" in English-language media, at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

It will be Matchday 1 of the UEFA Europa League for the 2017-18 season.

Every season since 1997-98, Arsenal had qualified for the larger, more prestigious continental tournament, the UEFA Champions League, formerly known as the European Cup.

But in the 2016-17 season, Arsenal only finished 5th in the Premier League, and only the Top 4 teams qualify for the next season's Champions League. Therefore, Arsenal only qualified for the Europa League.

This tournament was known as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup from 1955 to 1971, and Arsenal won it in 1970. It then became the UEFA Cup, and in 2011 the name was changed again, to the Europa League.

The last time Arsenal played a match in it was in the 1999-2000 season. They only finished 3rd in their Champions League group, which dropped them into the UEFA Cup. They got to the Final, playing Galatasaray of Istanbul, Turkey, at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. This location was considered a good sign, as it was the site of the last European Final of any kind won by Arsenal, the 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup, for defending champions of each country's national cup tournament.

(That tournament was phased out, and, since 1999, national cup winners, as Arsenal were last season, qualify for the Europa League. Arsenal would have done so had they not finished 5th or 6th in the Premier League.)

There was tension in the air. In the Semifinal, Galatasaray had beaten another English club, Leeds United. But in the Istanbul leg of the Semifinal (each side gets a home game in the knockout stage), Gala hooligans had stabbed 2 Leeds fans to death. Rumors ran rampant that an English "superfirm" of all the major club-oriented gangs would team up to take the Turkish fans down. They were doing it more for Leeds than for Arsenal, as the other English clubs hate Arsenal (though many, under their breath, admire them). In the end, there were a few skirmishes, but nothing major.

The game ended the 90-minute regulation scoreless, and it remained scoreless after the 30-minute extra time, as Claudio Taffarel, the goalkeeper on Brazil's national team, stopped Arsenal cold. The game went to penalties, and Taffarel stopped by Davor Šuker and Patrick Vieira, while Gala went 4-for-4 to take the tournament.

And for 17 years, Arsenal played only in the Champions League, never in the UEFA Cup/Europa League. They were too good for it. A tribute to manager Arsène Wenger.

Until now. Tonight (7:45 PM their time), they will play a Europa League game. It will be their 1st since May 17, 2000. That's 17 years and almost 4 months. How long has that been?

*

Except for Swedish winger Freddie Ljungberg, injured in the team's Semifinal win over French club RC Lens, Wenger started what was then Arsenal's best XI. David Seaman was in goal. The defense was Lee Dixon, team Captain Tony Adams, Martin Keown, and the Brazilian left back Sylvio Mendes Campos Júnior, better known by the nickname Sylvinho. The midfield was Ray Parlour (in Ljungberg's place), Emmanuel Petit, Patrick Vieira and Marc Overmars. The forwards were the men voted in 2008 as the 2 greatest players in Arsenal's history, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.

In the 75th minute, Wenger took Dutch master Bergkamp off, and substituted the Nigerian Nightmare, Nwankwo Kanu, who had been spectacular during the tournament. (As had Parlour, probably the least talented of these players, but who had scored the 1st hat trick of his 9-year career in the Quarterfinal, away to German club Werder Bremen.) In the 115th minute, with 5 minutes left in extra time, Wenger took Overmars, his other Dutch star, off for the Croatian Sensation, Davor Šuker.

It turned out to be the last game in Arsenal's colors for Šuker, sold to East London club West Ham United; and for Overmars and Petit, the Frenchman with the blond ponytail. Spanish giants FC Barcelona bought both of them. Not getting into the game was veteran left back Nigel Winterburn, who had been a part of 7 trophy wins for Arsenal, but would also be sold to West Ham.

By the time Arsenal won the Premier League and FA Cup "Double" in 2002, 2 years later, Sylvinho would also be gone, and Adams and Dixon would be about to retire. New stars would be purchased, like Sol Campbell, Robert Pires, Kolo Touré and Laurent Etame Mayer, or grown into the Arsenal system, like Ashley Cole.

Arsenal have since moved out of Highbury, a stadium first used in 1913 and whose main stands were constructed in the 1930s, limiting them to 38,000 seats, to the nearby Emirates Stadium, whose 60,000 seats generate a lot more revenue and allow them to buy much more expensive players. Adams, Bergkamp and Henry now have statues outside the Stadium.

In the 1999-2000 season, the Premier League included Aston Villa, Bradford City, Coventry City, Derby County, Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Wimbledon. None of those teams is in the Premier League in 2017-18, all of them having been relegated at least once since then.

Arsenal have since won 2 Premier League titles and 6 FA Cups. The League has also since been won 7 times by Manchester United, 5 times by West London's Chelsea, twice by Manchester City, and once by Leicester City. The FA Cup has also since been won by Chelsea 4 times, Manchester United twice, Liverpool twice, and once each by Portsmouth, Manchester City and Wigan Athletic.

As the 21st Century dawned, most American sports fans were aware that there were club teams, in addition to the national teams they occasionally saw on television, but most couldn't name any of the clubs, except maybe for Manchester United (a.k.a. Man United, Man U and ManUre, for having fans who are full of shit), who had won so many times, Americans would have considered them the Yankees of soccer. More accurately, given their arrogance and their willingness to cheat, they're the New England Patriots. Or maybe the Dallas Cowboys -- then again, maybe Ted Lasso was right: Since they haven't won in a long time, maybe the Cowboys are American football's Liverpool.

Regardless, now, Americans can see the Premier League as often as the English do, and choose their teams accordingly. And Arsenal have a huge following, although not as big as those of Man U and Liverpool, both of whom market themselves better, partly due to their histories.

English soccer legends Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse, Bill Foulkes, Jimmy Hill, Don Howe, Alan Ball, Gerry Byrne, Ron Springett, Brian Labone, Howard Kendall, Peter Osgood, Emlyn Hughes, Dave Sexton, Graham Taylor and Bobby Robson, were all still alive on that date. So were John Charles and Gary Speed of Wales; Jimmy "Jinky" Johnstone, David Herd, Dave Mackay and Ian Porterfield of Scotland; and George Best of Northern Ireland.

So was Raymond Kopa of France. So was Ignacio Zoco of Spain. So were Eusébio and Mário Coluna of Portugal. So were  Johan Cruijff and Piet Keizer of the Netherlands. So were Helmut Rahn, Helmut Haller, Ottmar Walter, Bert Trautmann and Udo Lattek of Germany. So were Giacinto Facchetti, Giorgio Chinaglia and Enzo Bearzot of Italy. So were Nils Liedholm and Bengt Gustavsson of Sweden. So were Ferenc Puskás, Nándor Hidegkuti, László Kubala, Gyula Grosics, and Jenő Buzánszky of Hungary's 1950s "Mighty Magyars." So was Fyodor Cherenkov of Russia.

So were Vavá, Djalma Santos, Gilmar, Nilton Santos, Hilderaldo Bellini, Carlos Alberto, Telê Santana, Sócrates, Zito and Waldir Peres of Brazil. So were Alfredo Di Stéfano and Omar Sívori of Argentina. So were Alcides Ghiggia and Luis Cubilla of Uruguay.

They're all gone now.

Thierry Henry, Gianluigi Buffon and Carles Puyol were 22 years old, and Henry was wrapping up his 1st season with The Arsenal. Tim Howard was 21, and Andrea Pirlo would be 2 days later. Steven Gerrard and John Terry were 19; Iker Casillas, Hope Solo, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Landon Donovan were 18; Carli Lloyd, Clint Dempsey and Frank Ribery were 17; Luis Robles was 16; Wayne Rooney, Heather O'Reilly, Cristiano Ronaldo and Bradley Wright-Phillips were 15; Megan Rapinoe, Mario Gómez and Manuel Neuer were 14; Olivier Giroud, Jamie Vardy, Luis Suarez, Leonardo Bonucci and Dax McCarty were 13; Lionel Messi was 12; Sergio Agüero, Robert Lewandowski, Diego Costa, Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez were 11; Alex Morgan, Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos were 10; Aaron Ramsey, Eden Hazard and Antoine Griezmann were 9; Jack Wilshere, Neymar and Mario Götze were 8; Paul Pogba was 7; Harry Kane was 6 (and was already concerning grownups with the fact that he was still licking windows), Dele Alli and Alex Iwobi were 4; Gedion Zelalem was 3; Christian Pulisic and Gianluigi Donnarumma were 1; and Reiss Nelson was 5 months old.

Current New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault was the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Todd Bowles of the Jets was coaching their defensive backs, Mets manager Terry Collins was managing in the Tampa Bay Rays' minor-league system, John Hynes of the Devils was an assistant coach at Boston University, Ben McAdoo of the Giants was coaching high school football in Pennsylvania, Jeff Hornacek of the Knicks was wrapping up his playing career with the Utah Jazz, Joe Girardi of the Yankees was playing for the Chicago Cubs, Doug Weight of the Islanders was playing for the Edmonton Oilers, and Kenny Atkinson of the Nets was playing in France's basketball league, 

Manchester United won that season's Premier League title, Chelsea the FA Cup, and Real Madrid the Champions League. D.C. United were the holders of the MLS Cup, and the Rochester Rhinos were the holders of the American version of the FA Cup, the U.S. Open Cup.

The defending World Champions in North American sports were the Yankees, the St. Louis Rams (now back in Los Angeles), the San Antonio Spurs (soon to be replaced by the Los Angeles Lakers) and the Dallas Stars (soon to be denied back-to-back Stanley Cups by the Devils). The Heavyweight Champion of the World was Lennox Lewis -- and we haven't had an undisputed heavyweight champ since.

The Olympic Games have since been held in America, Greece, Italy, China, Canada, Britain and Russia. The World Cup has since been held in Japan, Korea, Germany and South Africa. And both have since been held in Brazil.

The President of the United States was Bill Clinton. Vice President Al Gore and Governor George W. Bush of Texas were running to succeed him. George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, their wives, and the widow of Lyndon Johnson were still alive.

Barack Obama was a State Senator in Illinois, and had just lost the Primary for the U.S. House of Representatives -- the only election he has ever lost. Donald Trump had just gotten divorced for the 2nd time, and the idea that he would one day be the star of a TV series, let alone the President of the United States, was patently ridiculous.

The Governor of the State of New York was George Pataki, the Mayor of the City of New York was Rudolph Giuliani, and the Governor of New Jersey was Christine Todd Whitman. Andrew Cuomo was U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Bill de Blasio was managing First Lady Hillary Clinton's campaign for the U.S. Senate. Chris Christie was legal counsel for the New Jersey portion of the Bush Presidential campaign. Ken Livingstone had just taken office as Mayor of London, the city in question.

The idea that "money = speech" was discussed only by political conservatives, and not taken seriously by rational people, let alone treated as the law of the land by the U.S. Supreme Court. Gay marriage was, similarly, only on a few people's radar at the time. Four Justices then on the U.S. Supreme Court are still on it now: Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

There were still living veterans of World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Irish War of Independence. (The last surviving veteran of the Easter Rising of 1916 died in 2000, but I can't find an exact date.) There were still living survivors of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the General Slocum disaster of 1904, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911, and the sinking of the Titanic.

The organization Doctors Without Borders was the holder of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Pope was John Paul II. The current Pope, Francis, then Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and a few months away from being named a Cardinal.

The Prime Minister of Britain was Jean Chrétien, and of Britain Tony Blair. The head of state of both nations was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed. Current Prime Minister Theresa May was in her 1st term in Parliament. There have since been 4 Presidents, 4 Prime Ministers, and 3 Popes.

Major novels of 2000 included The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, Angels & Demons by Dan Brown, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, The Human Stain by Philip Roth, and Blonde, Joyce Carol Oates' novel about Marilyn Monroe.

George R.R. Martin published A Storm of Swords, the 3rd novel in his series A Song of Ice and Fire, although it would not be until 2006 that he was approached about turning it into a TV series, and 2011 before Game of Thrones reached the airwaves. (Do we still call TV broadcasts "the airwaves"?) J.K. Rowling published the 4th book in her series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; the 1st film in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was now filming. (As with the book, it was titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in America.)

Stephen King published The Plant. David Auburn premiered his play Proof. Peter Ackroyd published London: A Biography; Dave Eggers a memoir pretentiously titled A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius; and Bruce Wilkinson The Prayer of Jabez, about the blasphemous idea of "the prosperity gospel."

Major films that premiered in the Spring of 2000 included Gladiator, Mission: Impossible 2, 28 Days, American Psycho, Love & Basketball, U-571, Where the Heart Is, The Virgin Suicides, Road Trip, Shanghai Noon, Big Momma's House, the remake of Gone In 60 Seconds, Samuel L. Jackson's (Sequel? Update? Reboot?) of Shaft, John Travolta's calamitous version of L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction story Battlefield Earth, and Frequency, a sort-of time travel story that used the Mets' win in the 1969 World Series as a plot point.

George Lucas was receiving lots and lots of money, and lots and lots of criticism, for the previous year's Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Voyager was now the only Star Trek series running, and the Next Generation film Insurrection had done poorly the previous year. Pierce Brosnan was still playing James Bond. Superman was still stuck in limbo, as various ideas for a new film, none of them good, were in "development hell." Batman was also stuck between the Joel Schumacher and Christopher Nolan periods, and one idea was a "Batman vs. Superman" film that might actually have been worse than the one we got.

The day of the UEFA Cup Final, the last first-run episode of Beverly Hills 90210 aired. One week later, on May 24, 2000, The WB Network aired the 3rd season finale of Dawson's Creek, in which Jack McPhee (Kerr Smith) and Ethan (Adam Kaufman) have the 1st male gay kiss on U.S. prime time TV. The episode also produced the James Van Der Beek "Dawson Leery Crying" meme.

In addition to BH90210, other shows that ended that Spring were Sliders, Chicago Hope, The Pretender, Malcolm & Eddie, Early Edition, Party of Five and Boy Meets World. The Nineties were over. Recently debuting were Malcolm in the Middle, Survivor and Jackass. Big Brother was soon to follow. The George W. Bush era had already begun.

The Number 1 song in America was "Maria Maria," continuing the comeback of Carlos Santana. The day before, Britney Spears released her album Oops!... I Did It Again. Metallica sued Napster. Curtis Jackson was shot 9 times on Sutphin Boulevard in South Jamaica, Queens. He survives to become the rapper 50 Cent. My grandmother grew up in that neighborhood in the 1930s, and had been back since, and had seen what had happened to it. When I was visiting her, and a commercial for 50's film Get Rich of Die Trying came on, I told her who he was and what happened to him. She didn't bat an eye, saying, "I'm not surprised."

Pink had recently debuted. Alicia Keys had yet to do so. Katy Perry was 15, Lady Gaga and Lea Michele 13, Rihanna 12, Taylor Swift 10, the oldest member of One Direction (Louis Tomlinson) was 8; Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus were 7; Justin Bieber was 6.

Nathan Fillion played a priest in Dracula 2000, and hadn't yet been cast as Mal Reynolds, let alone Richard Castle. Kate Hudson and Pauley Perrette were in Almost Famous. Hayden Christiensen, Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Alba were 19; Natalie Portman, Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Cobie Smulders, Kirsten Dunst, Matt Smith and Jodie Whittaker were 18; Lupita Nyong'o, Henry Cavill, Andrew Garfield and Chris Hemsworth 17; Adam Driver 16, Scarlett Johansson and Gal Gadot 15, all of the Pretty Little Liars younger than that, Robert Pattinson 14; Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington and Rose Leslie 12; Jake Lloyd and Emma Stone 11; Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Johnson 10; Sara Hyland 9, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley 8, Jack Gleeson was about to turn 8, Cara Delevingne was 7, Dakota Fanning and Saoirse Ronan were 6, Sophie Turner was 4; Maisie Williams, Tom Holland and Zendaya 3; Ariel Winter 2, and Rico Rodriguez and Nolan Gould 1.

Most Americans had never heard of Osama bin Laden. And if they knew of any of the Kardashians, it was likely to be Robert, O.J. Simpson's close friend and part of his legal "Dream Team."

Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.43 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 33 cents, and a New York Subway ride $1.50. The average price of a gallon of gas was $1.56, a cup of coffee $1.96, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $6.49, a movie ticket $5.34, a new car $21,047, and a new house $202,400. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed that day at 10,769.74.

The tallest building in the world was the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We had the Internet, and cellular phones (mostly still flip-open); and DVDs, although most people still used VHS cassettes. There was no Wikipedia, no Skype, no MySpace, no Facebook, no YouTube, no Twitter, no Tumblr, no Pinterest, no Instagram, no Vine. There was no iPod, no iPad, no iPhone. The original Sony PlayStation was the leading home video game system of the time.

In the Spring of 2000, Microsoft was ruled to have violated U.S. antitrust laws. Federal agents freed 6-year-old Elián González from his Cuban-exile family in Miami, and returned him to his father, who took him back to Cuba. (Now 23, he is a college graduate, engaged to be married, and works as a technology specialist for a company that makes large water tanks.) Adam Petty, not quite 20 years old, the 4th generation of his family to compete in NASCAR, was killed in a crash in a practice run for a race in New Hampshire, just 37 days after the death of his great-grandfather, dynasty founder Lee Petty. The population of India surpassed 1 billion. And, in the city in question, London, the Tate Modern Gallery opened.

Hafez al-Assad, and John Gielgud, and Maurice "the Rocket" Richard died. Jackie Evancho, and Morgan Lily, and Ryan Sessegnon were born -- in the Fulham left back's case, 1 day after the game in question.

May 17, 2000. Arsenal lost the UEFA Cup Final to Galatasaray. They haven't played a game in the tournament now known as the UEFA Europa League since.

Within 2 hours of my posting this, they will again, at home, against Köln. Does the tournament matter to me? Not much. I just want them to win, and have the players who take the field show me that they can be trusted to give their all in matches of the Premier League, FA Cup, and, God willing, next season and for many seasons thereafter, the UEFA Champions League.