The Europa League? … What’s That!?

After exiting the Champions League prematurely, Manchester United will now turn their attention to the Europa League, the former UEFA Cup, which most of the club’s supporters haven’t a clue how it works.

New logo appearing on United’s jersey

Sir Alex Ferguson said after the game, ‎“The Europa League is our penalty for not qualifying tonight,” and that means traveling all of over the continent then quickly turning their focus to the Premier League at the weekend.

To add some positivity to what can only be described a very negative situation, United were one of the four-best placed Champions League teams which finished third place in their group, so they are a seeded team for the Round of 32 draw on December 16.

To add even more gloss, the Reds – and Ferguson – have never won this competition, so its another chance to create history for the club. United joins Manchester City, which also existed the Champions League, Tottenham and Stoke City, with Fulham yet to have qualified.

There’s no question that the Europa League will get more and more publicity now that the two Manchester clubs are involved, and it’s not far off to say that United will be making the competition famous – probably the first time it’s had interest since it began.

No matter who they get, the Reds will be on the road February 16 and will be at Old Trafford in the return leg the following Thursday, the 23. English teams cannot play each other until the Quarterfinal, which is two rounds from when they begin this competition.

Ferguson cannot complain about the potential fixture congestion, because his players and his decisions got the club into this predicament. The Europa League works similar to the Champions League, as it has home and away fixtures and away goals holding more weight.

No matter who they get, the Reds will be on the road February 16 and will be at Old Trafford in the return leg the following Thursday, the 23.

The Europa League Final will be at Stadionul Național in Bucharest, Romania on May 9th, which would be sandwiched in between potentially two critical Premier League games against Swansea City and Sunderland. No matter how you try to spin being in this second-tier competition, it’s not a very good situation for Manchester United but, as with everything in life, you get what you deserve.