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| APYonhap News |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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Teams that succeeded in 'Sungbul' are popping up from all over Europe.
Crystal Palace won 1-0 in the final of the English FA Cup in 2024-2025 season against Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in England on the 18th (Korea time), winning its first major tournament in 120 years since its professional foundation in 1905.
goalkeeper Dean Henderson's six saves and Eberechi Ech's first goal in the 16th minute of the first half made a huge upset over Manchester City. He shook off his disappointment of losing to Manchester United in the 1990 and 2016 FA Cup finals and finishing second. Palace, which is currently in the middle of the 36th round of the English Premier League (EPL), ranked 12th, has won the European Europa League (UEL) trophy next season.
On the other hand, Manchester City, led by Pep Guardiola, lost to Manchester United 1-2 in the FA Cup final in the 2023-2024 season and missed the championship, and finished second for two consecutive seasons. Manchester City, which has been in an all-time slump this season, finished the season empty-handed for the first time since Pep's first season in office, the 2016-2017 season. 'Monster Striker'Elling Holan showed his weakness in the 'Big Game' without scoring a single goal in seven major tournament finals.
Palace is not the only team that has caused an upset in European soccer this season. Newcastle, an English club like Palace, won the Cup for the first time in 70 years with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup (EFL Cup) final, which became the `EPL champion' in March. It was the first time since its foundation that it won the Carabao Cup. Liverpool and Manchester City, which reign as the strongest teams in the league, suffered a `Giant Killing' in the same season, missing the trophy at the same time.
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In Italy, Bologna won 1-0 in the Copa Italy final against AC Milan at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, on the 14th, winning its third career championship in 51 years. Coach Vincenzo Italiano Bologna, who brought Fiorentina to the Copa Italy final and the Europa Conference League final, won his first title since his debut as a leader. Bologna, seventh in the league, qualified for next season's UEL finals, as did Palace.
No matter who wins the DFB Pokal final at Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, on the 25th, it will be history. Stuttgart, Jung Woo-young's original fastball team, is seeking its fourth career championship in 28 years since 1997. Stuttgart reached the final of the DFB Pokal twice in 2007 and 2013, but suffered setbacks as a Pelescore, respectively. Stuttgart's opponents, Arminia Bielefeld, are 'Miracle Team'. Willeveld, who is currently in Germany's third division, dominated the first division, Union Berlin (2-0 wins), Freiburg (3-1 wins), Werder Bremen (2-1 wins), and Leverkusen (2-1 wins) from the round of 32 to the semifinals. This is the first time in the club's history that Bieleveld has reached the DFB Pokal Final.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| 'How much you want to win.' Source = Harry Kane Instagram |
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Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Son Heung-min's partner in the 'Tottenham Captain', won the German Bundesliga early this season, finally washing up his 15-year long jinx. Until Kane lifted the trophy, he played nearly 700 games and scored more than 440 goals for his team (Tottenham, Munich, etc.) and the English national team. Kane's Instagram, excited to win his first championship, is being plastered with winning posts.
Korean soccer stars Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) want to see the virtue of the all-time 'Sungbul' season. Tottenham will reach the UEL final and compete with Manchester United, the same English club, at San Mames in Bilbao, Spain, on the 22nd. Tottenham will try to win the European Club Grand Prix for the first time in 17 years and the first time in 31 years. Son Heung-min expressed his desire to match the final piece of the career puzzle with his first career victory. Ten days before the final, he successfully returned from injury. Manchester United is aiming for its second UEL title in eight years since 2016.
Lee Kang-in's team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will hold the final of the European Champions League (UCL) against Inter Milan at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, on the 1st of next month. PSG, which shed tears after losing to Munich in the 2020 UCL final, will try again for its first big year (UCL trophy) in five years by beating Arsenal in the semifinals. If Lee Kang-in wins the trophy on the day, he will be the second Korean to win the Champions after Park Ji-sung. Inter Milan, who were held back by Manchester City in the 2023 final, are seeking their fourth career championship in 15 years since 2010, when they made the final stage again in two years and won the treble.
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
