Premier League > Champions League

The PL is enough for me

Halfway through the season the following question always prevails over the others: “Which competition do you want your team to win?”  The answer is simple: “ALL OF THEM!”  However winning all competitions is a tad difficult, even for a team of United’s calibre. 

By January, a month when a certain club starts to yell that the following year will be their year, we’re usually still in 3 or 4 competitions. Since the age of 12 I have ALWAYS prioritized the Premier League over any other competition.

Scholes vs Juve in '97

Before that, during my primary school days, the Champions League used to be aired on Malta’s national TV station. This was the channel that made me fall in love with United back in 1997. I watched a United Champions League match and that was it, I got hooked. My innocence back then meant that I actually believed God would answer my prayers and help United get the needed results. I used to go to church and pray so that United win their games, especially if United were facing Juventus. Those were Juventus’s heydays and, since my school was infested with ‘Juventini’, winning against them was more important to me than winning against any other club. That is the sole reason why I believed that the Champions League was the most important competition. Another reason was that my Dad never really wanted to subscribe to a sports channel and that meant that I couldn’t follow the Premier League. I used to learn the Premier League results via teletext or the evening news. 

Nowadays I believe that the Premier League is the most important competition for Manchester United and indeed for every other English club. The Champions League is a very attractive competition but I guess it is maybe a more important competition for the casual fans and for Roman Abramovich.  

This is why if we lose the final on Saturday, I’ll still be extremely delighted with our season and if we win, then I’d go bonkers.