The reporter reported coldly Why is it so exciting to win a League Cup trophy at Wembley? It's a question that needs to be answered by three generations of Newcastle fans after a long wait of 25,495 days. Most of them, for a long period of time that covered almost their entire lives, endured the ridicule of their rival fans, and could only watch their beloved team become the backdrop for their opponents to achieve their championship dreams. Once the curse of "never won an English top-flight trophy in 70 years" is broken, how can joy be overdone?
When captain Guimaraes lifted the Carabao Cup trophy above his head, the Magpies were no longer the 'losers' who had watched their opponents lift the trophy at Wembley Stadium for the sixth time in 51 years, and their England record of nine consecutive defeats at Wembley Stadium came to an end. The curse on the Magpies after the Gypsies who had been living at the training ground at the end of 1955 were ousted by the club proved to be nothing more than a magical excuse for Newcastle's slump.
The Magpies were once one of the most painful losers in the history of world sports, including Benfica, who lost nine European finals in 52 years and still couldn't escape the "Herrera curse"; The Boston Red Sox, who were tormented by the "Bebino curse" from 1918 to 2004, and the Chicago Cubs, who won the championship again after 108 years, Premier League leaders Liverpool, and the Reds fans who have seen the team win 38 cups in 56 years, of course, cannot understand this sense of relief.
From Chelsea to Manchester City, Liverpool to Newcastle United, the Magpies have once again demonstrated that continued investment can quickly claim trophies in the world's most successful league. This season's Carabao Cup attendance is at a 25-year high (over 1.7 million), up 20% from last season, and tickets for the final are sold out early. Proving that even the lightest of English top-flight trophies are still attractive enough.
When leading the team to their first Carabao Cup final at Wembley two years ago, Eddie Howe and the team stayed at the Hilton Hotel across the pitch when they were put under too much pressure by the crowd that flocked into Trafalgar Square and eventually lost the game. Two years later, he accommodated the team in a Hertfordshire hotel and only made it straight to the pitch on the afternoon of the game in a £500,000 luxury motorhome. The players were able to concentrate on the game and they won the game in the end.
The 47-year-old England coach won the first major trophy of his coaching career and is the first homegrown coach to win the English Cup since 2008 and the first to win the League Cup since 2004. England coaches have almost been squeezed to the limit by foreign coaches in the Premier League, and Eddie Howe is like a light at the end of the tunnel, giving England coaches hope.
Eddie Howe dedicates the honor to his mother Anne, who passed away in 2012, and also to his own bumpy life: he was ruthlessly abandoned by the youth club as a child, and retired early due to injury at the age of 30; Bournemouth started with a 17-year deduction and a transfer ban without salary; After taking charge of Newcastle United, the epidemic salary cut, and the main midfielder Tonali was banned for a long time...... All kinds of rare encounters, he has suffered with an iron will. Because of this trophy, Eddie Howe is destined to become one of the most successful coaches in the team's history. Other giants in the Premier League and the FA will also put him in the front row of the shortlist for future managers.
The shiny metal trophy also gave Newcastle United a brighter future. In the stands at Wembley Stadium were 32,000 Magpies fans waving special edition black and white scarves. The scarves distributed by the club's chest sponsor Sela (Saudi Tourism Experience Company) to fans before the match were given free of charge to the fans, allowing the generosity of the sponsors to be rewarded in the most abundance.
Thirty minutes after the final, Newcastle United's Saudi Arabian boss Rumayan was still tapping his mobile phone in the royal box at Wembley Stadium. The club is looking forward to the approval of the Saudi patrons for a more modern training base and a larger stadium, and it is clear that the trophy has convinced the Saudi king. After 133 years, the Magpies will leave St James' Park to build a new 65,000-capacity stadium at Lites Park. It will be England's second-largest stadium outside London, with bubble wrap-like designs like the Allianz Arena in Munich already in place, and park-like plans outside the stadium that will bring more matchday commercial revenue.
It's just a League Cup, but it's enough for Newcastle fans to let go of the pain of almost a lifetime and enjoy a joy that lasts until the end of the season; Just a League Cup is enough for the Magpies to have infinite hopes and see the possibility of becoming the seventh biggest club in the Premier League; Just a League Cup is more than enough for the Saudi royal family, which was once considering shifting investment targets, to set its mind on the great prospects of the next Premier League oil dynasty.