Carling Cup 2012: Year of the Underdog

Strange results have been in abundance in the Premier League this season- even by its normal standards- but the Carling Cup has also thrown up its share of surprises in 2011/12. Crystal Palace only went to Old Trafford and stunned Manchester United, while Cardiff City took care of Blackburn Rovers in the quarterfinals. The semifinals pitted the two remaining Championship sides against each other (won by Cardiff), while underdogs Liverpool defeated league leaders Manchester City in the other tie. This means a second division team will be in the Carling Cup final for the first time since 2001, when Birmingham City narrowly lost to Liverpool in a penalty shootout.

Many neutrals are thrilled by this prospect, and rightly so- who doesn’t love a good underdog story? Well, others are saying that the final will be dull and predictable and that they should just give the trophy to Liverpool now. They lament that the final won’t be contested by two “bigger” teams and therefore assume it won’t be exciting. This is, quite frankly, ridiculous. 

First, did MLS fans complain when Real Salt Lake met LA Galaxy in the ’09 MLS Cup final? No, they were cheering the underdog (well, the non-Becks worshipers anyway). Did any non-Arsenal fans complain when Birmingham City stunned the Gunners in last year’s Carling Cup final? No, they were cheering the underdog. Or when Palace beat United last month?  Of course not. These players worked incredibly hard and, against all the odds, pulled off an upset, made their dreams come true, and etched themselves into football history.

Neutrals also complained when Portsmouth and Cardiff City (not doing too badly are they?) reached the 2008 FA Cup final; they said it would be a boring match and that Portsmouth’s quality would shine through just enough to get them one goal. That turned out to be spot-on, but it had nothing to do with the fact that Cardiff were in the second division. The last two FA Cup finals were forgettable for all neutral fans, while the Chelsea/Man United cup final of 2007 was one of the most boring matches I’ve seen in nine years of watching soccer.

Face it: cup finals are rarely the most exciting games in the world. It’s the event and its atmosphere that make it so special, not the number of goals (the 2006 FA Cup final notwithstanding). Prime examples are Greece’s Euro 2004 victory and the 2010 World Cup final. And if the “bigger” teams made cup finals every year, this moment from 1991 would never have happened:

In the 1991 Carling Cup final, second division Sheffield Wednesday took on the mighty Manchester United and defeated them 1-0 with a spectacular goal from Wednesday legend John Sheridan, stunning the Wembley crowd of over 77,000 people. That day and that goal will live forever in the club’s history, in the fans’ memories as well as the record books. So, naysayers, the little guys always have a chance, no matter how slim it may be.

As Greece, Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday have shown us, nothing is impossible in football. Monetary status does not always dictate the outcome of these matches. So for all the non-Liverpool fans out there, cheer loudly and proudly for the underdog. Cheer for Malky Mackay and Cardiff City to make some football history in 2012.