Why the Carabao Cup is the BEST cup competition in the world – and how it benefits from its timing in the football calendar, writes CRAIG HOPE
- Newcastle play host to Arsenal in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final
- The first leg in north London felt like the centre of the footballing world
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! We need Arsenal’s personality! This needle is what the Premier League is all about
It used to be the poor relation but now it is the head of the family. When it comes to domestic cup competitions, the Carabao Cup is the best in the world.
Is that a stretch? Not when the FA Cup is still routinely referred to as such. And this is the point – the Carabao Cup is better than the FA Cup.
Four weeks ago, as Arsenal and Newcastle’s strongest XIs emerged to a sold-out Emirates Stadium and to a backdrop of fireworks, flags and a frenzy of black-and-white scarves, it felt the centre of the footballing world. The 90 minutes that followed was high stakes, high intensity and high drama.
It was also live on ITV. As I left the stadium that night, I tried to remember the last time a terrestrial audience would have seen a domestic game between two English sides – beyond Wembley – with so much riding on it. I could not. Sadly, Wednesday’s second leg with Newcastle leading 2-0 is not on free-to-air channels. But that does not detract in the slightest from the magnitude and anticipation of it.
So, why does the Carabao Cup feel so big? It benefits from its timing, for sure. The Premier League is ticking along nicely this year, a campaign of surprise and intrigue. But the ultimate games of jeopardy do not happen until April and beyond.
Arsenal met Newcastle on January 7. From nowhere, post festivities, here was a cracker, a tie free of rotation and faux pageantry. Newcastle’s Alexander Isak gave his best performance of the season and we debated afterwards if this was Eddie Howe’s greatest night as head coach. It says much for the feeling around the Carabao Cup that it was only beaten into second by a Champions League thumping of PSG.
The first leg of Newcastle’s Carabao Cup clash with Arsenal was shown on free-to-air TV
Alexander Isak in particular starred as the Magpies beat Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium
While the Carabao Cup benefited from having four top sides in the semi-finals the FA Cup third round was spread across five days
One week later, the FA Cup third round was spread over five days, diluted in both its sense of occasion and the strength of the teams on show. It felt like a breather from the real competitions.
Even by the time we reach the latter stages of the FA Cup, it is likely those teams involved will rank it second (or even third) in priority behind Premier League or European pursuits. This is where the Carabao Cup gets one over its older brother with its setting in the calendar.
Take the Champions League, too. After 144 group-stage games, how many did we enjoy with a genuine sense of peril? One, maybe. Sport, at its best, is about win or lose, in or out. For Newcastle, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham this week, there will be hope, expectation, fear and vulnerability. It matters. There is no case to be made for a cup exit being of any benefit.
We will see four top teams playing their best players in front of full houses, in a competition that was once the preserve of the reserves. Not now. The Carabao Cup is the best domestic cup competition in the world.
