Manchester United are just hours away from their most important game of the season – a Europa League final clash against Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao.
Ruben Amorim’s men touched down in Spain this week with the chance to end a turbulent campaign on a high by lifting silverware and securing Champions League football.
Victory would mark a massive step forward under the Ineos regime and will pump a huge sum of money into the club, while failure could reopen uncomfortable questions about the squad’s readiness to challenge.
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Amorim has already delivered a much-improved European campaign, and fans are hoping his high-tempo tactics can topple Ange Postecoglou’s slick Spurs side.
But before a ball is even kicked at San Mames Stadium, there’s one talking point already drawing attention among the United faithful.
Manchester United will line up in black shorts for Wednesday night’s final, breaking from their traditional all-red and white ensemble.
The kit alteration is a consequence of Tottenham’s special status as the ‘home’ team for the clash – and their historic tradition of wearing an all-white strip in European competition.
That tradition, dating back to the early 1960s under legendary boss Bill Nicholson, was introduced to improve visibility for players during poorly-lit floodlit matches.
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The Mirror reports that Spurs first sported all-white in a European fixture against Gornik Zabrze, a moment that stuck and has since become iconic.
Former Spurs winger Cliff Jones once recalled the moment: “We just turned up in the dressing room for the game and there was the all-white kit… we just focused on the game coming up.”
While the change might seem minor, kit superstition runs deep in football.
It won’t be the first time United have swapped their white shorts for black this season – they also did so in March during a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad.
That evening, goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Mikel Oyarzabal shared the spoils, though United returned to their traditional look in the home leg, winning 4-1 as Bruno Fernandes bagged a hat-trick.
With or without white shorts, United fans will be hoping the only colour that matters on Wednesday night is silver– the colour of the Europa League trophy.
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