In the football world, how should a miracle be defined?
The Danish fairy tales and Greek myths in the European Cup are miracles, the Istanbul night staged in the Champions League final is a miracle, and it is also a miracle that Leicester City won the Premier League with a newly promoted attitude...
For Luton, newly promoted from the Premier League, it is also a miracle to be promoted from the non-league system all the way to the Premier League.
In the era when transactions in the transfer market cost hundreds of millions of euros, the little man Luton used his stubbornness to win another possibility for himself.
To understand how inspirational Luton's story is, one must first understand England's complex football system.
In England, where football culture is rich, there are Premier League (English Premier League), Football League (English Championship to English League Two), Football Association League, Regional League and lower-level leagues.
Among them, the Premier League to the second division are called "league teams", and the teams below the fifth level are called "non-league teams". The reason why Luton's story is moving is that they are the first team in history to enter the Premier League from a non-league.
Yes, on the night of Bayern's 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles and PSG's defending Ligue 1 title, Luton's humble team also ushered in their own glorious moment. Wen Chui drew 1-1, and finally won the last laugh with a total score of 7-6 through a penalty shootout, becoming the last team to be promoted to the Premier League this season.
You know, Luton's total worth is only 35 million euros, and it is a real weak team in the eyes of the Premier League powers.
This is the first time Luton has been promoted to the Premier League, and it is also their return to the top league after 31 years.
This team, founded in 1885, has played in low-level leagues for most of its history. The most recent "glorious cycle" dates back to 1982-1992, when Luton, nicknamed "The Hatmaker" was in the League One. After 10 years of fighting, it quickly entered a downward trajectory until it fell to the bottom.
In the 1991/92 season, Luton was relegated from the League One, and English football entered the Premier League era; The problem, Luton was deducted 30 points at the start of the game, and finally relegated again, came to the English Football Council National League, and became a "non-league team" in the fifth tier league.
As we all know, inspirational stories always have the bottom as a reference to reflect the difficulty of growing upward. After falling into the fifth tier league, the fairy tale belonging to Luton began.
In the 2013/14 season, they won the English Football Council National League Championship and successfully returned to League Two. In the 2017/18 season, they went straight to League One as the second place in League Two.
In the 2018/19 season, Luton won the League One championship in a thrilling manner and promoted to the British Championship. It took another four years to have the grassroots miracle of counterattack this season.
Only when you dig deep into the background of the Luton team can you appreciate how inspirational they are along the way.
For example, Luton's 41-year-old coach Edwards was a "frustrated man" who only played 10 Premier League games in his player era. He was fired by Watford in September last year. He only picked up Luton's coach in November, but led Luton away. It's been an amazing journey.
Another example is Luton's top scorer Carlton Morris, who scored 20 goals this season. At the age of 28, he played from the second division to the British championship. He has never scored double digits in a season before.
The midfielder Mpanzu, who was born in 1994, is another case that accompanied Luton's growth.
When he first joined Luton from West Ham United, the team was still playing in the fifth tier league and could only train in public places, surrounded by even residents walking their dogs.
As a result, Luton magically started the journey of upgrading, and Mpanzu is already the main force of the team. He spent ten years accompanying the team's rise, just like Vardy who wrote fairy tales with Leicester City.
Luton's home stadium, Kenilworth Road, is also extremely shabby at the Premier League level.
The stadium, built in 1905, can only accommodate 10,355 spectators. It is surrounded by residential areas on three sides and close to the road on the other side. The facilities are seriously outdated and expansion is extremely difficult. It is difficult to meet the access conditions of the Premier League.
Now that the dream has come into reality, Luton may have to rent the stadium to play while waiting for the completion of the new stadium.
Undoubtedly, in today's world of football money flying all over the sky, Luton is like a "heterogeneous" in the world's richest league. Their worth is even the lowest among the four teams participating in the promotion play-offs of the British Championship. It cannot be compared with today's Premier League powers.
But the charm of football is also reflected in the story of the counterattack of the civilian team-if there is no dream, what is the difference between a team and a group of salted fish.
Today, Luton has been promoted to the Premier League in an incredible way, and the huge income they will have will be their confidence to build the team.
Perhaps in the eyes of 캡포탈, Luton is still a weak team and a favorite for relegation next season, but for them, the journey along the way is already a legend.
While modern football needs champions and stars, it also looks forward to inspirational stories. Will Luton, who is constantly surpassing itself, continue to create miracles next season?