History of the Carling Cup

The Carling Cup is annual knockout soccer tournament held in the United Kingdom by the Football Association. It takes its name from current sponsor Carling, and is also commonly known as The Football League Cup or simply, The League Cup. In the late 1950’s, a decision was made to utilise many club’s new floodlight facilities, and the League Cup was introduced specifically as a midweek tournament. In its early years, many of the big teams declined to participate and it wasn’t until a UEFA Cup spot was awarded to the winners that the top teams took notice.
The 92 teams of the Premier League, Coca-Cola Championship, League 1 and League 2 compete in the tournament. Teams participating in European competition recieve a bye to the third round, where as the rest of the Premier League sides enter at round two. All rounds except the semi-finals are one-off soccer games played over 90 minutes, with extra-time and penalties played if necessary to find a winner. The semi-finals are contested over two legs, where the aggregate score over the two matches determines who goes through to the final at Wembley Stadium, held in February/March. From the 2000-01 to 2006-07 seasons the final was held at Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium due to the reconstruction of Wembley, which was completed in time for the 2007-08 final.

Previous Carling Cup seasons

Liverpool have been the competition’s most successful side, lifting the trophy on 7 occasions, including an incredible four-year unbeaten streak between 1981 and 1984. Aston Villa come in second with five Carling Cup medals in the cabinet. In recent years, the Carling Cup football tournament has thrown up a few surprises. The 2007-08 season saw Chelsea take on Everton with North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur competing in the semi-finals. The odds heavily favoured a repeat of the previous year’s final between Chelsea and Arsenal. Then-holders Chelsea reached a second successful final with a 3-1 aggregate win over The Toffees, but the were met at Wembley by Tottenham who defied all odds to destroy their bitter rivals in a 5-1 victory at White Hart Lane, heading through 6-2 on aggregate. In the final, most people were betting on Chelsea to reclaim the cup, but it was Spurs who claimed the trophy after a late Jonathan Woodgate header in extra time gave them a 2-1 win. The 2008-09 Carling Cup final was an equally thrilling encounter as Tottenham reached the final again, this time met by Manchester United. A hotly contested battle went down to penalties after a 0-0 draw after extra time, where Manchester United triumphed 4-1 to record their third League Cup success.