Mickey Mouse is a very popular cartoon character from our childhoods, we all love it. But when you’re winning a cup in soccer, associated with this name, you wouldn’t be happy with it.
Each and every team across the globe hope and tries to win a trophy from the start to the end of a domestic season. A trophy at the end of a season is a telling success. English Premier League is arguably the most highly contested league in the world. A number of high-quality teams participate in it with the ambition to conquer it. However, it’s ridiculously difficult to win a league over 38 games without a top-notch squad.
All the divisions of the English domestic league are very highly contested. However, all the teams across all the divisions, including the non-league teams, get to participate in one competition together. It is The Carabao Cup or the League Cup, which is known as the Mickey Mouse Cup in soccer.
The least significance and importance of this cup is the reason behind the name. The bigger teams always rest their first-team players and play their reserves or substitutes in the League Cup. The Premier League clubs use Carabao Cup fixtures as an opportunity to rest their first-team players.
The sheer ignorance of the bigger clubs involved in the competition is the root cause of the Mickey Mouse Cup name. Although ignored by the elite clubs, the lower league sides sometimes come up with some shocking results.
Who won the Mickey Mouse Cup?
Mickey Mouse Cup is what, every year 92 teams across all tiers of the English league take part in. Initially, the League Cup used to be a fun tournament and had love and attention from the fans. One particular instance changed the outlook for once and all for this cup.
In 2001, the English giants Liverpool won the FA Cup, League Cup, and the UEFA Cup (known as Europa League now). The Kops proudly labeled the trophy win as ‘the Treble’. The Liverpool team held a bus parade to show their trophies off and received banter from the rival fans, especially from the Manchester United fans.
The banters of the Reds fans may come across as a result of jealousy. However, winning the Premier League title, FA Cup, and Champions League is considered ‘the Treble’ in English football. Manchester United won this holy trinity in 1999. The Manchester United fans bantered the Kops by hanging a banner at the Millennium Stadium which had a picture of Mickey Mouse and quoted ‘The Mickey Mouse Treble’.
Winning the UEFA Cup or Europa League guarantees a place in the Champions League. Winning the FA Cup still gives a place in the Europa league. However, winning the League Cup is almost meaningless for the top-tier English clubs in terms of very low prize money also compared to other cups.
Mickey Mouse Treble has been won by only Liverpool, although Manchester United came dangerously close to winning it under Jose Mourinho. Just because no other team has won the Mickey Mouse Treble after Liverpool, The League Cup’s irrelevance has made the fans call it the Mickey Mouse Cup.