Eddie Howe threw himself into the arms of her three children the last time Newcastle played in Wembley. Not in celebration, but distraction.
“I remember the night of the final, I wasn't in a great place, not very happy,” he says. Two years ago his team was defeated 2-0 by Manchester United in the Copao Cup final.
'I spent the night with my children, I think they take you. You can live in that space to rethink the game, rethinking everything you have done. Children take him to a much healthier place. With luck, I am not in that mentality again this weekend.
This time you feel different in Tyneside, even if you talk about a curse. Howe hates that word and refuses to use it. There was a lot of hilarity on social networks when I responded to my report of the defeat of the Newcastle FA Cup by Brighton this month, in which Anthony Gordon was sent and suspended for today's final: Newcastle fanatic Les Cash published: 'My grandfather used to tell me that the club was cursed at the end of 1955 after throwing gypsy gypsies from his training land of Benwell. Talking was that they are 100 years. I used to laugh, but I really believe it now.
Its publication went viral, but laughter soon gave way to fear, when within 48 hours we revealed news by Lewis Hall and Sven Botman who needed surgery that discarded them out of the final. The curse was no longer fantasy, it was a fact!
“I don't subscribe to that way of thinking,” says Howe. 'There is not always a negative result. I understand that the final record is not great (five losses from the victory of the 1955 Cup FA), but I have been qualifying for the Champions League, when we had to deepen the season, as an example that we are very successful.
Eddie Howe has refused to accept that Newcastle has a 'cure' trophy placed in them
The Magpies face Liverpool in the Sunday Cup final on Sunday, looking for their first 70 -year trophy
This is Newcastle's second trip to the EFL Cup final in three years, his last in 2023
'Our destiny is in our own hands. I will not even use the word (curse). It is not in our mentality. It is about giving a great performance. Speaking of the other result (win), that is exciting.
Newcastle last scored at Wembley 25 years ago when Rob Lee scored a defeat in the semifinal of the FA 2-1 Cup by Chelsea.
“We talked to him and touched his feet,” says Captain Bruno Guimaraes. 'To give me a little luck. I hope you can do the same.
We inform Guimaraes that Lee scored his head. Maybe the gypsies were working during that meeting.
But Howe is right when she says that it will not be discussed or thought about what has happened before Sunday. Perversely, the events of the last fifteen days have fueled the belief. The adversity has lit a fire under a group whose season was starting to blink.
A 1-0 victory in West Ham on Monday was hard work and difficult surveillance, but facilitated that feeling of imminent fatality. Suddenly, chiseled of victory, it was a resolution of granite and collective will. Howe has felt this week.
“You have to join stronger (in adversity),” says the chief coach. 'The week that we certainly did not go as planned, and losing great players, as well as important players, it is never easy, but you have to become stronger in a more unified way. This is how you answer. We try to double our central strengths.
'That is why West Ham was so important, and he was not lost in any of us after the game. That increased our feeling, our unity, our belief internally. We needed that victory.
Newcastle suffered a 2-0 defeat by Manchester United on his last trip to the EFL Cup final
To that end, the preparations for Wembley will reflect that of West Ham. The only costumes will be track suits. There will be no emotional speeches and prior to the game, as delivered by Dan Burn in 2023. He is now an England player, do not forget it. Howe wants her players to feel that they belong to the Cup finals, they behave as international. A final of the Cup is a football game, not one day outside.
So, will the manager wear a hiking suit from the tunnel, at least?
“My outfit will be very consistent with what you normally see,” says Howe. 'I am very respectful of traditions and what means being in that position as Newcastle manager, but I think I'm better focusing on the game instead of my outfit.
'But leading the team will mean everything to me. I am very proud to represent the city and I want to do it in the right way, to try to make everyone feel proud and happy. That is the challenge we have this weekend. My desire to win could not be greater. You can talk a good game, but it is how you act every day, this is how you push the team at new levels. I feel as motivated as never. “
Newcastle doesn't have to overcome gypsies today. Nor should they have to overcome themselves. They have to beat Liverpool. Do that and have overcome 70 years of pain. Do that and Howe's boys will see a very happy dad.