It’s done. The fairy tale of the first team in history to rise from the fifth tier to the top flight while staying with the same team joked about retiring.
Luton Town have been promoted. Luton Town defeated Coventry City on penalties (1-1, 6 PK 5) in the 2022-23 English Championship (Second Division) Promotion Playoff Final at Wembley Stadium in London, England, at 0:45 a.m. ET on April 28.
Back in the top flight after 31 years. 토토사이트 Luton Town is a storied club, founded in 1885, but spent most of its history in the lower leagues. They were promoted to the top flight in 1982 and lifted the English Football League Cup (EFL Cup) in the 1987-88 season, but were relegated to 20th place in 1992 ahead of the launch of the English Premier League (EPL).
For a while, it was all downhill. Luton Town were relegated three years in a row starting in 2007, suffering the humiliation of dropping down to the semi-professional Conference League (National League).
The turnaround began in the 2013-14 season. Eager to get back into the top flight, Luton Town returned to the fourth tier that season and began a remarkable promotion campaign. The club then won back-to-back promotions in 2017-18 and 2018-19 to reach the second tier, where they finally made their first EPL appearance.
There is one player who has been part of Luton Town’s success story. It’s Pelly Ruddock Mpanjoo. He joined Luton Town on loan from West Ham United in the 2013-14 season and played a revolutionary role in the club’s title run, making the move permanent at the end of the season.
His time with Luton Town was a successful one. Over the next decade, Mpanjoo was the spine of the team for 367 games and remained loyal to the club even when they failed to win promotion. He is the first player in English soccer history to be promoted from the fifth tier to the top flight with the same team.
Mpanjoo was overjoyed, but then he abruptly announced his retirement. “I think I’m done with soccer,” Mpanju told Sky Sports after the promotion, “I’m done with soccer. I’m going to retire,” he said.
Of course, he was joking. The rhetoric emphasized how great and joyful it was. “I have tasted both joy and sadness, but in the end you have to believe in yourself. I’m an EPL player with these players, with these fans. I believed we could do it. We’ll be partying in Luton all summer,” he said, expressing his immense happiness at Luton Town’s outstanding achievement.