"Sevilla's Love Affair with Europa League: The Key to Their Dominance in the Final Against Roma"

2023-05-29 09:29:18

The match between Seville, Spain, and Roma, Italy, may seem equal on paper in the final of the European Football League (Europa League) scheduled for Wednesday (23:00 UAE time), but the Andalusians’ love affair with the competition may give them the advantage in Budapest.
They are the record champions with six titles, ahead of their nearest rivals Inter and Juventus of Italy, Liverpool of England and Atletico Madrid of Spain with a hat-trick of titles each.
Despite his disappointing season in the Spanish League, Seville’s path was steadfast in the Europa League, as it overthrew Manchester United and then Juventus to reach its seventh final in the competition.
In the previous six finals, Sevilla emerged victorious, and its captain, Jesus Navas, said that his team had flown since the start of the competition.
“We change (in the Europa League) and it’s amazing how we get out of every game,” he said in an interview with the European Football Association (UEFA) website last week.
He added, “It is a competition that has given us a lot, and the joy it gives us every time we participate in it pushes us to go as far as possible.”
The extra goal this season is to give back to the fans for their support, after one of Sevilla’s worst seasons in La Liga in recent memory.
Since the team’s promotion to the first division in 2001, it has never finished a season in the lower half of the table, but it is currently languishing in eleventh place, with one stage of the season remaining.
The situation could have been much worse. For most of the season, their efforts focused on moving away from the relegation zone, so they sacked coaches Julen Lopetegui and Argentine Jorge Sampaoli, before Jose Luis Mendelibar returned the ship to its stability.
“We are a family, we showed it, we had some very bad moments, but the last quarter of the season was amazing,” striker Rafa Mir told streaming platform Dazon on Saturday.
“Now we have the final award, we want to come back here with the cup,” he added.

Rich history

Sevilla won the competition for the first time in 2006, when Navas, now 37, participated at the age of 20 when he swept the team, crushing the English team Middlesbrough, who was coached by Steve McClaren, 4-0 in the final.
It was their first European title, and their first trophy for 57 years.
The late Antonio Puerta scored in extra time to help coach Juande Ramos’ team overcome Schalke 04 in the semi-finals, a goal that is still in the memory of Seville today.
Puerta scored from the penalty spot the following year in the final, when Sevilla beat rivals Espanyol in Glasgow on penalties to lift the trophy once again.
Just a few months later, Puerta died of a heart attack while playing for his club in La Liga.
The Andalusians needed penalties again to prevail in 2014 with Unai Emery as coach, as they beat Benfica of Portugal to win the championship for the third time, when Croatian Ivan Rakitic played a key role before his move to Barcelona.
Sevilla continued to win the Europa League for the next two years, first defeating Ukrainian Dnipro 3-2 in an exciting encounter in 2015, with Colombian striker Carlos Baca scoring twice.
The following season, they beat Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool 3-1, this time full-back Koke scoring twice. It would have been the German coach’s first title with the English club.
“If I won it last year, what does that mean? If I won it two years ago, what does that mean? Nothing really, so it’s another match,” Klopp said before the match. But Sevilla proved wrong and won their third successive title in the competition.
Sevilla clinched their sixth title under Lopetegui against Inter in another thrilling 3-2 win, albeit in an empty stadium due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku’s own goal decided the game, ensuring that Sevilla maintained their record 100% in Europa League finals.
In the new final against Rome, Portuguese Jose Mourinho may be one of the most trusted coaches in world football, but he may be stunned by Sevilla’s domination of the Europa League.