'Just call it the Sevilla League' - magic, mystique and Mendilibar at heart of seventh Europa title
The Andalusians have ended a difficult season with yet another continental crown after beating Roma on penalties in Budapest on Wednesday
Magic and wonder. Mystique. Special powers. Call it what you like, Sevilla have it in the Europa League. On Wednesday night, the Andalusian club beat Roma on penalties in Budapest to win the competition for a seventh time. All in the space of 17 years.
Up until the first of those trophies, Sevilla had four pieces of major silverware in their entire history: one La Liga title in 1945-46 and three Copas del Rey in 1935, 1939 and 1948. There cannot be too many left who remember those triumphs.
It all started in Eindhoven. Sevilla beat Middlesbrough 4-0 in the final of the old UEFA Cup in 2006 to begin an unbelievable journey. A year later, the Blanquirrojos edged Espanyol on penalties in Glasgow to make it two in a row. But just months later, the club was in mourning as young wing-back Antonio Puerta collapsed on the pitch against Getafe in late August and tragically passed away three days later.
Puerta had scored a memorable winner in Sevilla’s UEFA Cup semi-final against Schalke in 2006 and is remembered in all of the club’s victories. So too José Antonio Reyes, who left the club for Arsenal before their first two European triumphs, but was back in white and red for the three straight wins under Unai Emery between 2014 and 2016. He died in a car accident in 2019. Sevilla had images of both players in their dressing room in Budapest and a day after the final, the club laid a special bouquet on Reyes’ grave to mark the victory and the fourth anniversary of his death: June 1st, 2019.
Rebranded and renamed in 2009, the Europa League has remained special to Sevilla. The trophy was the same, too, and it went back to Seville in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Emery’s side beat Benfica on penalties in Turin to win it in 2014, overcame Dnipro 3-2 in Warsaw the following year and made it three in a row with a 3-1 victory over Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool in Basel in 2016.
Number six arrived in 2020. There were no fans in the stadium to see it due to Covid-19 restrictions, but Sevilla beat Inter 3-2 in Cologne to win it again under Julen Lopetegui. Six out of six.
Now it is seven. In a season which has seen Sevilla sack Lopetegui and his replacement Jorge Sampaoli, flirt with relegation and struggle after selling key players last summer and failing to bring in adequate reinforcements, 2022-23 looked like a write-off.
Instead, it has ended in glory. José Luis Mendilibar has been instrumental in their turnaround. Regarded as a journeyman by many in Spain after spells with smaller sides like Eibar, Real Valladolid, Levante, Osasuna and Alavés, the Basque was not fashionable. He is now.
After victories over Manchester United and Juventus, Sevilla overcame Roma on penalties following a fairly forgettable 1-1 draw to win the trophy on Wednesday and in doing so, inflicted a first European final defeat on José Mourinho. Not even the Portuguese could end the Andalusians’ special hold on this competition.
Veteran right-back Jesús Navas was at Sevilla for the first two of those wins and has been back for the last two as well. The 37-year-old consoled the Roma players one by one after the match, but celebrated the trophy as if it were his first. “I’m from here. I’m from Seville,” he said later. “To experience something so big after the year we have had, the suffering, to keep winning titles, it’s unique.”
Sevilla have had some luck along the way. Their comeback against a dominant Manchester United at Old Trafford was made possible by two late own goals and had definitely seemed fortunate, though to their credit it was backed up by a superb showing in the second leg. And against Roma, the Andalusians equalised through another own goal. But they were always in the game.
Mendilibar was taking charge of the 965th fixture of his professional career. He is experienced but not in this kind of match. It was only his seventh in European competition and five of those have been played this season. Yet he ended the night with a European trophy in his hands and a victory over Mourinho, who has been a master in finals. “Not bad for a coach who won the chance to coach Sevilla in a raffle,” he joked after the match. Out of contract in the summer, he might not even stay, although common sense should see him offered a new deal. He deserves it.
There was vindication too for the man who brought him to the Sánchez Pizjuán: Monchi. One of the main architects of the club’s spectacular success over the past two decades, Sevilla’s sporting director has faced severe scrutiny this season following a poor transfer window last summer and a difficult campaign overall, but the January signings have made an impact and Mendilibar’s appointment now looks inspired. To top it all, victory came against Roma, where Monchi worked with limited success for almost two years before a return to Seville in 2019.
It all adds to the magic and the mystique surrounding Sevilla. What they have done since 2006 is extraordinary. The last 18 European finals featuring Spanish teams have all ended with winners from LaLiga. And the Blanquirrojos have won seven of those in the Europa League – four more than any other club in the history of this competition. Just call it the Sevilla League.