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The Andalusians defeated Jose Mourinho’s Roma to claim a seventh Europa League title in 17 years. In this edition of ‘Throwback’, we hark back to the Spanish side’s preceding six triumphs.
One European record was bound to tumble in Budapest but it was not Sevilla’s. The Andalusians had never lost a deciding Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup) game, and they continued that run after a feisty final with Roma at the Puskas Arena on Wednesday.
In normal circumstances, the Spanish side would have been favourites. However, facing Jose Mourinho meant this year’s event was difficult to call.
The Portuguese manager had never lost a European final — winning two Champions League titles, as many Europa Leagues (UEFA Cup with Porto in 2003) and last year’s Europa Conference League with the Giallorossi.
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21:05 - 30.05.2023
ANALYSIS Has Mourinho's Roma spell been a success?
The Giallorossi boss could win consecutive European finals with the Rome outfit, so why is the Portuguese manager’s future uncertain?
Four successive clean sheets followed Mourinho’s 3-2 win with Porto 20 years back, with Henrik Larsson the last player to score against any team managed by the two-time Champions League winner since the early 2000s.
It took a Gianluca Mancini own goal to end that run en route to Sevilla’s success with Jose Luis Mendilibar.
It gave the Rojiblancos their seventh success in the competition, just two months after the 62-year-old became the club’s third head coach of a hitherto wretched season.
We recall Sevilla’s previous six triumphs in Europe’s second-tier club competition.
Middlesbrough 0-4 Sevilla (2006)
Still called the UEFA Cup at the time, Juande Ramos guided the Andalusians to a comprehensive victory, winning the club’s first major trophy in 58 years in Eindhoven.
An Enzo Maresca brace was bookended by Luis Fabiano and Frederic Kanoute goals, although three of Sevilla’s strikes came in the final 12 minutes of proceedings.
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Despite making Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer work, it was not until Boro desperately searched for an equaliser that Ramos’ troops consolidated their triumph and then some.
The Australian’s eight saves in 90 minutes underlined how busy he was between the sticks for Steve McLaren’s side, who faced 19 shots in the 2006 decider.
Against a Sevilla team comprising Daniel Alves and Adriano — both of whom moved to Barcelona in 2008 and 2010 — Jesus Navas, Kanoute and Fabiano, the English side offered little menace, underscored by their seven shots and three on target.
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That triumph began the club’s love story with the competition.
Espanyol 2-2 Sevilla [1-3 on penalties] (2007)
A year after ending their wait for a significant title, Ramos and his troops were back in the UEFA Cup final, where they faced off with LaLiga side Espanyol at Hampden Park.
The Andalusians twice took the lead, with Adriano for 1-0 and Kanoute for 2-1, but Albert Riera levelled for 1-1, and Jonatas equalised with five minutes of extra time to play.
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Kanoute had diverted Naves’ low cross with 15 minutes of extra time remaining, but Jonatas beat Andres Palop from around 20 yards to level for the 10-man side, who had Moises Hurtado sent off for a second yellow in the 68th minute.
Nonetheless, Ernesto Valverde’s team persevered and got their just rewards despite playing more than 50 minutes with a man fewer.
Palop was the hero in the shootout, thwarting Luis Garcia Fernandez, Jonatas and Marc Torrejon to see Sevilla secure back-to-back triumphs in the competition.
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That 2007 final was a closer affair than the previous season, and Espanyol edged possession until Hurtado’s dismissal.
The side from Seville’s only first-half shot on target was Adriano’s goal but they had eight in the second half plus extra time en route to matching Real Madrid (1985 and 1986) as the team to win consecutive titles.
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It was striking that both clubs had the same volume of on-target shots (nine).
Sevilla 0-0 Benfica [4-2 on penalties] (2014)
The first of three consecutive triumphs began against Benfica in 2014, where Unai Emery’s team beat Benfica on penalties after it finished goalless at the Juventus Stadium.
Palop was no longer at Sevilla — leaving the club in June 2013 for Bayer Leverkusen — but Beto stepped up to deny Oscar Cardozo and Rodrigo Moreno to put the Andalusians in the driving seat.
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A young Jan Oblak could not match his opposing goalkeeper, failing to stop Rojiblancos’ spot-kicks, thus continuing Benfica’s wait for a European title.
Emery’s team defeated two Spanish sides en route to that title, beating rivals Real Betis on penalties in the quarter-finals and Valencia in the semis to claim their third title and a first in seven years.
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 2-3 Sevilla (2015)
Dnipro and Sevilla met for the first time in a UEFA competition in 2015’s decider, with Emery’s team claiming a 3-2 success at the National Stadium in Warsaw.
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It was the Ukraine side’s first-ever European decider, and they played their part in a rip-roaring final that produced four first-half goals.
Emery’s men fell behind to Nikola Kalinic’s seventh-minute header before Grzegorz Krychowiak and Carlos Bacca scored three minutes apart to turn the game around. However, Ruslan Roten levelled just before the break for Dnipro, who gave everything against the Spanish club.
It took a Bacca second with 15 minutes remaining to seal the win and Sevilla’s record fourth Europa League (UEFA Cup) title, thus overtaking Juventus, Inter Milan and Liverpool’s three triumphs.
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Furthermore, Emery’s men were beneficiaries of the Europa League champions securing an automatic spot in the following season’s Champions League, having ended the 2014-15 LaLiga campaign in fifth place – two points shy of Valencia in fourth and three adrift of third-placed Atletico Madrid.
Liverpool 1-3 Sevilla (2016)
Emery became the fifth manager to win two or more titles the previous year, and the Spaniard won three consecutive Europa League finals after a comeback win over Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
A stunning outside-of-the-boot effort by Daniel Sturridge put the Reds ahead at the break in Basel, but Sevilla turned the game around at St. Jakob-Park after the interlude.
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Kevin Gameiro levelled straight from the restart (17 seconds into the second half), and a Coke brace took the game out of reach of Liverpool.
Three goals in 25 minutes saw the Andalusians win their fifth Europa League crown.
Emery’s men had begun their European journey in the Champions League but dropped into the second tier after finishing third behind Manchester City and Juventus in the premier club competition.
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Sevilla 3-2 Inter Milan (2020)
The 2020 Europa League format was changed during the competition due to the pandemic, but it did not prevent Julen Lopetegui from reigning supreme in a shortened knockout event in Cologne.
Romelu Lukaku had converted the early penalty he impressively won, but Luuk de Jong’s 11th-minute equaliser and 33rd-minute goal put the Andalusians 2-1 up.
Diego Godin levelled three minutes after De Jong’s second to make it 2-2 at the break, effectively a repeat of Sevilla’s 2015 triumph over Dnipro.
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It took a Lukaku own goal with 15 minutes remaining to seal the game, as the Rojiblancos secured a sixth crown.
Inter had dropped into the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group and became the first Italian side since Parma (1999) to reach the UEFA Cup/Europa League final.
However, Antonio Conte’s men had no answers to Sevilla.
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Rojiblancos are the Europa League kings; Wednesday night against Mourinho’s Roma proved it.
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11:39 - 01.06.2023
Sevilla Vs Roma: 3 mistakes Mourinho made in the Europa League final defeat
Jose Mourinho is known for getting the results irrespective of how his team win the game. However, Sevilla got the better of Roma despite playing a defensive in most parts of 120 minutes.
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10:18 - 01.06.2023
Angry Mourinho INSULTS referee Anthony Taylor in car park after Roma's Europa League final loss to Sevilla
Jose Mourinho went after Anthony Taylor, screaming abuses his way after being left enraged and disappointed by the referee's performance in the Europa League final, which Roma lost to Sevilla on penalties.
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