The players of the Spanish Sevilla are the new winners of the Europa League, and for the Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic, this was the second trophy with the bench from Andalusians in this competition.
The recent Croatian national team captain led the team to the Europa League title in 2014, and after his transfer to Barcelona, he became the first player to win the Champions League after winning the Europa League just one year later.
After six seasons in Barcelona, Rakitic returned to Sevilla in 2020, and after three seasons in Andalusia, he won a new Europa League trophy.
Yesterday, Sevilla won over Roma in Budapest after a penalty shootout in which the Andalusian team won with a score of 4:1. During the 120th minute of the game, the score was 1:1.
“When I say that no one wants like us, it’s not because someone is a smart guy in the club, but we all think like that. A special feeling for this competition. When we see who we kicked out: PSV, Fenerbahce, Manchester United, Juventus, Roma… It seems more like the Champions League than the Europa League.
And we got everything in style. There is no other way than to congratulate all the players and fans. It’s been a tough season and we’re ending it in a fantastic way. The whole city should be set on fire,” said Rakitic after raising the new trophy.
Special credit for this trophy also goes to coach Mendilibar, who took over from Jorge Sampaoli at the end of the season and with 16 games with only two defeats, won the Europa League trophy, which secures the club a place in the Champions League next season.
“If there was a story about the season, ours would be a candidate for Hollywood. With the third coach, so many problems, arguments, everything… In the end, we were great in the last two months and I can only say that it’s a shame that the season is ending at all”, said Rakitic.
This was the seventh trophy out of seven finals that the Andalusian club played in the Europa League so far.
Rakitic played 51 games this season, scored two goals and recorded six assists.
