EUROPA League
EUROPA FINAL: DISCARDED BY SPAIN AND REAL MADRID, LOPETEGUI FINDS SALVATION AT SEVILLA
Two years on from the embarrassment of being sacked as coach of his country on the eve of a World Cup, Julen Lopetegui has rebuilt his reputation to take Sevilla back to a sixth Europa League final in 14 years.
The Spaniards’ success in Europe’s second-tier competition is no longer a surprise despite the continued churn of players and coaches without the wealth of the continent’s superclubs.
However, a return to the Europa League final for the first time since 2016 on top of a first top-four finish in La Liga for three seasons, is sweet vindication for Lopetegui after a nightmare few months in 2018 threatened to derail his coaching career.
Hopes were high that the former Real Madrid and Barcelona goalkeeper could produce one last hurrah from Spain’s golden generation that had won three major tournaments from 2008 to 2012 ahead of the World Cup in Russia.
Spain were unbeaten in Lopetegui’s 20 games in charge of the national team, including impressive wins over Argentina, Italy, Belgium and eventual world champions France.
But he paid a heavy price for his own misjudgement and the politics of Spanish football as he accepted the role as Zinedine Zidane’s successor at Real Madrid days before the tournament got underway.
Furious Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales fired him two days before Spain’s opening match against Portugal in a move that did neither side much good.
Lopetegui returned home a haunted figure as he was presented at the Santiago Bernabeu just a day later and Spain limped out on penalties to Russia in the last 16 after winning just one match in four.
The decision to take the Madrid job was even more misguided as Lopetegui lasted just 14 games and was sacked again by late October.
Sevilla offered a shot at redemption, but also came with a risk. Monchi’s return as sporting director kicked off a huge turnover of the playing staff as 17 new players arrived and 28 departed over the course of the season.
Among those to leave were top scorers Wissam Ben Yedder and Pablo Sarabia and replacing them has proved problematic with Lucas Ocampos and Munir El Haddadi the only players to reach double figures for goals this season.
But Lopetegui has constructed a hard team to beat as is evidenced by a club record run of 20 games without defeat either side of a three-month shutdown due to coronavirus.
Only Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid had a better defensive record in La Liga this season and Bruno Fernandes’s penalty in the semi-final is the only goal Sevilla they have conceded in three knockout games since arriving in Germany against Roma, Wolves and Manchester United.
“There are always doubts until you really know the coach,” Monchi told Marca.
“Julen has pleasantly surprised me. Everyone told me that he was very professional and he’s won me over. When I see someone like him I fall in love, so I’m very happy to work with him.”
The team-spirit Lopetegui has fostered was clearly on show during the semi-final as Sevilla rode their luck, but showed no little heart to beat United 2-1 with a fraction of the budget of the English giants.
Despite the empty stands in Cologne, Sevilla were roared on by an enthusiastic crowd of substitutes, team directors and staff compared to the largely silent and bemused United contingent.
“We know we have created our own strong and loud support,” said Lopetegui of the encouragement from the sidelines.
“It was been a difficult but also a beautiful year,” he added on a first season in Seville that is now into its 13th month.
“The team has had the possibility to grow, overcoming obstacles, because of their hard work, solidarity and team spirit.”
Sevilla will need to be the better unit again in Friday’s final against another European giant with better individuals in Inter Milan.
But after five wins in five previous finals, Sevilla can never be underestimated in the Europa League.—
–AFP
Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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