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
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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Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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UEFA has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace until the French club’s relegation has been confirmed, European football’s governing body said on Monday.
The multi-club ownership regulations do not allow clubs under the same ownership compete in the same European competition, and American businessman John Textor holds a stake in both Palace and Lyon.
Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1 but have since been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog (DNCG).
Lyon are appealing the decision, which came following an audit of the club’s finances, and UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body will now await the outcome of the appeal before making its decision.
UEFA and Lyon reached a settlement agreement over the club’s breach of the financial sustainability requirements, and as part of the settlement, Lyon agreed to their exclusion from European competition should the DNCG confirm their relegation.
League of Ireland club Drogheda United lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month over their exclusion from the Conference League, after falling foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
-Reuters
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