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REUTERS: Antonio Conte will play the Europa League final with the aim of claiming a primary trophy in his first season at the helm of Inter Milan and prolonging the barren fate of his Sevilla rival Julen Lopetegui in his clash in Cologne on Friday 21 August.
The difference in fortune may not be more marked, as Conte won three consecutive Serie A names with Juventus, followed by the 2016-17 Premier League name with Chelsea, while Lopetegui failed to claim a higher bachelor honour as manager.
The former goalkeeper of Rayo Vallecano oversaw the longest trophyless era for the Portuguese aspect Porto between 2014-16 before heading to Spain, where he said goodbye a week before the 2018 World Cup after taking his country to the final.
Lopetegui has given way to Fernando Hierro after he announced that he would take over from Real Madrid in August 2018. He did not hold his position until October of the same year after suffering a 5–1 goal in La Liga through Barcelona.
Nevertheless, the current season has brought joy to the 53-year-old, who guided Sevilla to the 4th most sensible in La Liga and then reached the Europa League final with a combative team whose painting speed surpasses his talent.
Sevilla and Inter have won 8 titles at the European second division festival between them, with the Spanish team chasing a sixth record trophy against their fit rivals.
Lopetegui recognized that denying Inter would be a challenge.
“The team has a very characteristic of playing, all Conte groups have it,” he told The Official Sevilla on the web http://www.sevillafc.es.
“It’s not easy for high-level players to play in such a special collective way. The team is full of talented players, they will force us to play a normal game.
“They are at a magnificent level, a team made to play in the Champions League that finished at one point (Italian champions) from Juventus in Serie A, has great players and an experienced coach.”
Sevilla will have to seize their 2–1 win over Manchester United, with Inter Romelu strikers Lukaku and Lautaro Martínez in a devastating way when they defeated Shaktar Donestk 5-0 in the other semi-final.
Conte admitted that the goal-hungry pair had developed a deadly partnership since Lukaku joined United last year despite his individual appetites.
“It is inevitable that, running hard and running together, a link will develop between the two,” Conte told UEFA’s official website.
“They have the typical selfishness of all the strikers, but they also paint hard for others to score.
“We are up against a team with more delight and maximum trophies at this festival over the past decade. It’s a maxim and only the groups succeed at the top, so we have to prove that we are the ones if we need to win. trophy.”