Inter Milan has waited 10 years to triumph in the European final and hopes to reload the Europa League trophy in their wardrobe. But in his own way, Sevilla wins five times.
The La Liga club has lifted the trophy twice as much as any other team and points to a sixth record title, Inter is among the groups in position at the moment with 3 wins. He last won the UEFA Cup in the 1997/98 season and has not played in a European final since winning the 2009/10 Champions League.
But on a non-public level, the two managers, who manage their first European grand final, may be further away from their record.
Antonio Conte will head to the Europa League final with the aim of winning a primary trophy in his first season at the helm of Inter Milan and prolonging the barren fate of his Sevillian rival Julen Lopetegui.
Conte has won 3 consecutive Serie A names with Juventus, followed by the 2016/17 Premier League name and the 2018 FA Cup with Chelsea, while Lopetegui has not claimed a higher bachelor honour as a manager.
The former goalkeeper oversaw the longest trophyless era in Porto between 2014 and 2016 before taking the pace of Spain, where he captured a week before the 2018 World Cup after leading his country to the final.
Lopetegui has given way to Fernando Hierro after announcing that he would take over from Real Madrid in August 2018. He did not retain his position until October of the same year after suffering a 5–1 goal in La Liga through Barcelona.
The current season, however, has brought joy in guiding Sevilla to a more sensible 4 of La Liga, and then achieving the latest in the Europa League with a combative team whose painting speed surpasses its talent.
They proved it with a 2-1 comeback on Manchester United in the semi-finals, taking advantage of the merit of a sloppy defence to increase their unbeaten streak to 20 matches in all competitions, the longest in the club’s history.
But Inter is also in a devastating way. They saw Shakhtar Donetsk with a proverbial shot at the wrist, winning 5-0 in their semi-final match. He is also unbeathed in 11 matches, winning the last six matches in all competitions and completing only one point Juventus in Serie A.
Less than a year after leaving the Premier League, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Ashley Young and Christian Eriksen can win their first trophy in the primaries with Inter Milan.
Of course, the top three all came to Italy from Manchester United. Young, the only player to win trophies at Old Trafford, adding the Europa League in the 2016/17 season.
Eriksen was also released from trophies at the time at Tottenham, getting closer to the 2019 Champions League final. Victor Moses is also on loan at Inter Chelsea, playing four times in Europe so far this season.
Sevilla also has its former Premier League stars. Jesús Navas won the Premier League and two League Cups at Manchester City, and worried about two of Sevilla’s last UEFA Cup wins.
But it’s two Premier League names that were so lucky they saw Manchester United last time. Suso rose on the youth ladder at Liverpool, but only played a handful of first-team appearances, while Luuk de Jong, who won the match, played only 12 league games for Newcastle on loan in 2014.
Two other positions but two equally damaging players. At first glance, Lukaku’s contribution is seamlessly explained through his Europa League statistics.
He scored six goals, adding two in the semi-finals, with two assists, 18 framed shots and 61.1% accuracy in shots. That counts the two goals and the two assists he recorded in the champions league organisation stage.
Lukaku forged an excellent partnership with Lautaro Martínez, who also scored twice in the 5-0 win over Shakhtar, and Conte said of the pair: “It is inevitable that by running hard and together, a bond develops between the two. They have the typical selfishness of all forwards, but they also paint hard to help others score.”
But what Seville lacks a successful striker, they make up for it with a master midfielder at Ever Banega.
He named the boy of the opposite fit to Wolves and Manchester United with his orderly, sublime and insightful midfield game that helped Sevilla to some other final.
It was his sublime pass that opened the scoring for the Wolves in the quarter-finals when Lucas Ocampos scored the sole purpose of the game. Although he may only have 3 assists in the Europa League this season, it is his draws beyond that will be a real control for Inter midfielders.
Sevilla coach Lopetegui acknowledged that, despite the club’s record in the competition, trying to avoid Inter would be a major challenge.
“The team has a very game feature, all Conte groups have it,” he told The Seville’s official website.
“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.”
The Inter Conte coach needs his team to play with hobby and prove that they are the Cologne team.
He told UEFA.com: “We have to play with preference to win and bring the trophy back to Italy, and bring a trophy to Inter. We have to prove that we are the team.”
“It is vital to be able to tell the boys at the end of the game that we do not regret it. If we’re the most productive team, we’ll lift the trophy. Otherwise, we will have given it all and make it applaud our opponents.”
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