Juventus-Seville: The clash of nine trophies

A very strong pair has been drawn for the Europa League semi-finals with Juventus and Sevilla going head-to-head for a ticket to the grand final. For Sevilla, words are unnecessary when talking about the Europa League. Within 15 years, she changed her entire modern history and became the polyvictory of the institution that started in 1971 with 6 conquests.

The first victory came in 2006 when the Spanish team defeated Middlesbrough in the Netherlands 4-0.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpvtpW3_gHA

The very next season, Sevilla doubled their European trophies. He found himself in the final again, in Glasgow in a Spanish Civil War against Espanyol. With the Catalans, Sevilla found things darker as the match ended in a draw with a score of 2-2. Nevertheless, in the penalty shootout, Sevilla prevailed 3-1, winning the second Europa League in its history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_epCmOdrf4

In 2014, seven years after the last appearance in the final, Sevilla… raised it again, this time against Benfica. After the “white draw” in regular time and extra time, Sevilla took the cup on penalties with 4-2, without even knowing what was in store for them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOLjgrnOahc

A year later in Warsaw, in 2015, Sevilla faced Dnipro, a surprise team in the institution. The Ukrainians fell short, losing 2-3, and the Spanish team summarily made it four European trophies, creating a new dynasty in the competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyYXRoLzcqo

The fifth of six Europa League trophies came a year later. In the final in Basel, Sevilla achieved an unattainable record. They became the first team to win the trophy three times in a row after beating Liverpool 3-1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzrlZuMSI9o

Sixth and last conquest so far was this 2020 in Germany in a final that was held without people due to covid-19. There Sevilla played Inter in a thrilling game that ended 3-2 in favor of the Spaniards, with Lukaku’s side leaving empty-handed.

Juventus is a team that primarily stars in the Champions League. Known for the many lost finals, what many people don’t know about the “old lady” is that along with Liverpool, Inter, and Atletico Madrid, they are second in the Europa League in its old form, with three trophies.

The first came way back in 1977 when the final was still a doubleheader with Juventus facing Athletic Bilbao, In Turin Juve prevailed 1-0 while in Bilbao Athletic won 2-1, with the Italian side lifting the trophy thanks to the away goal he scored.

In another double final in 1990 we had an Italian civil war with Juventus and Fiorentina. At the home of the “Old Lady” the match ended 3-1 in favor of the hosts, followed by a… 0-0 in the second leg with “Juve” winning the trophy for the second time.

Juventus achieved its third and last victory three years later, in 1993, against Dortmund. With the emphatic 3-1 victory in Germany, the Italian team laid a solid foundation for achieving its goal. In the replay in Turin, the picture was similar and the match ended 3-0 with Juventus celebrating.

Edited by: Vassilis Macheiras