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First team

MENDILIBAR: "I THANK THE PLAYERS, THE CLUB AND THE FANS BECAUSE WE HAVE WON THISN TOGETHER"

01/06/2023
Entradilla
The Sevilla coach, satisfied after lifting his first European trophy, the Seventh for our club
Cuerpo Superior

José Luis Mendilibar spoke to the media following his side's victory over AS Roma in the Europa League. The Sevilla coach, who lifted his first Europa title which happened to be Sevilla's seventh, showed his gratitude: "What you have to do is be consistent in how you play during the match. I thank the players for what they have given us, I thank the club, the fans, to you the journalists... the club was in a bad period when I arrived and we have managed to win this. The Europa League is the biggest trophy I have won."

Starting to assess how the match developed, he spoke about how his side had to impose themselves on the opposition: "When they scored it was difficult, but we soon equalised and that gave us strength to keep on getting forward. In extra time we also suffered, they defended well and tried to score on the counter and then it went to penalties... We honestly hadn't practiced penalties, we were looking to win in 90 or 120 minutes."

Moreover, he praised the players: "These lads have made my job easy. From the start I have said to them that they were good players and the idea was to change their emotional state. They are the ones who got involved and gave you confidence, I always had the belief we could win against anyone and they have confirmed that... nowadays, with the added time they give and the extra time it's true that it was a long game, but we had to be consistent as I said. We have to play connected, with rhythm and not taking our foot off the gas."

Asked on his future, not getting onto the referee which had been mentioned earlier, the coach said he has done his job, but now is the time to enjoy: "We are going to enjoy this because it has been very tough. I don't know if they will renovate my contract or not, but it's not too important for me. I've done well here, and I am thankful for the opportunity. If we speak and we reach an agreement, perfect, but if not I will leave with many friends and feeling grateful for the experience."