Nobody resurrects like Sevilla: simple football and the impulse of history
There was a very close time when Nervión bowed his head, put his hands together and prayed. Prayers that did not even dare to mention what they will live in Budapest today. A pilgrimage to the banks of the Danube to give thanks for the return to life of a team that has its seventh Europa League just a span away. Nobody wants this competition like Sevilla; no one revives so well.
The miracle began to materialize in Holy Week and has a prophet: José Luis Mendilibar. The simple football, without frills, of the Basque took Sevilla out of the well of the table, but it did not settle for the essentials. “In Seville you always watch the Europa League, however difficult it may seem,” he acknowledged yesterday as soon as he stepped on the Puskas Arena, the stadium of his first final. Mendilibar, who has had the game drawn in his head for a long time and Acuña's only casualty due to suspension, restored confidence and a plus of faith to a squad with plenty of class so as not to doubt that in Europe there was still a lot to do. President Pepe Castro says it: for Sevillism the Europa League is a religion and it must be professed with such devotion that neither United nor Juventus seemed fearsome.
On the way to the seventh, towards a historic plenary session, the Rome of José Mourinho appears, iron like the symbol of an entire empire that shines on his shirt. For the Portuguese, apparently calmer with age and a dazzling track record, it is the opportunity to claim that he knows how to build from scratch by adding one more title to the Conference that he already took to Rome last year.. The Europa League, yes, would open the doors of the Champions League and perhaps, although he has one more year on his contract, it will dispel the doubts that hang over his continuity. He said something to his captains in secret yesterday and then threw balls out: “That question is for Mendilibar, who has a more difficult situation,” he took refuge. The Portuguese is so motivated by the challenge that he puts on the lambskin and takes it off with the same ease. He speaks of expert Sevilla fans in front of his “children of spring” and shies away from the difference in budget between the two squads: “Could it be that Montiel, Lamela or En-Nesyri are poorly paid,” he joked.
Dybala's doubt
“If you think that Sevilla is a favorite for history, I respect it.. It is true that we lack the experience in the Europa League and that Sevilla has been habitual to be in the finals while for us it is extraordinary and unforgettable. But we won't be thinking about that when the game starts. They don't know what my team is capable of. We are not little angels”, clarified the Portuguese. One of lime and one of sand, like Dybala. The team has been built around him, but the Argentine is a doubt. “We can see him for 20 or 30 minutes,” admitted his coach, who did not want to train at the Puskas Arena.
Yes, Mendilibar wanted to do it, to be prepared for the first final of his career that does not take away his sleep. “I'll sleep well because I got up early,” he warned. Nor was it affected by the sugar with which Mou sweetened the reasons why he beats the Basque in titles. «I have only had more opportunities than him to play in Europe. We are two coaches of the same generation, with experience and white hair,” said the Portuguese. “He has gray hair before me,” replied the Sevilla player, who is not deterred from his goal: “I am always grateful, but with history you don't win and neither do you with compliments. We know how they are going to play and how we have to do it, because they are going to be the most difficult opponent we have.”
In Seville, Mendilibar has shown that miracles in football are easier to happen when they are in the hands of players who dominate a game in which, sometimes, pressure, discomfort and wrong choices make boots twist. Will it be enough to continue? “I don't care about my future. I was unemployed and I agreed to sign for two months that will end on Sunday. We will see. I’m enjoying soccer since I arrived in Seville, because I go out onto the pitch with the idea that I have a much better chance of winning, when at other times it was easier to lose,” he acknowledged. In the stands, 13,000 sevillistas who have traveled the continent – including former president Del Nido on the official plane – and now expect the Europa League to fall in love with Seville again.