Sevilla FC celebrate the UEFA Cup in Glasgow

14 YEARS SINCE A NIGHT OF DELIGHT IN GLASGOW

16/05/2021
Sevilla FC confirmed their status as one of football's top clubs in an exciting night in which Andrés Palop came out as a hero

A year and six days after that wild night in Eindhoven, Sevilla fans had still not woken up. They had enjoyed even more joy in Monaco, nine months prior, but not even the most optimistic Sevillista would have thought that, a year after lifting the UEFA Cup for the first time, the team would be in another final to retain it. It was no easy feat and the team had to dig deep to get there with the most memorable moment being Andrés Palop's unforgettable goal in Donetsk which forced the match into injury-time which Chevantón would win. Four Spanish teams made it into that last-16 and only one of them, Celta, fell against Werder Bremen.

It was early doors to speak of an all-Spanish final, but after eliminating Tottenham Hotspur with an exhibition in London, Sevilla would only have Spanish opposition in front of them. Osasuna made history reaching the semi-finals, and while they did well in El Sadar, they could not cope with the Sevilla barrage in Nervión. The other finalist, Espanyol, eliminated Benfica and Bremen in their path to the second UEFA Cup final in their history. The venue was Glasgow, a city that now means a lot to Sevilla fans, and it offered our fans an incessant rain which would end in an outpouring of joy as the team lifted the trophy.

Unlike the previous year, this would not be a final in which the team had time to celebrate their achievements. They would have to wait until the very end, until a penalty shootout in which Andrés Palop wrote his name into history. The Valencian made three saves and the save that would win the shootout against Marc Torrejón and would extend Sevilla's reign for one more year. The goalkeeper almost made it to the half-way spot, with his teammates unable to stop him in what was surely the most ecstatic sprint of his career. Sevilla FC were Kings of Europe once more. It was 16 May and the dream had only just begun.