ALVES ON GLASGOW: “THAT SEVILLA SIDE WENT BEYOND THE MEANING OF THE WORD TEAM"

16/05/2020

The Brazilian right back spoke about the final against RCD Espanyol, 13 years on: "We got to the penalty shootout with calmness, Palop was very good and the final was written in the stars for him"

Saturday 16th May marks thirteen years since Sevilla FC won their second UEFA Cup, in Glasgow against RCD Espanyol. Dani Alves, one of the starters that day, gave an interview to UEFA TV where he emphasised the unity that characterised that Sevilla side: "That team was special because it was more than a team, because with a football team, you see them playing well and think how good it is, but that team went beyond the meaning of the word team".

“Football tested us to see if we really deserved to bring home this cup once again”

He also recalled how the match panned out at Hampden Park: "I remember that we could have scored lots of goals after the red card and won the match calmly, but we began to miss. In football we know that when you just can't score, you have to be careful because they can score against you at any moment. When they did score it was a shock, football began to test us, to see if we really deserved to bring home this cup once again. We were dominanting and then suddenly, a shock. A long-range shot from Jonatas levelled the match and we had to go to penalties, that's how it was meant to be".

The Brazilian went into more detail on this idea: "In the penalty shootout we had cramp, it was raining, the pitch was heavy and we finished the match dead, but we were calm. Palop was very good, he was making lots of saves, and we went into the penalties feeling calm, knowing he would save them. The final was written in the stars for him. When I went to take my penalty, I thought that I would hit it hard and try not to put it off target, but in the end, I hit it too hard, my body was off-balance and the ball went wide".

“In the celebrations I had a flashback because not long before we had been celebrating survivial, and there we were lifting our second UEFA Cup”

To finish, Alves spoke about what is his real mission in football: "The celebration was like a flashback because before, we had celebrated survival, and there we were lifting our second UEFA Cup. It's a shot of adrenaline at 300km per hour, and then you have the satisfaction that you're doing your bit to build a great respect, that's what I like most about my job, it fills me with pride going to a club and building or rebuilding something. It was at Sevilla when I realised that a player is here to do that, to build and leave their name there".