Sevilla FC charms Europe. Six UEFA Europa League titles have been won in this period, a unique milestone, alongside a UEFA Super Cup, two more Spanish Cups and a Spanish Super Cup, as well as qualifying for the Champions League on nine occasions.

In the 2005/06 season, Juande Ramos arrived as coach, and with players who until then were unknown, or in an apparent decline in their careers, a team of winners began to be forged. It was in those first years of the century that Sevilla FC dreamed... and fulfilled its dreams.

On 10th May 2006, Sevilla FC won the UEFA Cup for the first time, beating Middlesbrough FC 4-0 at the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven.

The starting XI that day was made up of the following players: Palop; Daniel Alves, J. Navarro, Escudé, David Castedo; Jesús Navas, Martí, Maresca, Adriano; Saviola and Luis Fabiano. Renato, Kanouté and Puerta also came on.

This victory also secured qualification for the UEFA Super Cup on 25th August at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco against FC Barcelona, Champions League winners. Sevilla FC spectacularly ran out 3-0 winners.

The following year the UEFA Cup Final was reached again, this time at Hampden Park in Glasgow. The opponents were RCD Espanyol, who were beaten in a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw at the end of the ninety minutes and a 2-2 draw in extra time. The saves in the penalty shoot-out, together with his headed goal in stoppage time in the second leg of the Round of 16 in Donetsk, made Andrés Palop the hero of the cup. This new success was the third European title in twelve months.

That same year, in 2007, with more than eighty thousand Sevilla fans travelling to Madrid, Sevilla FC returned to the final of the Spanish Championship, now as the Copa del Rey, beating Getafe CF 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu. Sevilla FC thus joined the select group that owns the Spanish Championship in its three denominations. The season ended with a third place finish in La Liga, which opened the door to the Champions League 50 years after their first and only participation.

As cup winners, they faced league champions Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, beating them 1-0 in the first leg in Sevilla and 5-3 in Madrid, with two goals from Renato and an unforgettable hat trick from Frederic Kanouté. It was the fifth title in less than a year and a half.

Sadly, days later, Antonio Puerta, who had already made his international debut, scorer of the "goal that changed our lives" opening the doors to the first European final, collapsed in the first LaLiga match of the season at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. Days later, at the age of 23, the diamond left-footer passed away.

The streak of titles and triumphs, together with strong form in the league, lifted Sevilla FC to first place in the ranking of the World`s Best Football Club, drawn up by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, IFFHS, winning this important award in 2006 and 2007.

The decade that began in absolute misery was about to come to an end, but it needed to be finished off. On 19 May 2010, at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Sevilla FC won the Spanish championship for the fifth time, beating Atlético de Madrid 2-0. Barely a month later, the Spanish national team won the World Cup in South Africa, beating the Dutch team 1-0. This unprecedented event was taken into account by the RFEF, who then awarded the Copa trophy permanently to Sevilla FC, which has since been displayed in the trophy cabinet at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium.

In January 2013, Unai Emery came in as coach, and just months later he faced the challenge of leading a revamped Sevilla, very different from the one he had initially joined. Fourteen players had been brought in, and internationals Jesús Navas and the goalscorer Negredo, among others, were leaving.

In December of the same year, José Castro, who had held the position of vice-president for the previous decade, took over the presidency. The change in leadership did not alter the winning course of a club that was fully consolidated in its structures.

The road to glory once again leads back to Europe, with the club setting its sights on the UEFA Europa League, formerly known as the UEFA Cup. In the quarter-finals, Sevilla FC eliminated Portuguese side FC Porto and in the semi-finals, a thrilling tie with Valencia CF was decided by an injury-time header from M`Bia. The final at the Juventus Stadium in Turin against SL Benfica ended goalless, even after extra time. In the penalty shoot-out, two saves from Beto and Gameiro`s spot-kick gave Sevilla FC the win.

The 2017/2018 season was full of highs and lows, although time will take care to assess this campaign as a positive one for two achievements in particular: reaching the Copa del Rey Final and the quarter finals of the Champions League, at the same time that three different coaches passed through the dugout. The season began with Eduardo Berizzo as coach and favourable results, including an epic 3-3 draw against Liverpool FC in the Champions League, when they were 0-3 down at half-time. When the results stopped being optimal, back in December, and doubts in the game increased, the club decided to sack Berizzo, with Vincenzo Montella as his replacement. The Italian made a good start to his tenure, meritoriously eliminating Atlético de Madrid and Leganés in the Copa del Rey, earning Sevilla FC a place in the final in Madrid, which they would go on to lose to FC Barcelona.

In the meantime, Montella`s side had eliminated Manchester United at Old Trafford in the last 16 of the Champions League, and turned in a respectable performance in the quarter finals against Bayern Munich, who eventually reached the semi-finals of Europe`s top competition. Again, as with his predecessor, the team went into a run of defeats that distanced the club from European positions, and the lack of any prospect of reversing the situation led to the Italian`s dismissal. Joaquín Caparrós, an old acquaintance of the Sevilla fans, took over the reins for just four league games. The short-term future of the club was in the hands of the Utrerano, as not being in Europe the following season would have been a major setback. But that was not to be, as Caparrós` trademarks of dedication and effort rubbed off on the squad, achieving the necessary points to once again ensure Sevilla FC`s presence in Europe, in its favourite competition: the UEFA Europa League.

In May, at the end of the season, the club announced that Joaquín Caparrós would become the club`s Director of Football, accompanied by former players Francisco Gallardo and Carlos Marchena. Just a few days later, the arrival of the new coach for the 2018/2019 season was announced, the Soria-born Pablo Machín, from Girona FC.

With Machín as coach and the signing of players such as Promes, Amadou, Gnagnon, Roque Mesa, Vaclik, Sergi Gómez, Munir and Aleix Vidal, making his return, Sevilla FC had a brilliant first half of the league championship, in third position at the midway point. However, a poor run of results at the start of the second half of the season, culminating in a UEFA Europa League Round of 16 exit at the hands of Slavia Prague, led to the sacking of Pablo Machín in March 2019. Once again, it was Joaquín Caparrós who took the reins of the Sevilla team from the Nervión bench, thus beginning his third spell in that position. With a record of six wins, one draw and four defeats in the last eleven league games, Caparrós managed a sixth-placed finish, once again obtaining the passport to play in the next edition of the UEFA Europa League for the 2019/20 season.

That season marked the return of Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, Monchi, to the position of Sporting Director of Sevilla FC. Upon arriving, the man from San Fernando began to sketch the first outlines of what would be, once again, a title-winning Sevilla FC squad, bringing in Julen Lopetegui as first team coach. As for the squad, in addition to Dabbur, whose signing had been confirmed the previous season, De Jong, Chicharito Hernández, Rony Lopes, Ocampos, Joan Jordán, Óliver Torres, Fernando Reges, Gudelj, Reguilón, Diego Carlos, Koundé and Bono all joined the club.

Despite this "revolution", Lopetegui`s side soon began to achieve good results, establishing themselves at the top of the league table and even leading it. In Europe, Sevilla FC also continued their steady progress, finishing top of Group A in the group stage and eliminating CFR Cluj in the Round of 32, albeit with more difficulty than initially expected. Despite the unexpected elimination in the Round of 16 of the Spanish Championship at the hands of CD Mirandés (3-1) at Anduva, Sevilla FC went into March as third-placed in La Liga and on the verge of another exciting UEFA Europa League tie against AS Roma. It was then that the terrible pandemic caused by COVID-19 forced the suspension of official competitions at national and European level. Three months later, with eleven league matches still to be played, football returned to our country, with a derby at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán serving as the curtain-raiser. Under the watchful eye of the entire footballing world, which had its eyes on the Sevilla derby match, Sevilla FC easily overcame Real Betis Balompié with a 2-0 win, thus obtaining its first three points in this final stretch of the championship. After that victory, Sevilla FC would go another ten games without defeat, with five more wins and five draws, finishing the league championship in fourth place and qualifying directly for the next edition of the Champions League.

Once the domestic competition was over, Sevilla FC prepared for their Europa League Round of 16 clash against AS Roma. The tie, suspended in March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, was played as a one-off match on neutral ground, with the MSV Arena in Duisburg the venue chosen by UEFA. With goals from Reguilón and En-Nesyri in the first half, Sevilla FC clearly defeated their opponents (2-0), securing their place in the next round. The rest of the championship would be played in Germany and in a single-match format by the eight clubs that qualified for the quarter-finals. This new format saw the first match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, which was settled by a late goal from Ocampos in the 88th minute for a 1-0 success. Just five days later, on Sunday 16th August, Sevilla FC faced Manchester United FC in the semi-finals of the championship. The match, played at the Köln stadium in Cologne, started with the English side converting an early penalty. However, the Nervión side managed to recover early on, equalising through a goal from Suso. In the second half, Sevilla FC were able to contain United`s attacking threat, thanks in large part to a memorable performance by Bono. Finally, a masterful cross from Jesús Navas into the centre of the six-yard box culminated in Luuk de Jong`s 78th minute strike to make it 2-1 and secure an eleventh European final of the 21st century.

On 21st August, once again with the Köln stadium in Cologne as the majestic setting for the match, Sevilla FC faced the historic Inter Milan in the UEFA Europa League Final. Julen Lopetegui named a starting XI of Bono, Navas, Koundé, Diego Carlos, Reguilón, Jordán, Fernando, Banega, Ocampos, De Jong and Suso. An early Lukaku goal for the Italians, again from the penalty spot, gave Sevilla an uphill task early on. However, showing grit and courage true to the "Never Surrender" motto of their anthem, Sevilla FC managed to bounce back and take the lead with two superb headers from Luuk de Jong. The joy was short-lived for the Nervionenses, as just three minutes later, Godín equalised again after heading in a free-kick. A pulsating first half came to an end with a 2-2 scoreline. After the restart, the contest continued to be equally tight on both sides, until in the 74th minute, after a free kick by Éver Banega, Diego Carlos came in with a spectacular bicycle kick that deflected in off Lukaku. With a 3-2 lead on the scoreboard, the team looking noticeably fresher and in control of the ball, Sevilla FC were able to hold on until the end of the game, and finally claimed the title of six-time UEFA Europa League champions.

With the achievement of this historic and unprecedented milestone in the history of European football, a peculiar 2019/20 season came to an end, in which Sevilla FC had been forced to overcome numerous difficulties, even being deprived of the support of its greatest asset - its fans - who were unable to accompany the team from the stands once the competitions resumed.

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the consequent alteration of the football calendar forced Sevilla FC to link the end of the previous campaign with the start of the new 2020/21 season, with only a few days` holiday for the first team players. With a view to this new season, the Nervión side reinforced their squad with the arrivals of Marcos Acuña, Óscar Rodríguez, Karim Rekik, Oussama Idrissi and the return of Ivan Rakitić. These names were later joined by that of "Papu" Gómez in the winter transfer window. These new additions covered the departures of Reguilón, Banega, Rony Lopes, Carriço, Chicharito Hernández and Nolito, although the latter three had already left Sevilla midway through the previous season.

The 2020/21 season began for Sevilla FC at the end of September 2020 with the UEFA Super Cup final against Bayern Munich at the Puskás Aréna Stadium in Budapest. Against the German side, who had practically overwhelmed all their rivals in the Champions League, Sevilla FC competed at a high level, although they ultimately lost 2-1 in extra time.

After this first defeat, Lopetegui`s men were able to recover quickly, producing a brilliant run of results in the league, which would be crowned with a definitive fourth place finish. In this way, Sevilla FC once again qualified for the next edition of the Champions League, a feat that was achieved five matches before the end of the tournament. In addition to this, a series of records of enormous merit were set in the league, including the season with the highest number of points (77), the season with the highest number of victories (24) and the season with the highest number of consecutive matches undefeated (18). In the Cup, it was another solid campaign, as Sevilla FC were on the verge of qualifying for another final. However, a cruel goal conceded in stoppage time in the second leg of the semi-final away at FC Barcelona forced extra time, with Lopetegui`s men eventually losing 3-2.

In European competition, after reaching the last 16 of the Champions League, Sevilla FC faced Borussia Dortmund. A narrow defeat in Nervión (2-3) and a draw in Germany (2-2) eliminated them from the competition. Despite this elimination, from a sporting point of view, the 2020/21 season reached a notable high point, as in addition to the achievement of fourth place in the league and the aforementioned records of the first team, there was also the reserve side reaching the new national, two-group third tier, the "Primera RFEF".

During the 2021/22 season, despite early exits in the Cup and in Europe, a creditable fourth place was achieved in the league championship. As a result, Sevilla FC achieved an unprecedented milestone in the club`s history, qualifying directly for the Champions League for the third time in a row thanks to their league position. By qualifying, Sevilla FC reached Europe for the 18th time in the last 19 seasons. A large part of this success was based on the great defensive work of Lopetegui`s team, as Sevilla FC managed to finish the domestic championship as the team that conceded the fewest goals in the league, a record that had only been achieved once before (1950/51 season) and which, together with their great performances, earned Yassine Bono the first Zamora Trophy in the history of the club.

Historia | Sevilla FC