If it is up to Sevilla captain Jesús Navas, Sevilla will extend the contract of success coach José Luis Mendilibar. The Spanish coach, who was contracted until this summer, achieved great success on Wednesday evening by giving Sevilla the seventh Europa League final victory in history. “He deserves to stay much longer, or I’ll get mad,” were his words.
Where it was expected in advance that AS Roma would dig in and let Sevilla make the game, it was the formation of coach José Mourinho that ruled in the opening phase. Leonardo Spinazzola soon had the opening goal on his shoe. Unfortunately for the Romans, the ball came in front of his weaker right leg and the left back shot straight into the hands of Yassine Bonou. Sevilla had a hard time getting a grip on the Italians, who were loudly and passionately supported in the Puskás Aréna by the fans who had traveled from Rome and the surrounding area. The stadium in Budapest, with a capacity of 67,000 seats, was filled to the last seat.
Sevilla captain demands longer stay of success coach
After the final won against AS Roma with penalties, 37-year-old Navas, who just started in the base, looked back on this special season of Seville. “It’s really great. In the past year we have suffered a lot, but in the end we succeeded again. Everything seemed to go wrong, but the team stood up and got it all. Seville is big,” he said.
Trainer Mendilibar played a major role in this resurrection. In March, he was appointed to succeed the dismissed Jorge Sampaoli. Mendilibar kept Sevilla simple in La Liga and took the final victory in the Europa League. “I believe everything has been said about him. He transformed us and brought out the best in us. He deserves to be with us much longer. Otherwise I get angry.” he added.
That opinion is shared by teammate Suso: “Mendilibar gave us more peace and simplicity. He knew how to organize everything. He deserves to coach this Sevilla in the Champions League. All credits go to him. For me it fits very well. He is a very simple and sincere man. I love that.”
Mendilibar himself was also over the moon after winning the final. “I think I still don’t believe it, but we received the trophy and they gave us the medal. It will take me a while to get used to it. I feel at home here. It’s a pleasure to work with these guys. It would be crazy if I didn’t want to continue. But I don’t know if that will be offered to me,” he concluded.
