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Alberto Moreno: Liverpool's inside man

"I am from Seville and I'm a Sevilla fan," Alberto Moreno told UEFA.com, with the left-back determined to undo his old employers with Liverpool.

Alberto Moreno joined Liverpool from Sevilla
Alberto Moreno joined Liverpool from Sevilla ©Sportsfile

Born in Seville, and a first-team player at Sevilla until his switch to Anfield in summer 2014, left-back Alberto Moreno knows Liverpool's final opponents better than anyone at his club. The 23-year-old ponders what it will take to beat the Hispalenses in the final.

On making it to the final…

It's fantastic. Playing in a final is a wonderful thing for any footballer, and especially in our case. It's been a very tough Europa League campaign. We've had to play some very strong opponents like Manchester United, Borussia [Dortmund], and Villarreal, and we deserve to be in Basel. We made quite a slow start to this competition – we drew a lot of matches – but everything changed when Klopp came in. He wanted to win the Europa League so badly and through taking it step by step, we've managed to reach the final.

On Jürgen Klopp's influence…

Since Klopp's arrival, everything's been different. All the players have been performing at 100%. We've all been convinced that we can achieve something big in the Europa League, and you can see that in every Europa League match; they've all been like finals for us. He is very close to the players and talks to everybody. He transmits a lot of confidence and a lot of passion, and it's great for the players that the coach is always motivated; that certainly helps you when you take to the pitch. So we've really felt a change, and we've managed to reach the final in Basel thanks to him.

Moreno discusses his bond with Sevilla

On facing hometown side Sevilla…

It will be a strange final. I was born in Seville, I'm from Seville and I'm a Sevilla fan. I was at Sevilla for ten years – from a young age – but now I'm a Liverpool player; I'm happy here and I’m developing further. A year and a half ago I was sharing the dressing room with my friends at Sevilla, and now I'll be facing them in a European final. It will be fantastic, and I can't wait for the day of the final. Winning the 2014 final with Sevilla is a wonderful memory. Winning a trophy is amazing – it was my first year as a professional, and winning the Europa League straight away was brilliant. Would I love to win it again? Of course. Everybody wants to win every possible trophy.

Basel awaits final showdown

On what Liverpool need to do to beat Sevilla…

Sevilla have a very good team, and as everybody knows they've reached three consecutive Europa League finals. They're a tough team with some great players, but we've also had a fantastic Europa League campaign, and we've become stronger and stronger. We have to be ourselves – we have to believe in ourselves, and do what we know how to do. Belief is the most important thing. You should never let your head drop, and knowing that – with the support of all our fans and all our families who will be there to cheer us on – we will try to give everything to win that final.

Watch how Liverpool made the final

On what it would mean to win it again…

Since I got here I've wanted to win trophies with Liverpool. We lost to Manchester City in the League Cup final, so it would be just fantastic to win the Europa League. The club and the fans need a trophy. They deserve it, because they're always there to support us and have managed to push the team forward. They deserve a trophy even more than we do.

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