Valverde grateful for second chance

If there is anyone at RCD Espanyol who should be nervous ahead of the UEFA Cup final against holders Sevilla FC it is coach Ernesto Valverde. A member of the team which lost Espanyol's only previous European final in 1988 despite leading Bayer 04 Leverkusen 3-0 after 147 minutes of the two-legged UEFA Cup final, he was also an unused squad member with FC Barcelona when they won the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid CF in 1990 and the previous season when Johan Cruyff's team defeated UC Sampdoria to win the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Just to rub salt in the wounds, Valverde finished his playing career with RCD Mallorca in 1997 whereupon the club immediately reached the Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals in successive seasons.

Scottish appreciation
Valverde and major footballing finals do not seem to have a mutual appreciation but preparing for potentially the most momentous occasion in his club's 107-year history the slim, dapper 43-year-old could not be more relaxed. Handling dozens of media interviews this week, and repeatedly juggling answers to similar questions, Valverde not only showed good grace but a sense of adventure which bodes well for the Hampden final. "When I was a player and my team were involved in Europe I always used to hope the UEFA draw would pair us with Rangers [FC] so I could experience playing a competitive match in Scotland," explained the Espanyol coach.

Second chance
"I never had a competitive match in Scotland, Ireland, England or Wales and it got to the extent that I simply decided to go to Scotland on a driving holiday instead. So our second chance at a UEFA Cup final coming at Hampden, a mythical stadium, is an extra pleasure for me." And there it is, the mention of a second chance. At first glance the horror of leading 3-0 for over three quarters of a UEFA final, then edging ahead on penalties but still losing should hang heavy on Valverde and the psyche of the club. Relentlessly optimistic, however, the winger-turned-coach sees it quite differently.

'Confidence'
"This is a wonderful second chance but I don't view that defeat by Leverkusen as a stain on my or the club's career," he smiled. "It was a defeat but it was still an important final and reaching it was not 'nothing'. Moreover, beating not only Werder Bremen in the semi-final but [SL] Benfica in the previous round [this season] has given us huge confidence. We handled the pressure of winning 3-0 against Bremen and travelling to Germany to win the second leg. Everyone had that 3-0 lead from the first leg of the 1988 final against another German team on their minds and winning in Bremen got rid of this 'phantasm' of history."

Barcelona defeated
To add to the UEFA Cup final, Espanyol also ended a five-game run of home defeats to city rivals FC Barcelona with a thrilling 3-1 win and for the first time in years sit closer to a European qualifying slot than the relegation zone as the Primera División draws to a close. So can he put the cherry on the icing? "Sevilla are very quick when they attack and thrive on a very high-tempo game," he smiled, perhaps assessing their threat and perhaps pointing to how long and tiring Sevilla's chase for the UEFA Cup, Primera División and the Copa del Rey has been. "It's complicated but it's a one-off game. And you know anything can happen in a final." Valverde and Espanyol know that better than most.

This is an abridged version of an article that appears in this week's edition of the uefa.com Magazine. To read the article in full, click here.