Sevilla resume silver service

Spanish sartorial elegance seemed to have been left to one side, or at least in Glasgow's hotel rooms, as supporters of RCD Espanyol and Sevilla FC walked towards Hampden Park ahead of the UEFA Cup final.

Atmosphere
There was little Latin chic among the Espanyol hordes in blue-and-white kilts, while fans from both teams wore tam o'shanters – Scottish berets with bobbles on top – complete with ginger wigs. On a cold wet evening, the latter was better suited to the conditions. Tam O'Shanter was also the name of a famous poem by Robert Burns, before this traditional accessory was popularised, comically, by British entertainer Russ Abbot. The same Abbot had a top-ten hit in the UK titled Atmosphere and these tammy-wearing Spaniards were certainly headed in the right direction for a party.

Great stage
Hampden had hosted its share of these. Scotland's traditional home of football, the most central of Glasgow's three major stadiums was staging its sixth European final. Taking the middle ground in a town split between Celtic FC and Rangers FC has allowed this neutral arena to witness great occasions such as Real Madrid CF's 7-3 dismantling of Eintracht Frankfurt in the European Champion Clubs' Cup final of 1960. Altogether, it had been the backdrop for four UEFA competition finals before a fully-renovated Hampden held the UEFA Champions League decider between Madrid and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Five years on, the 52,000-seater venue was set for another footballing fiesta.

Glory trail
Espanyol's followers were desperate to celebrate. Sharing a city with FC Barcelona, kings on this continent 12 months before, the blue-and-white side of Catalonia were chasing a first European trophy to complement four domestic cups. Their coach Ernesto Valverde had been a player on their only previous appearance in such a showpiece – Espanyol's defeat by Leverkusen in this tournament in 1988, when they succumbed on penalties after surrendering a 3-0 first-leg lead. Sevilla, the holders, simply wanted more of the same, the 1946 Spanish champions having cancelled a 58-year wait for honours when lifting this prize last May. Something would have to give.

Yearning
Yet if the specially produced kilts and more visceral roars from the Espanyol end suggested greater yearning for success, the novelty of the situation initially worked against Valverde's men. For all their heroics in knocking out heavyweights SL Benfica and Werder Bremen, they made the slower start and the more experienced Sevilla scored early. Adriano Correia beat David García down the Sevilla left before cutting in and shooting past Gorka Iraizoz. Juande Ramos, the Andalusian side's much-trumpeted coach, had expressed admiration for British football beforehand – and his charges enjoyed a successful visit to Tottenham Hotspur FC before dispatching CA Osasuna. But it was a player who flattered to deceive in England, with Manchester City FC, who restored parity. Albert Riera was already offering Espanyol a spark when he made space behind Daniel Alves, ran across the edge of the area and, with Javi Navarro retreating and Daniel Alves diving in, looped a shot beyond Andrés Palop.

Tide turns
Inspired, the underdogs began the second half seeking to convert territorial advantage into goals. Two stars of their UEFA Cup campaign almost conjured a lead. Playmaker Iván de la Peña slipped a pass into captain Raúl Tamudo, who prompted Palop to tip over; Riera forced an even better save. The unfolding drama, however, would soon put interminable demands on Espanyol’s physical and mental resilience. The 68th-minute dismissal of defender Moisés Hurtado saw to that, his second caution coming for bringing down Aleksandr Kerzhakov. Suddenly Sevilla were putting Espanyol to the test, if never quite the sword. Kerzhakov blazed over before skying his best effort. Frédéric Kanouté then appeared to have broken Espanyol hearts when touching home a right-wing cross from Jesús Navas in the last minute of extra time's first half.

Heroes
Still more blows, yet Valverde's braves stayed on their feet. Iraizoz saved enough days for a calendar year, while there was a brilliant last-ditch tackle from forward Luis García. And then, incredibly, Espanyol equalised out of nothing. Substitute Jônatas advanced 30 metres from goal and, with no apparent danger, thumped a shot past Palop. If it touched Christian Poulsen en route, Espanyol had merited their slice of luck. Having hung on to the cliff edge for so long, they suddenly felt a tight grip raise them upwards; they were not going to yield.

Penalties
Sevilla’s victory anthems had proved premature. The ten men survived the five minutes to penalties. But where Daniel Alves's profligacy from the spot typified the night Sevilla were having, Espanyol’s show of resistance had taken a toll of penalty takers as well as legs - Tamudo and De la Peña had been substituted. The shoot-out belonged to Sevilla. If there is glory in defeat though, then among the tears this belonged to Espanyol on Wednesday. Hence the chants of "Espanyol, Espanyol" from the Sevilla fans once they had acknowledged their heroes.