Coke asks Sevilla for one last push
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
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"This could be the last trophy some of our players win," captain Coke told UEFA.com, exhorting Sevilla not to leave Basel with any regrets after the final.
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Sevilla captain Coke has won the UEFA Europa League twice in the last two seasons; the 29-year-old right-back explained what it would mean to him to get his hands on the trophy one more time.
On why Sevilla love the UEFA Europa League…
There's a two-way relationship between our team and this competition. The Europa League has given Sevilla international recognition and respect, and that's because we've always taken this competition seriously. We had to play a preliminary round in Podgorica in 2013/14, and when we went there we were really excited, as though we were about to play in a final! And because of that attitude, the team and the fans started to love this tournament. And the Europa League has really rewarded us with some great victories and a lot of success.
On Liverpool…
They qualified for this final by beating some top-level teams, and they outperformed Villarreal, who are having an outstanding season in the Spanish league. Liverpool are a great team, and very well coached. Sometimes they overwhelm their opponents, who seem to be pinned back in their own box. Both teams will be very excited, and in the first few minutes they'll probably be worried about losing the match, but after that it will be a great spectacle.
On playing in finals…
It would be good if you could just go onto the pitch as if it was a normal match – you would avoid the nerves – but when you get to the stadium and you see the fans all excited, and you see your family, your friends, your team-mates, that is when you realise there is much more at stake. You realise you are playing for a title, for your loved ones and your fans. This could be the last trophy some of our players win, so we must completely commit ourselves to bringing the cup back to Seville. Playing in a final is a dream come true for every player, right from the very beginning of their careers, and we're making that dream come true for the third year in a row.
On what it would mean to win it again…
Before we played the 2014 final in Turin, we were thinking about it like a gift, a reward for the great season we'd had. But then we went to Warsaw for our second final, and now we're going to be playing a third one in Basel. You have got to enjoy matches like this as if they were your last. Our team has fought so hard to get here. Some of my team-mates, like [Marco] Andreolli and Michael [Krohn-Dehli], unfortunately won't be able to play because of injury, and that hurts a lot. We will be fighting for them and for our families, who suffer the most from the pressure we get as footballers.
Sevilla and the Europa League already have a close mutual bond, and winning this trophy for the fifth time, and the third time in a row, would literally mean we are making history. No one knows if anyone will achieve that again; it is very unlikely. Of course, we are not fully aware of the magnitude of what we are doing, but that will be clearer a few years from now. I would love to play in a final like this every year, but that's very difficult.
