Sevilla's Yassine Bounou on Juventus, the Europa League and his 'little brother'
Thursday, May 18, 2023
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"The dream is to win this title," says Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou as his side go into their semi-final decider against Juventus with the scores level at 1-1.
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Initially signed from Girona as a back-up goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou carved out a regular starting slot at Sevilla thanks to eye-catching performances en route to glory in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League. Three years on, the competition continues to bring joy for the Moroccan international.
With his team one win away from a chance to secure this title for a seventh time, the 32-year-old spoke to UEFA.com about Sevilla's stressful season, his footballing 'little brother' and what it would mean to add another trophy to the club's cabinet.
On the importance of the Europa League to Sevilla
When I arrived at Sevilla, I could feel that the Europa League was important, that it was of great benefit to the club and that the players felt the same. It's a source of strength for the players and gives them a special feeling, energy and passion. We managed to win the Europa League in my first year.
On the current Europa League campaign
Everything changed in the second half of the first leg against Manchester United, because when we played against them, we were focused on our position in the Liga. The first objective was to win more matches in the Liga and stay away from relegation. In the beginning, we played a normal match against Manchester United. However, during the second half we saw we could score goals because their level was dropping off.
When we scored the first goal, we realised we could score the second one. So, we woke up. And the fans got right behind us as we capped things off in the second leg at home. That's when we realised we could have a real go in this competition.
On Juventus and the final
For me, my team-mates and the fans, the dream is to win this title and get through to the next round. Juventus are a big club, but so are Sevilla – we are a top team. We have the ability and the conviction, so it's important for us to head into the match [with that mentality] and produce a quality performance. Juventus have always had great players and, as Sevilla players, we respect the top teams, and we are respected.
On being called 'Bono'
I got 'Bounou' as a nickname, and in Arabic it's spelled as B-O-N-O – only four letters. In Morocco, our second language is French, so the nickname was spelled as 'Bounou' with the 'ou'. In Spain, they found it difficult to pronounce 'Bou-nou' so we kept it as 'Bono', which is easy to pronounce here in Spain. And the nickname stuck – now, the whole world knows me as 'Bono'.
On his Sevilla and Morocco team-mate Youssef En-Nesyri
Firstly, I am very proud of Youssef. Youssef is a great person, and he has principles. I tried to help him and support him whenever I felt like he had any issues, and he did the same. I believe that he can still develop, progress and improve as a player. Personally, I see him as a little brother before seeing him as a player.