Sevilla are in a seventh Europa League final after they beat Juventus 3-2 on aggregate, beating the Bianconeri in extra time. But it is a first for Jose Luis Mendilibar, who two months ago was unemployed.
409 days ago, he was sacked as manager of Alaves at the bottom of the table, who would subsequently be relegated. After just one defeat in 12 games, Mendilibar has guided Sevilla away from the relegation zone, and past Manchester United and Juventus.
Speaking to ED after the game, Mendilibar framed it as a reward for coaches like him, who have spent most of their career battling at smaller teams. Mendilibar’s opportunity came from the blue, but he has shown himself more than accomplished at this level.
“This final is a reward for the coaches who have always coached teams that were fighting for other prizes. This shows that there are more coaches of this type, that with good squads they can do great things and it is a prize for coaches who are working at theoretically small teams”.
On the game itself, Mendilibar said that the equaliser gave his side the boost they needed, Suso powering home from outside the box.
“We dominated, they went on the counter to try and surprise us. They go ahead and it seemed that they had already done everything. The equaliser gave us wings and in extra time we scored the second.”
Throughout the game, the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan was rocking, with the entire stadium turning out in red.
“The atmosphere was wonderful, sensational, I had never experienced anything like this. I noticed the environment before. During the match I don’t know what happens around me. The applause at the beginning was amazing. I have told my fitness coach, Toni [Ruiz] this has never happened to us. Beautiful.”
Further to his earlier point, highlighting that with resources managers that are not traditionally at bigger clubs can do great things.
“I imagine that when these days pass, I will look back and say ‘we have achieved great things with a good team’. Because I’ve always said that, it’s the most technically complete team as players I’ve ever had, I’ve never had such a good group. It’s easier to do these things with such a good group.”
Mendilibar is certainly the flavour of the month in Nervion, and not only is it a reward for those coaching smaller teams, but also for those doing excellent work over a long career without the industry opportunities others have, because of where they come from. Mendilibar did an excellent job at Eibar for six years, and never found recognition from the league’s bigger teams.
