 |
| Unai Emery Sevilla Manager |
Unai Emery has told Sevilla to show
no fear and embrace their chance at history when they face Dnipro in
Wednesday's UEFA Europa League final.
Emery led Sevilla to glory in last
season's Europa showpiece in a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Benfica at the
Juventus Stadium - the club's third triumph in Europe's secondary competition.
No team has ever won on four
occasions, giving the Liga side the perfect chance to etch their name into the
history books against Ukrainian Premier League outfit Dnipro at Stadion
Narodowy in Warsaw.
"We can't deny that we have the
chance to write history. Of course we are grateful to have that chance, to be
able to pursue this," Emery told UEFA.com.
"We are aiming to achieve
something with this team, with Sevilla. It shouldn't feel like pressure or stop
us from executing our game plan against Dnipro. It will serve more as
motivation, like a dream we can achieve."
Both Sevilla and Dnipro have extra
incentive as, for the first time, the Europa League winners will earn a spot in
next season's Champions League.
It means Sevilla have a second
chance to reach Europe's top table having missed out via their Liga placing by
finishing a point below fourth-placed Valencia.
Emery has done a fine job
considering he has lost the likes of Ivan Rakitic, Alberto Moreno and Federico
Fazio from last season's side, but he is fully aware of the threat posed by
Dnipro considering the calibre of opponent they have beaten in this season's
tournament.
"The fact the winners now
qualify directly for the Champions League has made it grow even more. Teams
have attached more importance to this competition," Emery added.
"Dnipro have been the
revelation of this year's Europa League because they've knocked out some top
teams on the way. Teams that are historically much bigger than Dnipro.
"If they knocked out
Olympiacos, Ajax, Club Brugge and Napoli - who were favourites after
eliminating Wolfsburg - and reached the final, it's because they deserved
it."
Dnipro have been the surprise
package of this year's Europa League and are contesting a UEFA final for the
first time in their history.
Myron Markevych's side showed their
mettle for the big occasion by knocking out Napoli in the semi-finals.
Moreover, Dnipro head into the
contest with a morale boosting 3-2 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk - the 2009
Europa League winners.
Dnipro will have to make do without
Serhiy Kravchenko (knock) and Roman Zozulya (knee), while Sevilla have a doubt
over Dani Parejo (knee).
Source:sportopera mini
No comments:
Post a Comment