Sevilla, Mendilibar, and the Love Story of the UEFA Europa League

• Sevilla beat Roma on penalties to win the Europa League title
• World Cup final shootout hero Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning penalty
• The Spanish team were two points away from relegation when Jose Luis Mendilibar was appointed

Seven-time champions! But this one doesn’t makes sense. Sevilla’s season was a write-off, a disaster. Fighting relegation, shot from the Champions League by a cannon. Things were as bad as they had ever been.

The La Liga side sacked Julen Lopetegui in October and appointed former coach, Jorge Sampaoli following their 4-1 defeat against Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.

But results still didn’t go as expected under the Argentine manager, Sampaoli. A defeat 2-0 to Getafe, their fourth defeat in the seven league games, appeared to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

According to Football Espana, Sampaoli’s brief stint saw Sevilla drop to 14th place in La Liga on 28 points with 12 games left, following that 2-0 loss at Getafe. The Andalusian side were just two points above the relegation zone.

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Although they were through to the Europa League quarter-finals, the club decided to part ways with the Argentine coach ahead of the international break in March.

Sevilla's messiah Mendilibar

Jose Luis Mendilibar was a short-term fix. An experienced head on steady shoulders to drag this team over the line.

But no- as if nothing ever happened, as if their dreadful domestic campaign was just a bad dream- Sevilla will surprisingly play Champions League football next year.

It’s a new lease on life under the Basque manager. He has lost just three games of the fifteen he has managed.

They get to start again, invigorated, inspired, a squad refreshed and replenished, with yet another Europa League trophy to their name.

62-year-old Mendilibar has been a coach for 30 years throughout the lower reaches of the Spanish game. He miraculously kept Eibar in the top division for seven seasons, another story inspired by his simple touch.

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His teams are tireless, direct, and brave. Not intricate, just infectious and intense. They fight for second balls; they win them by hook or by crook.

They work the ball wide and cross it in- 63 times against Juventus in the semi-final, and 40 against Roma in the final. And they believe, with every fibre of their being, that those simple things will work.

An extraordinary, understated career, capped by three extraordinary results – Manchester United, Juventus, Roma. This was Mendilibar at his straight-thinking, straight-talking best.

Then there’s 37-year-old Jesús Navas, scampering up and down the right flank. He has played 651 games for the club, 690 if you include youth team games. He was there when Sevilla won their first Europa League. 15 years later, he captained the club to their seventh, his delivery the difference for the equalising goal.

He is a legend of Spanish football. There are years left in those legs.

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Then there is Gonzalo Montiel. Again! A penalty to win the World Cup, and a penalty to win the Europa League, in the space of 165 days.

He originally missed in Budapest, and it felt wrong. But narratives matter in football, and the most beautiful story often prevails. The gods shone down on Sevilla and Montiel once more.

Yassine Bounou saving penalty kicks; Lucas Ocampos, back where he belongs; Ivan Rakitić, oozing class. This was another night of Andalusian folklore – one that, against all the odds, stuck to that fabled old script.

Sevilla and the Europa League. They all lived happily ever after.

Mendilibar’s Sevilla future

As reported by Football Espana, Sevilla sporting director, Monchi spoke after the club’s Europa League triumph in Budapest on Wednesday.

With qualification for the Champions League in the bag and another Europa League title won, the question at full-time was whether Jose Luis Mendilibar has a future at the club.

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“Let’s enjoy tomorrow in Sevilla, and on Monday we’ll talk. We all know what we want and the decision will be good for everyone,” Monchi said regarding the future of Sevilla head coach Mendilibar.

Dybala cries uncontrollably

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Paulo Dybala was inconsolable after Roma lost the Europa League final to Sevilla on Wednesday night at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

Roma's heartbreaking defeat left Jose Mourinho's charges distraught, with Dybala caught on camera crying uncontrollably.

The Special One was hoping to lead the Italian giants to yet another European triumph for the second season running, having helped them win the inaugural Europa League Conference title last season.