The Europa League is one of the most coveted trophies in European football. Here we will take a look at the past editions of the tournament, and the teams who have been most successful.
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What is the UEFA Europa League?
The UEFA Europa League is Europe’s second-tier continental competition, one below the UEFA Champions League, and above the Europa Conference League. It features clubs from around Europe who all compete to lift the Europa League trophy.
History and Significance of the UEFA Europa League
The Europa League is one of Europe’s most well-known competitions with a rich history of iconic matches and teams, let’s take a look at how it all began and what makes it so important.
Evolution of the UEFA Europa League
The first ever edition of the competition that we now know as the Europa League was called the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which ran between 1955-1971; the competition grew from 11 teams to 64 in that time. In 1971 it was rebranded as the more well-known UEFA Cup, until it switched to the UEFA Europa League in 2009.
Importance and Prestige of the UEFA Europa League
Despite not being Europe’s premier continental competition, the Europa League is still a highly coveted trophy and demands a lot of respect. Many great teams and players have played in the tournament and lifted the trophy. Winning the Europa League would be a hallmark of many players’ careers.
The Journey to Becoming UEFA Europa League Winners
Most competitions require a season-long graft from the winning team, fighting at every stage to become champions, and the Europa League is no different.
Road to the UEFA Europa League Final
The road to the Europa League final can be a long one. For teams who have to play in the earliest qualifying rounds the journey could take them all the way from the preliminary qualifying round all the way to the final, over the span of almost a year, but this is less common. For those who qualify for the group stage automatically, the journey will consist of six, sometimes seven stages.
Qualification Process for the UEFA Europa League
12 teams qualify for the Europa League group stage automatically based on last season’s performance. Those are the six domestic cup winners from the top six ranked nations, as well as four fifth-placed teams from nations ranked one to four, the fourth placed team from the fifth ranked nation, and the winners of the previous season’s Europa Conference League competition.
The other 20 teams have to go through a qualifying process. 10 of those qualify by winning their matches in what is known as the play-off round of qualification, whilst the other 10 are the six losing teams from the ‘Champions League third qualifying round and play-off round for non-champions’, and four losers from the ‘Champions League play-off round for champions’ .
Group Stage Battles and Knockout Rounds
The Group Stage consists of 32 teams, split into eight groups of four. Within their groups, teams all play each other twice in a round robin style tournament, playing each team both home and away. The winners of each group will go straight into the round of 16, whilst the runners up in each group will qualify for the preliminary knockout round, where they will be drawn against one of the eight teams who drop down from the Champions League upon finishing third in their group. The winners of those eight ties will progress to the round of 16.
The round of 16 matches are played in a traditional two-leg format, with extra-time and penalties on the cards if the scores remain level. The winners of those matches will progress to the quarter-finals which follow the same format.
Semi-Finals: Determining the Finalists
The semi-finals continue in a similar vein to the other knockout rounds, just with a lot more pressure. The semi-finals are still played as two-leg fixtures, with one game at each team’s home stadium. The away goal rule is not active and in the event of a tie, extra-time and penalties could be played in the second leg. The winners of the ties will earn themselves a place in the final.
The Ultimate Showdown: UEFA Europa League Final
The Europe League final is one of the biggest matches in the European footballing calendar and it pits two of the continents best against each other, throwing up some classic matches in the past.
The final is always played at a ‘neutral’ stadium which is predetermined before the start of the tournament. It usually takes place in the same week as the Champions League final, with the Europa League final often being played on a Wednesday night. This season’s final will take place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on 22nd May 2024.
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Memorable UEFA Europa League Winners
Given the calibre of the competition and the size of the clubs that compete in it the Europa League has played host to some of the greatest European matches, and there have been some memorable winners along the way.
Records and Statistics
Most UEFA Europa League titles (club) – Sevilla (7)
Most UEFA Europa League titles (player) – Jose Antonio Reyes (5)
Most consecutive seasons in UEFA Europa League – Club Brugge (20)
Most goals in a single match – Aritz Aduriz (5)
Most goals in a single season – Radamel Falcao (17)
All-time top goalscorer – Henrik Larsson (40)
Legendary UEFA Europa League Finals
The Europa League plays host to some of Europe’s biggest teams and throughout the years it has seen some blockbuster finals between some of the giants of the game.
One of the best finals in recent memory was Chelsea’ demolition of rivals Arsenal in Baku in 2019. Chelsea headed into the match as favourites, with the farewell story of Eden Hazard dominating the headlines, as well as the fact that former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud had starred in the earlier rounds of the tournament for the Blues. Chelsea would go on to secure an emphatic 4-1 victory, with Giroud on the scoresheet and Eden hazard netting twice to bow out in style.
Another memorable final came back in 2003, when the competition was called the UEFA Cup, as Porto beat Celtic 3-2 after extra time. One unique factor about this final is that it is the only one to have been won via the silver goal rule. This game was the beginning of Jose Mourinho’s rise to fame, and also saw a standout performance from the now legendary Deco.
Iconic UEFA Europa League Moments
One of the most iconic stories in Europa League history came back in the 2009/10 season when Fulham made an unbelievable run, all the way to the final of the competition. The small west London club were not well fancied heading into the competition but overcame the likes of Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg to reach the final. They were eventually beaten in extra time in the final against Atletico Madrid, but their memorable run, and most notably their 4-1 win over Italian giants Juventus, will live long in the memory.
Full List of UEFA Europa League Winners
Early Years (1971-1999)
Season 1971-1972 to Season 1998-1999
Modern Era (2000-2023)
Season 1999-2000 to Season 2022-2023
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Recent UEFA Europa League Winners
Current Title Holders
The current Europa League holders are Sevilla, who won their record seventh title after beating Jose Mourinho’s Roma side on penalties in last year’s final.
UEFA Europa League Winners of the Last Five Years
The last five seasons of Europa League football have been dominated by Spanish and English teams. Sevilla have won two out of the last five titles, with Eintracht Frankfurt, Villareal and Chelsea picking up the other three. Of the 10 finalists in the last five seasons Spain and England have provided six, with the other for coming from Italy with two, and Germany and Scotland who both one finalist in the 2021-22 final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers.
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