Sevilla picked up a record sixth Europa League title in 14 years and dedicated it to fallen heroes Jose Antonio Reyes and Antonio Puerta.
Both Sevilla youth products and members of title-winning sides, Reyes died in a car crash last year, while Puerta was 22 when he died in 2007 after a series of cardiac arrests.
And following Friday’s 3-2 comeback win over Inter Milan, skipper Jesus Navas said: “To raise this cup as captain of my Sevilla means so much.
“For friends who are no longer here – for Puerta, for Reyes.”
Sevilla fell behind in Cologne to a fifth-minute Romelu Lukaku penalty, but Navas and his team- mates hit back with a Luuk de Jong double before Diego Godin levelled the scores at 2-2 before the halftime break.
But plucky Sevilla kept going and had a bicycle-kick effort by defender Diego Carlos deflected into his own net by Lukaku, who had earlier scored for his 11th straight game in the Europa League.
The result was enough for coach Julen Lopetegui to claim the first trophy of his career, while it left his Inter counterpart Antonio Conte empty-handed despite having a star-studded side.
After the game, Premier League winning boss Conte revealed that he was uncertain if he will be given another chance to win silverware at San Siro, after finishing one point shy of Juventus in the Serie A.
He says: “We will meet, examine the season and everything in a very calm way. We will try to plan the future of Inter with our without me.
“It has been a very tough season from all points of view, the best
decision must be taken for the good of Inter, with the utmost cordiality.”
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