The Europa League might not possess the prestige of the Champions League, but Sevilla is turning the former into a competition that provides its supporters with euphoria on an annual basis.
After Sevilla defeated Athletic Bilbao on penalty kicks Thursday in the second leg of their tie in the Europa League's quarter-finals, three fixtures is all that separates the Andalusian club from becoming the first-ever team to win the competition three years running. Unai Emery's side is flirting with history, and its form in the tournament is as bizarre as it is impressive.
In order for a club to have a chance at defending its Europa League title, a specific domino effect must unfold. Since the competition's winner qualifies for the Champions League, the only way a Europa League titleholder can defend its title is by finishing third in its Champions League group, as the group stage's third-place teams are all demoted to the Europa League's knockout phase.
Of course, that's exactly what happened to Sevilla.
After winning the 2014-15 Europa League, Sevilla was placed in Group D of the 2015-16 Champions League alongside Manchester City, Juventus, and Borussia Monchengladbach. The Andalusian club finished third and was then pitted against Norwegian side Molde FK in the Europa League's Round of 32. A 3-1 victory on aggregate then paved the way for a tie against FC Basel in the Round of 16, where a 3-0 victory on aggregate set up the quarter-final tie against Athletic.
7 - Sevilla have beaten the most Spanish teams in European knockout rounds and finals (7). Candidate
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) April 14, 2016
The formula was significantly less complicated when Sevilla was defending its first Europa League title. Prior to 2014-15, the competition's champion didn't automatically qualify for the Champions League, meaning the titleholder simply returned to the Europa League the following campaign.
Nonetheless, how Sevilla has managed to find itself on the brink of a third straight Europa League title is wonderfully strange, and adding to the oddity of it all is that the club successfully defended its UEFA Cup title in 2006-07 after winning the competition in 2005-06. For whatever reason, the Spanish outfit's execution in second-tier tournaments is flawless.
Not quite good enough to compete in the Champions League but too good to miss out on European football, Sevilla is embracing what the Europa League offers: a chance for Europe's not-so-giant clubs to taste success beyond the national level.
