Snap shot: Sevilla's first UEFA Cup triumph

Saturday, May 14, 2016 by Richard Martin

As Sevilla target an incredible fifth UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League title in 11 seasons, we look back on their first in 2006 and ask what happened to their starting XI?

Snap shot: Sevilla's first UEFA Cup triumph ©Getty Images

With four-time Sevilla preparing to extend their remarkable love affair with the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League title, UEFA.com winds back the clock to 2006 when they lined up ahead of their first. Here we look at the fortunes of Sevilla's starting XI (plus a few others) from the 4-0 final victory against Middlesbrough in Eindhoven.

Palop: My Magic Moment

1. Andrés Palop
The Spanish goalkeeper was the hero as Sevilla lifted the UEFA Cup again in 2007, saving three penalties in the shoot-out win over Espanyol. The custodian, who was also key to Sevilla's 2010 Copa del Rey success, hung up his boots in 2014 after a year with Bayer Leverkusen. Currently coach at Alcoyano in the third tier of Spanish football.

2. Enzo Maresca
The Italian midfielder scored twice in the defeat of Middlesbrough and also picked up a winners' medal in Glasgow, leaving the club two years later to join Olympiacos. He returned to Spain in 2011 to spend a season with Málaga, moving back to his home country the next year to play for Sampdoria. Now 36, he is still in Serie A plying his trade with Palermo.

3. Javi Navarro
The fearless centre-back captained the Hispalenses to back-to-back victories but the triumph over Espanyol would be one of his last memorable moments as he sustained a serious knee injury that same summer which forced him to retire in 2009. Was incorporated into Sevilla's coaching staff in 2010 but a few months later embarked on a life away from football, developing a passion for surfing and travel.

Luís Fabiano©Getty Images

4. Luís Fabiano
The striker's opener put Sevilla on their way to success over Middlesbrough, the trophy being the first of four he picked up in Andalusia. And though the 2007/08 campaign yielded no silverware for the club, the Brazilian international finished second-top scorer in the Liga with 24 goals. He departed in 2011 to rejoin former team São Paulo, where he remained until linking up with Tianjin Quanjian earlier this year.

5. Julien Escudé
The UEFA Cup triumph meant the Frenchman completed a dream first term with Sevilla, having arrived earlier that year from Ajax. The defender stayed until 2012 before switching to Beşiktaş. He retired from football in September 2014 to start a career in hospitality in Madrid. Proved he has not forgotten his past by running the Madrid marathon last year in an old Sevilla shirt.

6. José Luis Martí
Following a brief loan stint at Real Sociedad immediately after leaving Sevilla in 2008, the midfielder returned to his native island to play for Mallorca, where he had begun his career. He played past his 40th birthday for the Balearic club in the second division before retiring last summer. By November he was coach at another island club in the second tier, Tenerife.

7. Daniel Alves
The motor of this great team, the Brazil right-back was also instrumental in Sevilla landing the UEFA Cup and Copa del Rey in 2007. He departed for Barcelona in 2008 where he has collected five Liga titles, three UEFA Champions Leagues and three Copa del Reys. He turned 33 at the start of the month, but remains indispensible for club and country.

8. Jesús Navas
Navas was just 19 when this photo was taken and great things lay in store for the winger. He added another UEFA Cup and two Copa del Reys to his trophy haul and then the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2012 with Spain. He eventually moved on from his home-town side in 2013, heading to England with Manchester City and lifting the English League Cup and Premier League crown in his first campaign.

9. Javier Saviola
This glorious night in Eindhoven would be one of his last Sevilla stands for 'El Conejo' (rabbit). The loanee went back to Barcelona that summer and then crossed the divide to Real Madrid. Stays at Benfica and Málaga ensued, including a thrilling run to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with the Andalusian side. The Argentinian had a spell with Hellas Verona in Serie A before returning for six months with River Plate, his first club. He was released in January.

10. Adriano
The winger was one of Sevilla's liveliest players against Middlebrough and also had a key role in the 2007 showpiece against Espanyol, opening the scoring in the 2-2 draw. In 2010 he followed his compatriot Alves to the Camp Nou, compiling a total of 14 trophies with the Catalan outfit and chipping in with some breathtaking long-range goals.

11. David Castedo
The left-back was one of the team leaders when Sevilla were promoted back to the Liga in 2000/01 and the Eindhoven triumph was just reward for his years of loyal service to the club. It was also one of his last hurrahs. Castedo was an unused substitute in the final against Espanyol and quit Sevilla soon after, seeing out his playing days with Levante. Now runs his own children's football school in Seville.

Celebrations after the Middlesbrough win

Out of shot
Frédéric Kanouté (half-time substitute)
The forward grabbed the last goal against Middlesbrough and went on to become one of Sevilla's best-loved players, also registering in the UEFA Super Cup victory over Barcelona, the 2007 Copa del Rey final and the 2007 UEFA Cup final. African Footballer of the Year in 2007, he called time on his memorable Sevilla career in 2012, hanging his boots up a year later. Presently the CEO of 12 Management, a footballers' management company which he founded.

Renato (72nd-minute substitute)
The midfielder netted Sevilla's opener in the 2006 UEFA Super Cup win against the Blaugrana and also broke the deadlock in the loss to AC Milan on the same stage the next season. He accompanied fellow Brazilian Fabiano out of the door in summer 2011 to repair to his homeland, first featuring for Botafogo FR before making a much-lauded return in 2014 to Santos, where he remains.

Antonio Puerta (86th-minute substitute)
The defender played the last five minutes of this match after replacing Adriano yet had a more decisive contribution to the 2007 decider, converting the Rojiblancos' clinching penalty in the shoot-out. Little more than three months later he died aged 22 following a cardiac arrest in Sevilla's Liga game with Getafe.

Juande Ramos (coach)
Ramos steered Sevilla to UEFA Super Cup glory against Barcelona and a UEFA Cup/Copa del Rey double 12 months later, before taking the Tottenham Hotspur job. He came back to Spain in 2009 with Real Madrid and then assumed the CSKA Moskva helm before embarking on a four-year spell with Dnipro. At the end of 2013/14 he parted company with the Ukrainian club.

Snap shot: Sevilla's first UEFA Cup triumph

Article summary

Article top media content

Article body

Selected for you

Article summary

Article top media content

Article body

Snap shot: Liverpool's Istanbul heroes