Sevilla and Feyenoord's final triumphs

The UEFA Europa League group stage begins on Thursday with one of its most eagerly anticipated match-ups, Feyenoord's Group G trip to Sevilla FC.

It is the only meeting of two past winners in this round, as between them the pair have lifted the trophy – in its current guise or as the UEFA Cup – five times. UEFA.com recalls Feyenoord's two successes and Sevilla's more recent three, including their triumph four months ago in Turin.

FEYENOORD

1974: Feyenoord 4-2 (agg) Tottenham Hotspur FC
Feyenoord capped a superb run for Dutch teams in UEFA competition, starting with their own European Champion Clubs' Cup victory in 1970. After AFC Ajax had clinched a European Cup hat-trick, the Rotterdam side achieved UEFA Cup glory by taking the three-year-old trophy out of England for the first time.

Wim van Hanegem, who would be part of the Netherlands squad that reached that summer's FIFA World Cup final, starred in a Feyenoord lineup that knocked out Östers IF, Gwardia Warszawa, R. Standard de Liège, KS Ruch Chorzów and VfB Stuttgart en route to a double-legged final with Tottenham.

In the first game at White Hart Lane, Spurs went ahead twice through Mike England and a Joop van Daele own goal but Wiel Coervers' men replied, through Van Hanegem and Theo de Jong. Feyenoord finished the job eight days later at De Kuip (as Stadion Feijenoord is nicknamed) with strikes at the end of each half from Wim Rijsbergen and Peter Ressel.

Feyenoord's all-time top European marksman Lex Schoenmaker, who hit nine goals en route to the final, said: "I had scored a lot, but not in the final. The big strength of our team was that everyone could score. We had a complete team. Next to me on the left we had the technique of [Jørgen] Kirstensen, on the right the speed of Ressel and behind that the intellect of Van Hanegem, the running miracle De Jong and 'vacuum cleaner' Wim Jansen."

2002: Feyenoord 3-2 Borussia Dortmund
After the halcyon days of the early 1970s, Feyenoord endured a fallow period, lifting only three Dutch titles in 28 years. But under coach Bert van Marwijk, and fired by Pierre van Hooijdonk's magnificent free-kick goals and a young Robin van Persie, Feyenoord ended their wait for another European trophy in memorable circumstances.

Like Dortmund, Feyenoord had started the season in the UEFA Champions League, yet switched competitions having come third in their group – with the carrot of the final in their own stadium. SC Freiburg, Rangers FC, PSV Eindhoven and FC Internazionale Milano were the teams they pushed aside on the road to Rotterdam.

Van Hooijdonk had contributed six goals, mostly from free-kicks, and in the final he broke the deadlock on the half-hour with a penalty, Jürgen Kohler sent off for the foul. Having already rattled the post from one set piece, 'Pi-Air' (as he was dubbed) extended the lead just before half-time, sending another rocket into the bottom-left corner. Márcio Amoroso reduced the gap from the spot early in second half, but Jon Dahl Tomasson made it 3-1 within three minutes and, although Jan Koller pulled one back, the trophy was Feyenoord's.

"This is too beautiful for words," said Van Hooijdonk, while the fans kept up a chat of "Put your hands up for Pi-Air". "At my age [32] one does not expect to win a UEFA Cup. This is the most beautiful moment of my career."

SEVILLA

2005/06: Sevilla FC 4-0 Middlesbrough FC
Unlike Feyenoord, Sevilla were never one of the big guns in their country, with just one Liga championship and three Copa del Reys won when Juande Ramos became coach in July 2005. He took over a club in UEFA competition – via a sixth-place Liga finish – for only the seventh time, and seemingly destined never to equal their run to the 1957/58 European Cup quarter-finals.

Their initial outing was a 0-0 first-round home draw with 1. FSV Mainz 05, but Sevilla won the return 2-0, topped a group containing FC Zenit and then saw off FC Lokomotiv Moskva, LOSC Lille, Zenit and FC Schalke 04 to get to Eindhoven. Once there, Luís Fabiano gave them the advantage and, despite stubborn Middlesbrough resistance, Enzo Maresca scored on 78 and 84 minutes before Frédéric Kanouté's clincher.

"We have been through a lot but when you see the joy of the supporters then it has all been worth it," Ramos said. "We have achieved something that has never been achieved before by Sevilla."

2006/07: Sevilla FC 2-2 RCD Espanyol (aet, 3-1pens)
Having waited nearly 50 years to land a European trophy, Sevilla picked up their second within 12 months, though the final was a closer-run thing. Beating Atromitos FC was their ticket to the group phase where Sevilla booked progress with a 4-0 victory at Grasshopper Club. FC Steaua Bucureşti, FC Shaktar Donetsk (with a goal from keeper Andrés Palop forcing extra time in Ukraine) and Tottenham Hotspur FC were eclipsed in three close knockout ties before Ramos's troops overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to oust CA Osasuna in the semis.

Awaiting at Hampden Park were another Liga side Espanyol, who had netted 32 goals in 14 games on the way to Glasgow. Sevilla led the decider on 18 minutes through Adriano and in extra time through Kanouté, only for Espanyol to equalise twice. Yet in the ensuing shoot-out, Palop saved three spot kicks to ensure the Andalusians became the first team to retain the trophy since Real Madrid CF 21 years before.

"Tension means anything can happen – with pressure, legs get heavy and people get nervous," Ramos said. "We were able to draw on our experience of last year so we were stronger."

Ramos, who had also overseen UEFA Super Cup and Copa del Rey triumphs in the preceding 12 months, later reflected: "It was a very successful era. Those moments of success, you experience them in an intense way and they are very nice memories."

2013/14: Sevilla FC 0-0 SL Benfica (aet, 4-2pens)
The competition had been renamed the UEFA Europa League and Unai Emery installed in the dugout, but Sevilla's third final produced the same dramatic finale as the second. Emery had instilled a fine team ethic, and with Ivan Rakitić leading from the middle of the park, they saw off both FK Mladost Podgorica and WKS Śląsk Wrocław 9-1 on aggregate to make the group stage.

Sevilla then topped Group H with three victories and three draws but the knockout rounds were again tricky: after edging past NK Maribor, they lost 2-0 at home in a memorable city derby with Real Betis Balompié, only to prevail by the same margin away before a 4-3 shoot-out success. They also overhauled a first-leg deficit against FC Porto and were seconds from semi-final elimination by Valencia CF – having seen a 2-0 home win trumped at the Mestalla – before Stéphane Mbia's header took Sevilla through on away goals.

The opposition in Turin were another Iberian club, Benfica, and again it went to penalties. Beto – like Palop seven years before – was the goalkeeping hero, saving twice before substitute Kevin Gameiro converted the decisive kick.

"This is a competition our fans love because we had won it twice before," Emery said "We have worked really hard because we felt the responsibility to win. I'm not sure who were the better team. I told the players not to have any doubts, but I felt they were nervous at 0-0. The game switched from being open to being extremely tight."