Fantastic four for Sevilla's Reyes
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
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Sevilla FC's José Antonio Reyes has become the first player to win the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League four times; UEFA.com profiles the three men with three triumphs.
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Sevilla FC's José Antonio Reyes had extra reason to celebrate victory against FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the UEFA Europa League final – it made the Spaniard the first player to win the competition four times, including its UEFA Cup precursor. A member of Sevilla's triumphant sides in 2014 and 2015, Reyes was also part of the Club Atlético de Madrid team that lifted the trophy in 2010 and 2012, although he missed the latter final. UEFA.com remembers the men with three UEFA Cups to their name.
Ray Clemence (Liverpool FC 1973, 1976; Tottenham Hotspur FC 1984)
The goalkeeper would go on to claim three European Champion Clubs' Cups but got his first taste of continental silverware in the 1972/73 UEFA Cup. Clemence kept a remarkable nine clean sheets in 12 outings in that season's competition, none more crucial than the one in the 3-0 final first-leg win against VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach when he saved Jupp Heynckes' penalty. Liverpool lost the return 2-0 in Germany but held on to take the trophy. "I watched Heynckes take a penalty in the semi-final on television and decided to dive the same way," he explained. "The save was reward for my homework."
Clemence, and Liverpool, collected their second title three years later, although this time the keeper managed a relatively meagre five shut-outs – but he had the last word in the final, repelling a late shot from Club Brugge KV's Julien Cools to secure Liverpool's 4-3 aggregate success. In 1984 Clemence helped Tottenham to the trophy as well, though he missed the semi-final and final through injury; his replacement Tony Parks was the penalty shoot-out hero with his stop from Arnor Gudjohnsen.
Giuseppe Bergomi (FC Internazionale Milano 1991, 1994, 1998)
A towering presence at the heart of Internazionale's defence for 20 years, Bergomi played every minute of the 1990/91 UEFA Cup triumph – some 1,110 in all. He repeated the trick three years later as Inter lifted the trophy again, edging out FC Salzburg 2-0 on aggregate in the final – two of the seven clean sheets the Nerazzurri recorded in that season's competition, the same number as in 1990/91.
Bergomi and Inter were back in 1997 but this time luck was against them – Bergomi was substituted 70 minutes into the final second leg against FC Schalke 04, won 1-0 by the Nerazzurri who then lost on penalties. A third UEFA Cup did follow in 1998, however, with another Serie A side SS Lazio dispatched 3-0 in the first one-off final – a contest Bergomi missed through suspension, although he was allowed to lift the trophy.
Nicola Berti (FC Internazionale Milano 1991, 1994, 1998)
Another player involved in all three of Inter's UEFA Cup successes of the 1990s, Berti clinched the first of those titles in 1991 – his strike in the first leg of the final against AS Roma earned a 2-0 victory that proved just enough after a 1-0 away reverse. It was not the first time the midfielder came to Inter's rescue that season, his second-leg double forcing the first-round tie against SK Rapid Wien into extra time, where Jürgen Klinsmann got the winner.
Berti's instinct for crucial goals remained intact in the 1993/94 competition, his effort in the semi-final second leg against Cagliari Calcio giving Inter a 4-3 aggregate lead – they eventually prevailed 5-3 overall – before he conjured the only goal of the final first leg in Salzburg, setting up a 2-0 aggregate triumph. He was a peripheral figure in the 1996/97 and 1997/98 campaigns, however, emerging with only a minute left in extra time against Schalke – and not getting to take a penalty – and appearing just twice the following season, both outings coming in the first round against Neuchâtel Xamax FC.