Maresca magic claims reward

Enzo Maresca was lost for words after conjuring a man-of-the-match performance to help Sevilla FC lift the UEFA Cup. "It is very difficult to explain what happened tonight," said the Italian midfielder. "It is virtually impossible to imagine. We won the cup and I scored twice. It is the best day of my life. As you can imagine, I'm really happy."

Nomadic career
The 26-year-old's two-goal display was a crowning moment for a player whose nomadic career has taken him to six clubs in three countries. Having spent 18 months as a promising youngster at West Bromwich Albion FC, he was snapped up by Serie A giants Juventus. However, he soon found himself farmed out on loan to Bologna FC and Piacenza FC, before switching to ACF Fiorentina.

Top scorer
Last summer he moved to Sevilla, where his tally of eight goals in 28 games has made him the Spanish club's top scorer in the league. Two more strikes in Eindhoven caught the eye of uefa.com users, as 974 out of the 2,638 who voted chose him as their man of the match.

World Cup hope
He may also have impressed Italy coach Marcello Lippi, who is facing a growing lobby in favour of taking Maresca to the FIFA World Cup finals. However, the midfielder was keen to dodge the issue and concentrate on celebrating success at club level. "[The FIFA World Cup] is not at the forefront of my mind. I just want to enjoy the moment. Sevilla have always believed in me and trusted in me, and it is only right to enjoy this with the team."

'Very grateful'
And as an all-night Andalusian party started around the PSV Stadion, Maresca paid tribute to the supporters who contributed much to his side's triumph. "We are very grateful to the fans for coming all this way with us – they have been very important for us," he said.