Do you know the UEFA Europa League was earlier called the UEFA Cup?
In the world of European club football, the Champions League is considered the greatest knockout football tournament. However, there is another tournament that may not be as famous as the Champions League but is watched by the football community with equal enthusiasm. The tournament is called the UEFA Europa League, which mostly allows mid-table teams to fight for European glory. Talking about the tournament, the Europa Cup is an old tournament with numerous facts associated with it. For the unversed souls, we have compiled a list of those interesting facts about the UEFA Europa League.
Do you know the UEFA Europa League was earlier called the UEFA Cup?
Initially, the final match of the UEFA Europa League was played over two legs. However, the format was changed in the 1997-98 season.
The first single-game final was played in the 1997-98 season between Italian clubs Inter Milan and Roma. The match was won by Inter Milan.
After winning the trophy, the winning club is allowed to keep the trophy in the club’s trophy cabinet for a year. After a year, the club is asked to return the trophy to UEFA.
Between 1980 and 1987, club IFK Göteborg suffered zero losses after participating in 25 consecutive games. Not to forget, they picked up the trophy in 81/82 and 86/87.
The name of the UEFA Cup was renamed to the UEFA Europa League in 2009/10.
The last UEFA Cup final was played in 2009 at the ŞükrüSaracoğlu Stadium. In the country of Turkey, the stadium is the home ground of club Fenerbahçe SK.
The trophy of the UEFA Europa Cup is said to be about 15 kilograms in weight. As per numerous sources, the trophy was designed in 1972 in Italy by the workshops ofBertoni.
From the country of Portugal, FC Porto became the first club to win the UEFA Cup in 1987.
The final of the UEFA Cup season 2000 was played in the Parken Stadium of Copenhagen, Denmark. Arsenal lost the match on penalties against Galatasaray. The scoreline was 4-1.
In the 2006/07 season, Spanish club RCD Espanyol did not lose a single match in the entire tournament. Sadly, they lost the final match against another Spanish club Seville.
Usually, UEFA Europa Cup finals are mostly played on Wednesday nights.
