Antonio Conte made it known he “sees the glass as half full” after their Champions’ League group-stage elimination resulted in them reaching Europa League’s Final.
Inter Milan will face the five-time winners, Sevilla in Cologne as they target to win their first trophy in nine years.
According to Conte, “It’s been a positive season. We’ve done important things and have made major improvements”.
“We’ve managed to get to the Europa League final despite the small disappointment for not getting through the Champions’ League group stage”.
“It has allowed us to have a much more successful journey in the Europa League than we would have had in the champions’ league. I think this team with a lot of young, inexperienced players needed that”
Meanwhile, Sevilla is the most successful team in the tournament’s history. The La Liga club has won all five tournaments of their UEFA Cup or Europa League finals.
Just like Conte, Lopetegui is in his first season in charge. He has yet to win a silverware in spells as head coach of Rayo Vallecano, Porto, Spain, and Real Madrid.
He says, “this is a completely new and different team with different players and different managers. It helps that the club has reached this stage before. But I don’t think it’s an advantage for anybody”.
“Two totally different teams are playing and we are up against a great team. Inter are a tea, equipped to compete in the Champions League given the caliber of players they have. The team is extraordinary and their very experienced manager who has coached many top teams”.
“What I expect is a top-quality match which demands the best of us. We will try to prepare well for it and have the answers for such a daunting challenge”.
In case Inter Milan wins, they become the second most successful side in UEFA Cup/Europa League history. Moreover, they are the first Italian side to reach the final since 1999 when Parma beat Marseille 3-0 and are bidding to end an eight-year run of Spanish and English sides winning the competition.