The final of the 2016 Europa League is on 18 May, 2016 in Basel, Switzerland. The match pits England's Liverpool Football Club against Spain's Sevilla FC. These two historic teams will fight it out to gain European glory on the world stage.

On the 18th of May in Basel, Switzerland Liverpool FC will face off against Sevilla in the Europa League Final.

Now, I know that the Europa League is the Garfunkel to the Champions League’s Simon but as anyone who has read anything I’ve written in the past, I’m far more concerned with narrative than I am with anything else. Statistics are boring, odds are for suckers and I could care less about commercialization and branding on a globalized marketplace. To me, sports is about story.

To that end, I would argue that this match up has the Champions League beat by a mile. What’s so special about Liverpool? What’s so special about Sevilla? Why is a baby goose a gosling but a baby moose isn’t a mossling? Well, I’ve got answers to all of these and I’m contractually obligated to give them to you.

Sevilla:

Sevilla currently hold the record for most Europa League titles with 4 trophies in the case. They took home glory in 2006, 2007, 2014 and 2015, making them the defending champions. Those of you with a cursory understanding of the gregorian calendar may have noticed that all of the years are relatively recent, especially when you consider the competition started in 1971.

A clever man may deduce from this that Sevilla have had a sort of renaissance. That clever man would be correct. (The clever man was me, 20 minutes ago, while researching this article). Sevilla is the oldest club in Spanish football and yet, haven’t enjoyed the most illustrious of histories. Although being founded in 1890, the club didn’t achieve sustained success until the end of the Spanish Civil War and after World War Two. The club saw relative success in the late 1940’s and clear through the 1950’s, the victories started to waver in the 1960’s. In keeping with the great Spanish tradition, the fun stopped around when the economy collapsed. Sevilla was plagued by fiduciary problems clear through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Finally, in 2002 Sevilla was transferred to new management. The new management made a number of good decisions leading to increased stability of the club. I know that sounds dreadfully vague and uninsightful but the logistics of running a top flight football club are very complicated and very boring.

To make a long story short, bad things happened then good guys made good things happen that made Sevilla a good club again. The club’s success crescendoed in 2006 when they won their first European silverware and then re-crescendoed the next season when they successfully defended their title. Then all that jazz happened again in 2014 when they won it again, and last season when they defended again.

Now, they have a chance to re-re-re-defend their title.

Narrative. History. Soccer. Delicious.

Gosling v. Calf:

The word Gosling comes from late middle English and Germanic roots whereas the word calf can be traced back to the ancient Greek. My best theory to why Gooses have Goslings and Moose have calves is because the word ‘Calf’ is a general term for the younglings of mammals, therefore when the Moose was discovered in North America there was already a word for the English or Germans to use. This differs from the goose, which would have been around Europeans for their entire existence allowing many different dialects to diffuse over a much longer time frame.

Liverpool:

Liverpool have, arguably, the most impressive European pedigree. Five European Cups (now Champion’s League) and 3 UEFA cups (now Europa League), more than any other English club. They haven’t been as dominant in the 21st century, however. Their last European victory came in 2005 in one of the greatest sporting events in all of human history, coming back from 3-0 down to AC Milan in Istanbul, netting the club their 5th European Cup.

In the years since, however, tides have not turned to the River Mersey. They haven’t attained the European glory they seek, nor have they been a major force in domestic play.

This season, however, they have put on the most incredible European run. Since the group stage, they have offered more memorable moments than every match in this season’s Champions League. In the round of 32, they squeaked by Augsburg with a 1-0 victory in the second leg.

The Round of 16 presented a much more interesting fixture, however. Liverpool drew their most hated rival: Manchester United. In the previous four fixtures, United had trounced Liverpool, and yet, when they met in European competition, Liverpool came alive. After a 2-0 thrashing at Anfield in the home leg, Liverpool held on with a 1-1 draw away at Old Trafford, compromising the Manchester side to a permanent end.

The next draw saw Liverpool facing down the competition favorite: Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund are really good. They attack with extreme speed and prejudice and are the only team in Germany that even pose the slightest threat to Bayern Munich. This cup tie was the first time that the new Liverpool gaffer Jurgen Klopp faced off against the club he steered to glory and relevance. It was to be a fantastic show no matter the outcome. And what a show it was. Liverpool held Dortmund to a 1-1 draw during the away leg in Dortmund, which was widely hailed to be a major, if not futile, success for Liverpool as they would soon be trounced at Anfield. These predictions looked to be correct as Dortmund scored twice within the first 9 minutes of the match. Liverpool then staged the most incredible comeback I have ever witnessed. They netted three goals in the last thirty minutes, the last coming in the 94th minute to move on to the semifinal against Villarreal.

In the first leg of the semi final, the club’s struck back and forth, trading chances that amounted to nothing, until Villarreal netted a game winner in stoppage time, giving Villarreal the advantage going into the second leg at Anfield. Then, with the full voice of the Kop behind them, Liverpool crushed the opposition with the cold brutality of an experienced assassin in a 3-0 obliteration, landing the reds a spot to Basel

My Prediction:

It’s going to be a good game. You should watch it.

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