In the Europa League, Rangers know nothing but pain. Admittedly the tournament has brought the club some of its greatest ever nights. Who can forget that epic victory against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park in 2021, or the return leg at Ibrox, which saw the Gers progress against all odds? Similarly, has anyone gotten over the victory against die Schwarzgelben’s German compatriots, RB Leipzig, in the semifinals in that same season?
Those epic evenings under the lights led the Rangers to the final of the competition for the second time in the club’s history. However, just like in 2008, it ended in heartbreak. Eintracht Frankfurt ultimately held their nerve to secure the trophy on penalties and 13 years prior, it was Zenit St. Petersburg who outclassed the Scottish side in Manchester to claim the same trophy.
But Rangers aren’t the only side to have reached multiple Europa League finals only to come away empty-handed. Seven other teams have suffered a similar fate…
Three Times the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride
While Rangers may have featured in two Europa League finals and come out on the losing side on both occasions, two unlucky teams can go one better than that. Both Marseille and Benfica have reached three finals each and have failed to lift the trophy on each occasion. Marseille is in the competition this year and sports betting odds providers make them outsiders for glory.
If they’re to live up to the billing, they’ll have to put the disappointments of 1999, 2004, and 2018 behind them, where they lost to Parma, Valencia, and Atletico Madrid, respectively. Benfica, meanwhile, is yet to end the curse of Béla Guttmann. They lost in 1983 as well as back-to-back finals in 2013 and 2014. In those two most recent defeats, the Portuguese outfit succumbed to Chelsea and Europa League specialists Sevilla, while it was Anderlecht who managed to get the victory over two legs in the early ’80s.
Twice Defeated Finalists
English giants Arsenal have lost two Europa League finals. They lost to Galatasaray in a heart-breaking penalty shoot-out in 2000. Then a whole 19 years later, they were routed by Chelsea, losing 4-1 in Baku.
Athletic Club (Bilbao) is regarded as one of the founding members of La Liga and is known for its tradition, as well as Basque legacy. They made it to their first-ever Europa League final in 1977 and lost to Italian titans Juventus. Athletic had to wait 35 years for their next appearance in the show-piece match and there they were also defeated by a Radamel Falcao-inspired Atletico Madrid. Fellow Spaniards Espanyol have also reached two finals and have also lost an all-Spanish affair, losing to Sevilla on penalties in 2007.
Italian giants Roma have been to the Europa League final twice. The first time was in 1991 when they lost out in an all-Italian final against compatriots Inter Milan on penalties. Fast forward to 2023 and they would once again lose out on penalties, this time to specialists Sevilla.
Borussia Dortmund have tasted success in the Champions League, defeating Juventus to lift the famous big-eared trophy in 1997. They’ve only known pain in Europe’s secondary tournament, though, having lost to the team they would go on to defeat four years later in 1993, before losing out to Feyenoord in 2002.
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