Na for Leipzig, Germany, Crystal Palace go face Rayo Vallecano for Europa Conference League final on Wednesday night. Dis one na di longest season for Palace history, wey don reach final destination. Di journey start so long ago, Eberechi Eze still dey registered as Palace player when dem dey edge past Fredrikstad for play-off to secure Conference League spot.
Di route to first European final no be straightforward. Di feel-good factor from three successful trips to Wembley and club-record 19-match unbeaten run unravelled for winter and edge towards self-destruction come January. Di FA Cup holders dem dump out of competition by Macclesfield, side ranked 117 places below dem for football pyramid. Six days later, club captain Marc Guehi dem sell, and manager Oliver Glasner confirm im intention to follow am out of door few months later.
Just over 24 hours later, 2-1 defeat at Sunderland, 10th successive match without win, and extraordinary post-match reaction from Glasner. Di Austrian accuse club of completely abandoning im squad. Im position feel near-untenable. Fans feel disrespected as Palace season continue to plummet. Relegation feel unlikely but no fit disregard. Yet Glasner continue and Palace creep into knockout stage of Conference League. Di train just about remain on track.
Palace defy dem tag as one of pre-tournament favourites with some inept and underwhelming performances in front of dem home supporters and overseas. 1-0 home defeat to lowly AEK Larnaca for October be bleak but no catastrophic. Palace do just enough to progress out of group phase. Glasner admit himself when speaking to Sky Sports News last week, e no feel at beginning like special journey.
But den come one of di great nights under lights at Selhurst Park. Nearly three months after Macclesfield humiliation, di club unite to deliver evening to remember. Di legendary Fiorentina put to sword and all ill-feeling evaporate. Di mission to deliver European cup to sign off Glasner era feel like di only thing wey matter. Glasner reflect on road to Leipzig, e say di closer dem come to final, di more e feel say e be special. Everybody get special feeling. Di home game against Fiorentina be di first time e feel say na special night.
Resounding victory over Shakhtar Donetsk for semi-finals seal dem place for eastern Germany. Di reoccurring theme wey remain steadfast throughout season be di remarkable togetherness of playing squad and di confidence say dem go make am to Red Bull Arena on May 27. Will Hughes back dat up when speaking to Sky Sports News ahead of final: We always get dat belief. E no be arrogance. But we deserve to dey there. Plenty ups and downs throughout season. We deal with am well as players.
Brennan Johnson strike by di unbelievable bond between playing squad upon im arrival for January, di best e experience for football. Glowing endorsement considering di chaos wey engulf di club dat month. Di reintegration of wantaway striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, wey move to AC Milan on Deadline Day collapse, speak volumes about character of di group. Dem ability to shut out external noise wey always dey swirl around club equally impressive.
For some, Crystal Palace be stepping stone to something bigger. Just look at career path of Eze, Guehi and Michael Olise. Maxence Lacroix, Adam Wharton and Mateta fit be next. But for as long as dem dey wear blue and red, dem go give dem all. Dem arrive for Leipzig as favourites guided by manager wey don already win European trophy, for form of Europa League. Dem go be roared on by intensely loyal, grounded and passionate fanbase.
Palace own story, suffering administration as recently as 2010 wey plunge dem into Championship relegation battle, allow dem to embrace dese moments without assumption say dem go be repeated. Di gripes dem get at times dis season don be justified. Dem frustrations never come from sense of entitlement. Dem hopes of building upon last summer magical FA Cup triumph seem to be crushed by brutal UEFA ruling, sluggish summer recruitment drive and drained playing squad.
But somehow dem dey now 90 minutes away from European glory. And Glasner dey hours away from delivering im final act. For im final interview with Sky Sports News before taking charge of im last match, e sum up significance of wetin dem achieve and wetin dey at stake. E promise for January say e go give 100 per cent of Oliver Glasner until day e leave. E get so emotional when e hear wetin dem fit deliver to fans following FA Cup victory. Dem say na best days of dem lives. Maybe dem go say Leipzig be best day of my life. E be part of our lives but as manager, there always be ending. Wen you leave, wetin remain? Delivering one of di best days for dem lives, dat remain with dem forever. For am, dis be di biggest achievement.
Glasner don urge Crystal Palace to win Conference League final so dem fit take up Europa League place wey UEFA deny dem dis season because of multi-club ownership rules. Last year FA Cup winners dem demote to Conference League after UEFA determine say John Textor get controlling interest for Palace and Lyon, wey also qualify for secondary competition. Palace go face Rayo Vallecano for Leipzig on Wednesday night at end of dem first European campaign for Glasner last match. Di Austrian, wey also guide Palace to Community Shield for August and win Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt for 2022, confirm for January say e go leave at end of season.
Glasner reveal on Tuesday say Palace players hold farewell party for am on Monday, wen e back dem to win third trophy for 12 months and secure Europa League spot next season. Dem get nice farewell to me and den I say few words, di manager say. I say for me, di best thing go be of course winning tomorrow because den di players go dey Europa League next year and den we get wetin we suppose get dis year. I go like to watch on TV say dem start with desire and confidence say we fit win Europa League as well. Dis go make me really happy because den I think we create mindset all together wey at end e always successful. Dat no mean say you win trophy every single year but at end you go always get di best out of every single player. Dat why I hope say we win tomorrow and dese players fit play European football again next year.
Palace dey hopeful of appointing Andoni Iraola as Glasner replacement, although e dey understood say di outgoing Bournemouth manager also get interest from Milan and Bayer Leverkusen. Pierre Sage, wey lead Lens to second place for Ligue 1 dis season, dey understood to be contender if Iraola turn dem down. Di Palace captain, Dean Henderson, say losing Glasner go be huge miss. E think e know dat from yesterday, di England goalkeeper say. Di players do send-off video and speak from heart. Di Palace chair, Steve Parish, dey spot enjoy sunshine for Leipzig, where replica trophy dey on display at city Marktplatz. More than 15,000 Palace supporters dey expected for di city.
Di team get special connection with di supporters and wen I join di football club I feel like dat dey distant, Henderson say. E good to see since di manager come in we don build dat rapport with di supporters because I think e important. Dem fit really help us tomorrow night. Adam Wharton and Chris Richards train on Tuesday but Glasner no go confirm weda either go start against side, managed by Iraola former assistant Iñigo Pérez, wey operate on fifth of Palace budget. I think we share football traits with Crystal Palace, Pérez say. Di effort, di collective. For me, Crystal Palace be dream rival. I think say beyond di money comparisons, we must represent di Vallecas neighbourhood. Maintaining our identity go be di right approach.
There go be nine Premier League clubs for UEFA three club competitions next season if Crystal Palace win Wednesday Conference League final. With Palace guarantee to finish outside of Premier League top eight dis season and eight clubs already get places across di three competitions, Palace go increase dat number to nine. Di Europa League get two designated spots for English clubs. For theory, dis mean to be for di team wey finish fifth for Premier League dis season and di winners of FA Cup. However, dis dey now at sixth and seventh but again fit change. Because England win one of two Elite Performance Spots for di performance of dem clubs for European competitions dis season, at least five English teams go enter Champions League dis season. On top of dat, second-place Manchester City be di winners of FA Cup. Because dem already qualify for Champions League, dat free up another place. At present, sixth and seventh place go qualify for Europa League. Dis only go change on di final day of Premier League season if Aston Villa, wey win dis season Europa League final on Wednesday, drop down to fifth for table. For dat scenario, sixth place go also qualify for Champions League, and only seventh go earn place for Europa League based on Premier League results. Palace result no change wetin happen to Premier League teams for Europe. All win go mean say there effectively be bonus English club for di competition, taking place of Conference League title holders instead of one of England qualification places. Regardless of how di Premier League season end, Palace go qualify for league phase of next season Europa League with win over Rayo Vallecano. For winning FA Cup for di first time last season, Palace actually earn qualification for dis season Europa League. Dem later demote to Conference League because of breach of multi-club ownership rules.
