Sevilla’s humble Navas is their man for all seasons
Few players mean as much to a club as Jesus Navas does to Sevilla. The links are so strong that the 34-year-old Navas already has a stadium named after him at the club’s training centre in Seville.
“Navas is part of Sevilla’s history,” sporting director Ramon “Monchi” Rodriguez said ahead of tonight’s Europa League final between Sevilla and Inter Milan in Germany.
Navas is set to make his 528th appearance with Sevilla, and he could become the player with the most honours in the history of the Spanish club.
Julen Lopetegui’s side will be trying to win a record sixth Europa League title, and it would be the third for Navas in Europe’s second-tier club competition – his first as a captain. It would be his seventh overall title with the club, moving him past a series of former teammates.
No one has played more matches or reached more finals with the 130-year-old club, which he joined as a teenager and is in his second stint after spending four seasons with Manchester City.
Navas is also the player with the most assists for Sevilla, with his 102nd on Sunday helping striker Luuk de Jong score the winning goal late in the semi-final against Manchester United. Navas also had a crucial assist that led the team to their first European final in 2006. “He is an example for everyone,” Monchi said. “We all have a special affection for him at the club. He is a magnificent professional and a magnificent person.”
The club decided to honour
Navas by naming their training stadium after him in 2018. President Jose Castro said at the time that it was an easy choice considering Navas’ numbers and the values he represented.
“It’s beautiful to have a stadium named after me, but it also means a lot of responsibility,” the shy and soft-spoken Navas said. “As a player who has come through the club’s youth squads like me, I am responsible for passing on our values to the younger players, responsible for showing the importance of being humble and to always work hard, which is the most important thing.”
Navas started all of Sevilla’s Europa League games in Germany, where they eliminated Roma in the round of 16 and Wolves in the quarter-finals before getting past Manchester United.
Navas’ first Europa League titles came in 2006 and 2007. He also helped the club win the Copa del Rey in 2007 and 2010, as well as the 2006 Uefa Super Cup and the 2007 Spanish Super Cup.
Navas, who can play both as a midfielder or a defender on the flanks, also made his mark with Spain’s national team. He helped “La Roja” win the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 European Championship. It was
Navas who started the run that led to Andres Iniesta’s World Cup-winning goal.
Tonight Sevilla will try to find a way past a revitalised Inter side who powered past Getafe, Bayer Leverkusen and Shakhtar Donetsk at the Europa League mini-tournament. Alexis Sanchez is an injury doubt because of a hamstring strain. Antonio Conte’s team’s push to the final has been spearheaded by the “Lula” partnership of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, who scored twice each in Inter’s 5-0 hammering of Shakhtar in the semi-finals, taking Inter to a club-record 111 goals for the season.
Doubts continue to swirl around Conte’s future at Inter and the coach refused to address the matter yesterday.