The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘Invincibles’ star and five-time winner of Europa League, Jose Antonio Reyes
Jose Antonio Reyes was the first Spaniard to win the Premier League.
His part in the Gunners’ historic unbeaten Premier League triumph in 2004 will remain etched in the club’s folklore, Arsene Wenger’s men going through the season unbeaten.
Reyes is also the most decorated player in the Europa League, having won it five times.
He won the trophy three times with Sevilla and it was his boyhood club who confirmed his death in a car accident, aged 35, on Saturday.
Born in Utreta, less than 20 miles from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, it was inevitable that Reyes would start his career with Sevilla, making his debut at 16 and helping them to promotion to LaLiga in 2001.
He scored 22 goals in 73 starts in four years, which attracted Wenger’s interest.
He joined Arsenal for £10.5 million in January 2004, scoring five goals in 21 games in all competitions during the second half of the season as the unbeaten Gunners claimed the Premier League title.
A year later he helped Arsenal to FA Cup glory but was sent off in extra-time in the final before Arsenal beat Manchester United on penalties.
He was also a late substitute in Arsenal’s 2-1 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona in 2006 and in August that year he joined Real Madrid, initially on loan.
Reyes won La Liga with Real before switching to city rivals Atletico for £12 million in 2007 to officially end his Arsenal career after 110 appearances and 23 goals.
It was a successful four-and-a-half years at the Vicente Calderon Stadium as Reyes helped Atletico win the Europa League in 2010 and 2012.
He had rejoined Sevilla by the time Atletico lifted it in 2012 but had played in the early stages and it was the start of a love affair with the trophy.
With Sevilla he won it three more times as Unai Emery’s side dominated the competition, winning it in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Reyes set up Carlos Bacca to score in the 2015 final against Dnipro as Sevilla won 3-2.
His fourth win was a Europa League record and he set another in 2016 when he collected a fifth winners’ medal following Sevilla’s 3-1 win over Liverpool.
Again, he did not play in the final but, under Uefa’s rules, having played in the early stages he claimed a medal.
Reyes moved on a free to Espanyol later that summer and also played for Cordoba after a brief spell in China with Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard, and then joined Extremadura in Spain’s second tier in January. He won 21 caps for Spain, scoring four times and played in the 2006 World Cup.
He is survived by wife Noelia, who he married in 2017.
Arsenal hero Thierry Henry described his former team-mate as a “wonderful player, superb team-mate and exceptional human being”.
The Gunners tweeted: “Everyone at Arsenal is devastated by the shocking news that our former player Jose Antonio Reyes has died in a traffic collision in Spain.”
Arsene Wenger signed Reyes for Arsenal, and he told the club on Saturday: “I am devastated to hear the terrible news about Jose.
“To his family and friends, all support from everyone in the Arsenal family. He will remain forever in our hearts.”
Cesc Fabregas wrote a heartfelt message on Twitter reminiscing about the time he spent with Reyes, who he described as his “first great friend in the world of professional football, my room mate, who always wanted to sleep with the air conditioning on even when it was -10 degrees.”
Abou Diaby shared tributes on social media too, along with current Gunners boss Unai Emery.
Freddie Ljungberg said he was “numbed by the news” about his former team-mate, while Ray Parlour described Reyes as a “great talent”.
Emery tweeted his condolences in Spanish that translated as: “Deeply sad and speechless after learning of this tragic news. I’ll never forget your magic and your smile Jose, never. It was an honour to be by your side... a strong hug and all the spirit of the world to family, friends and clubs he represented. RIP friend.”