Can Brighton ‘do a KV Mechelen’ in the Europa League?

I was sitting there watching the Europa League final between Sevilla and Roma. Two clubs connected in a special way. Whichever team lost would be making unwanted history.

Sevilla had never lost in the final of the second tier European competition. Six finals, six wins. The same was the case for Roma manager Jose Mourinho.

The Special One had five European finals, five wins to his name. He had not even seen his side concede a goal in a European final since 2003 in open play. This tradition continued with Sevilla equalising from a 55th minute penalty after Roma took a first half lead.

The game was settled by a penalty shootout. No one seemed to want to try and score in extra time, after which Sevilla left victorious again with their seventh trophy.

Mourinho was the one with unwanted history and Tammy Abraham failed to become the first player to win the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference.

Where am I going with this, you may think? There is the fact that Brighton and Roberto De Zerbi would have approached the match completely different.

They would not have been afraid of losing like Sevilla and Roma were. The Seagulls would have played to their own style and entertained everyone watching.

Brighton would have had high possession of the ball, with their numbers in 2022-23 exceeding the average of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

There would have been shots on goal. The Seagulls averaged 16 per game, the highest of any team in the Premier League.

Brighton have undoubtedly been the biggest surprise and the entertainers of England. They beat Arsenal at the Emirates, Liverpool in league and FA Cup at the Amex and drew at Anfield as well.

They forced a first defeat as Chelsea manager on Graham Potter and celebrated a first double over the Blues when winning at Stamford Bridge.

The Seagulls beat Manchester United, recording their first win at Old Trafford and forcing a first loss as Red Devils boss on Erik ten Hag.

Brighton should have beaten Spurs at the Tottenham Stadium but were wronged, losing 2-1. They were unbeaten away from the Amex for six months until that day.

And this whilst De Zerbi arrived in England with the season underway and without knowing first hand the world of the Premier League.

De Zerbi looked like having a difficult job and would be compared perhaps fatally to Graham Potter. There was no difficulty about it in the end.

As for Brighton’s budget? All this and the sixth place finished were achieved with some of the lowest financial spend in the division.

A typical example being the fact that the Albion team who beat Bournemouth away from home cost only £50 million.

Brighton have a plan and it seems correct that Gus Poyet – speaking to me last week – described Tony Bloom as the best owner in the Premier League.

The Seagulls buy cheap like Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister, Kaoru Mitoma, Pascal Gross and Pervis Estupinan. They then sell expensive, filling their coffers.

Cucurella became the most expensive full back in world football when joining Chelsea for £62 million. Brighton will take five times their money at least on Mac Allister when he joins Liverpool.

Mac Allister became one of 21 players in Premier League history to win a World Cup. Caicedo renewed his contract recently and that will mean he should not go for less than £80 million.

There are more young players ready to take over. Julio Enciso is one, Facundo Buonanotte another and Evan Ferguson of course.

Us in Greece will see him in person soon when the Republic of Ireland face our country at the OPAP Arena in a Euro 2024 qualifier.

Brighton combine all this with experience, such as iconic captain Lewis Dunk. He too might be in Euro 2024 action these coming weeks after being called up to the England squad.

And so to my second thought watching that Europa League final. The Seagulls have surprised everyone by qualifying for the competition next season, holding Manchester City to a draw to earn a place.

Brighton is a team that has no ceiling and is constantly growing in the consciousness of football fans. Are Bloom and De Zerbi destined to take the fairy tale all the way to next season’s Europa League final?

Why not? In 1988 Belgian team KV Mechelen, playing for a town of 60,000 inhabitants, shocked the world by stunning giants Ajax in the European Cup Winner’s Cup final.

It was their debut in Europe and crowning glory in a season where they finished second in the league to Club Brugge.

Nobody thought the Seagulls would play Europa League. What else can they do which nobody expects? How about “doing a Mechelen” next?

Christos Sotirakopoulos @christossotirakopoulos / England365.gr