Crystal Palace captain Dean Henderson received the Conference League trophy from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin in Leipzig after Jean-Philippe Mateta scored against Rayo Vallecano. Steve Parish expressed pride in the club’s journey, saying he once doubted they would ever play in Europe or win a trophy. The victory followed a topsy-turvy season and came after Palace were demoted from the Europa League despite winning the FA Cup the previous year. Parish referenced earlier claims of injustice and fan chants during the first European campaign. He said the club has “gone up a level” and must work to stay there, celebrating briefly before preparing for summer work and learning lessons from recent challenges.
"It’s incredible, said Parish after Jean-Philippe Mateta's goal against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig sealed their triumph in the Conference League. An amazing achievement. All the ups and downs To get to the Europa League, where we deserve to be. It just shows you: sometimes the good guys win. When I bought the club I wasn't sure we'd ever play in Europe, let alone win a trophy. It's a dream come true."
"The irony of the captain, Dean Henderson, being handed the trophy by Aleksander Ceferin the Uefa president on whose watch Palace were demoted from the Europa League after winning the FA Cup last year was not lost on Parish or the thousands of fans who made the trip from south London to Saxony. Last August, Parish described the ruling as the biggest injustice in the history of football and the Fuck Uefa chant that references John Textor and the Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, has become the soundtrack of Palace's first European campaign."
"They can now look forward to taking up their rightful place in the second-tier competition after a topsy-turvy season ended in glory. We have got a taste for it now, we want to keep it going, Parish said. We have gone up a level and we have got to try to stay there. We will have a week to celebrate and then work hard in the summer. If Palace are to stay there he must ensure lessons have been learned."
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]