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Rabat – The UEFA Technical Observer panel has named Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou as part of the Europa League team of the season.
UEFA announced the team of the season on Sunday, a few days after Sevilla won the final against AS Roma to add yet another Europa League title to its repertoire. The Spanish club is the most successful team in the Europa League with seven titles.
The Europa League team of the season lineup is dominated by Sevilla and Roma players.
In addition to Bounou, the lineup from Sevilla includes Ivan Rakitic, Marcos Acuna, and Jesus Navas.
From Roma, the UEFA panel chose Lorenzo Pellegrini, Nemanja Matic, and Chris Smalling.
Others featured on the lineup include Man United’s Marcus Rashford, and Jonathan Tah from Leverkusen.
Many attributed Sevilla’s win to Bounou’s eye-catching performances during the final game against Roma on Wednesday, May 30.
During the match, Bounou was the star of the game after saving Sevilla from Roma’s strong strikes and goal attempts.
Bounou also helped his club during the penalty shootouts. Following the win, UEFA named the Moroccan player as the Hankook Player of the UEFA Europa League final game.
The 32-year-old was chosen by the UEFA Technical Observer panel following his decisive penalty saves “to deny Gianluca Mancini and Roger Ibañez as Sevilla won 4-1 on spot kicks following a 1-1 draw,” the UEFA website said.
Bounou’s performance during the Europa League final made international headlines, with many news outlets highlighting his contribution to Sevilla’s victory.
‘Bono also starred in a penalty shoot-out in Qatar, helping Morocco overcome Spain in the last 16, and he recalled that experience in Budapest,” Football Espana said.
Bounou expressed satisfaction with the win, stressing that he “already lived moments like this and I understood that I needed to stay calm today.”
Recalling unforgettable football memories, Bounou said this year brought a “lot of emotions “with the World Cup, then Sevilla and I needed to take it easy for that.”
