Last Updated on March 30, 2024 by Avik Das
UEFA Europa League is the second-tier European league of the continent, following the UEFA Champions League. While the top clubs of all European leagues play Champions League, the teams which finish outside the top three or top four usually get the opportunity of playing Europa League depending on the league. For instance, Premier League’s top four teams qualify for Champions Leagu , the teams till the seventh-placed get the chance of playing Europa League. Similarly, La Liga has a similar format.
Europa League has a long history, starting back in 1971. In the past fifty years, the competition has had many champions from different leagues of Europe. A total of 29 teams have won the competition since the inspection. While Premier League teams have won it 9 times, Europa League winners from La Liga have been crowned a record 13 times, with Sevilla winning it six times, which is a record in the history of the competition. Last season, Villarreal won their first-ever competition after beating Manchester United in the final.
Without further adieu, let’s take a look at the list of all UEFA Europa League winners from La Liga.
# 14 Real Madrid 1984-85)
Real Madrid is arguably the most successful team in the history of the Champions League, winning the mega tournament a record thirteen times. On the other hand, they have also lifted the second-tier European competition, twice in their history. Their first Europa League victory was in 1984-85. After beating Tottenham Hotspur in the Quarter Finals of the Europa League, the Spanish giants defeated Inter Milan in the semi-finals, allowing them to face Hungarian club Videton in the Final. The Los Blancos comprehensively won the final with 3-1 aggregate to lift their first UEFA Europa League trophy.
# 13 Real Madrid(1985-86)
Followed by the successful UEFA Cup victory, Real Madrid also replicated their success from the previous season in 1985-86. At that time, Real Madrid became the first club in tournament history to win the league two consecutive times. Upon reaching the quarter-finals, Real Madrid defeated Swedish team Neuchatel Xamas by a 3-2 aggregate margin. Similar to last year, Real also faced Inter Milan in the semi-finals and won it with a dramatic turnaround in the second leg. In the final, Real Madrid overcame German club FC Koin to become a two-time Europa League champion.
# 12 Valencia (2003-04)
After nearly decades of Real Madrid’s double title triumphs, a Spanish club won the title in 2003-04. Valencia won their first European honour. After falling short to win the UEFA Champions League twice, Valencia didn’t repeat the same mistake in the final in 2003-04.Having qualified for Quarter Finals, Valencia came face to face with Scottish club Celtic, whom they beat on aggregate. They eventually met Spanish opponent Villarreal and then won against the French team, Marseille in the final by a 2-0 margin.
# 11 Sevilla (2005-06)
Sevilla is a six-time Europa League Champion, and the first title campaign took place back in the 2005-06 season. It was an underrated Europa League season, and many undervalued teams did extremely well, including Sevilla. Meanwhile, Sevilla was in the Group H of the league, and they eventually progressed to the knockout stage of the competition. Following a win over Lillie in the round of 16, they thrashed Zenit Saint Petersburg in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, Sevilla beat the German side Schalke 04, and in the final, the Spanish club beat English club Middlesbrough in a one-sided final, which they won by 4-0.
# 10 Sevilla (2006-07)
Sevilla repeated their heroic win from last season in the very next season to successfully defend their UEFA Europa League in 2006-07. They also became only the second team in the history of the competition to win the league twice since Real Madrid did in the 1980s. After reaching the round of 16, Sevilla eliminated Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in a close battle. In the quarter-finals, they thrashed a top Portuguese side like Benfica to punch tickets for the semi-finals, where they knocked out fellow Spanish side, Osasuna. It was an all-Spanish final, as Sevilla faced Espanyol and beat them in penalties to win the crown.
# 9 Atletico Madrid ( UEFA Europa League 2009-10)
The 2009-10 Europa League final was another encounter between Spanish and English clubs, similar to the 2005-06 season. But the Spanish side had the last laugh once again, as Atletico Madrid, the noisy neighbours of Real Madrid, won the Europa League for the first time in their club history. In the round of 16, Atletico Madrid conquered Portugal’s club, Sporting CP. After reaching the quarter-finals, they slightly got past fellow Spanish side and former winner of tournament Valencia. But their biggest challenge came in the Semi-final, where beat English giant Liverpool on away goals and finally, they crossed the last hurdle by beating another English side, Fulham.
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# 8 Atletico Madrid (2011-12)
A year after winning the first Europa League title, Atletico Madrid clinched the title for the second time in the 2011-22 season. Led by star striker Radamel Falcao, Atletico Madrid truly played like champions and enjoyed an amazing tournament. Once again, it was an all-Spanish final because the final of Europa League 2011-12 was played between Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. First, they got past the round of 16 after an easy win over Turkish side Besiktas with a 6-1 aggregate victory. They further overcame the German side Schalke 04 in the quarter-finals and former champions Valencia in the semi-final. Atletico Madrid’s effortless display in the final gave them a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
# 7 Sevilla (2013-14)
Sevilla’s third Europa League win was monumental, as the Spanish side maintained a great form throughout the tournament. They beat Portugal’s Benfica to win the honour in a full-packed Juventus Stadium in Italy. Sevilla earned a lucky win against Real Betis in the round of 16. They defeated former champion, Porto, in the quarter-final. And their semi-final opponent was Valencia, against whom they marginally won due to an away goal. Sevilla won the final by penalties against Benfica.
# 6 Sevilla (2014-15)
The defending champions Sevilla prove their worth by another sensational display of football in 2014-15 season, winning the tournament for the fourth time as well as second consecutive times. Unlike last time, they won the final within ninety minutes this time. In the round of 16, Sevilla faced and overcame Villarreal without any hesitation. After moving to the last eight, they beat the Russian side, Zenith Saint Petersburg. With a remarkable 5-0 aggregate win over Fiorentina in the semi-final, they won the trophy by defeating Ukraine’s Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.
# 5 Sevilla (2015-16)
Sevilla became the first and only side to win th Europa League three times in a row in 2015-16, making it their fifth title-winning campaign. In another Spanish-English cup final, Sevilla probably met their biggest challenge to date, Liverpool. Nevertheless, Sevilla maintained their perfect record and beat the former UEFA Champions League winners proficiently. After crossing the group stage of the Europa League table, Sevilla knocked out Basel in the round of 16. Athletico Bilbao was their quarter-finals opponent, but Sevilla had a narrow escape with a penalty shootout win. After winning the Semi-final, they encountered Liverpool in the second final. But Sevilla overcame the odds to win the final by a comprehensive 3-1 margin.
# 4 Atletico Madrid (2017-18)
Atletico Madrid’s third league title-winning campaign was in the 2017-18 season when they played a stupendous tournament. They met and defeated French club Marseille in the final, with a convincing margin of 3-0. In the round of 16, Atletico Madrid earned a huge 8-1 aggregate win over the Russian side, Lokomotiv Moscow. After beating Sporting CP in the last 8, their biggest opponent was Arsenal, whom they faced in the semi-final. But Atletico Madrid hammered Arsenal in the semi-final, before lifting the cup against Marseille.
# 3 Sevilla (2019-20)
Sevilla’s sixth title-winning season was in 2020. As some notable elite clubs and former Champions League winners were part of this campaign, it was a competitive tournament, but Sevilla still prevailed, proving their dominance in Europa League. In the round of 16, Sevilla beat Roma and then, they hammered the English club Wolves. Perhaps their most significant challenge was facing thirteen-time Premier League winners, Manchester United in the semi-final. But Sevilla managed to beat The Red Devils to progress in the final, where they got better of Inter Milan, owing to an own goal Romelu Lukaku at the later stage of the game.
# 2 Villarreal (2020-21)
Villarreal won the UEFA Europa League in 2021, and they wrote their name in the history book as another Spanish champion of this tournament’s history. Being an underdog, they reached the final and defeated a gigantic team like Manchester United. Villarreal vanquished Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb in the last 8, while they overcame another noteworthy English club, Arsenal, in the semi-final. Given Manchester United’s form in the semi-final against Roma, they were a clear favourite, but the Spanish side conquered all the odds to win an enthralling penalty shootout that ended at 11-10 in Villarreal’s favour.
#1 Sevilla (2022-23)
Sevilla defeated Roma in a thrilling match that will go down in football history to win the Europa League 2022–23 championship. Both teams displayed their talent throughout the game, which was a demonstration of skill, tenacity, and steadfast teamwork. Sevilla was able to seize control early on because to their deft passing and tactical play, and they then secured a lead with an incredible goal in the first half. Roma, on the other hand, bravely retaliated, displaying their attacking talent, and levelling the score. The game appeared bound for overtime as the tension rose. But in a remarkable turn of events, Sevilla capitalised on a huge opportunity in the final seconds of regular time, scoring an incredible goal that ecstatically enthralled their supporters.
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Avik Das is the founder of Sportsheed. He is a sports lover with broad knowledge of Professional Wrestling, MMA, Football, and Cricket. He has an English major and has previously written articles for various sports and entertainment websites
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