Twenty-four Brazilian players are in the round of 16 of the UEFA Europa League, the Old Continent’s second most significant tournament behind the Champions League. Braga, a Portuguese club, have the most athletes on its roster in Brazil: five.
The Europa League’s round of 16 began on March 9th and finished on March 17th. Sixteen teams competed against each other in home and away matches to determine who would advance to the competition’s quarter-finals.
On August 5, 2021, the tournament began with 57 teams. The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium in Sevilla, Spain, will host the grand finale of Europe’s second most prestigious championship. The match, which will be decided in a single game, will take place on May 18 of 2022.
See how the opening matches of the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 contests went in the video below.
- Red Star, from Serbia 0x3 Rangers, from Scotland;
- Braga, from Portugal 2×0 Monaco, from France;
- Porto, from Portugal 0x1 Lyon, from France;
- Atalanta, from Italy 3×2 Bayer Leverkusen, from Germany;
- Sevilla, from Spain 1×0 West Ham, from England;
- Barcelona, Spain 0x0 Galatasaray, Turkey;
- Spartak Moscow, from Russia (eliminated due to the conflict in Ukraine) x Red Bull Leipzig, from Germany;
- Real Betis, from Spain 1×2 Eintracht Frankfurt, from Germany.
Let’s see which Brazilian players have previously won the Europa League championship, in addition to those now competing in the league.
Brazilians in the round of 16 of the Europa League
- Braga: Matheus, Yan Couto, Vitor Tormena, Lucas Mineiro and Fabiano Souza;
- Monaco: Vanderson, Jean Lucas and Caio Henrique;
- Porto: Pepê, Galeno, Wendell and Evanilson;
- Lyon: Lucas Paquetá, Henrique and Thiago Mendes;
- Bayer Leverkusen: Paulinho;
- Sevilla: Diego Carlos and Fernando;
- Barcelona: Daniel Alves e Neto;
- Galatasaray: Marcão Teixeira;
- Real Betis: Willian José;
- Eintracht Frankfurt: Tuta.
Due to the continuing war between Russia and Ukraine, Spartak Moscow was destroyed. He would have left-back Ayrton Lucas as a Brazilian representative in his team if the club advanced to the round of 16.
Brazilian champions of the Europa League
Check out the list below to see which Brazilians have previously won the UEFA Europa League.
- 1988: Tita (champion with Bayer Leverkusen);
- 1989: Alemão and Bald (champions with Napoli, from Italy);
- 1993: Júlio César (champion with Juventus, Italy);
- 1998: Zé Elias and Ronaldo (champions with Inter Milan, Italy);
- 2000: Taffarel, Capone and Márcio Mexerica (champions with Galatasaray);
- 2002: Leonardo and Leonardo Santiago (champions with Feyenoord, from Holland);
- 2003: Deco, Derlei and Clayton (champions with Porto);
- 2004: Fábio Aurélio and Ricardo Oliveira (champions with Valencia, Spain);
- 2005: Daniel Carvalho and Vagner Love (champions with CSKA Moscow, from Russia);
- 2006 and 2007: Daniel Alves, Adriano, Renato and Fabiano (champions with Sevilla);
- 2009: Ilsinho, Fernandinho, Jadson, Willian, Brandão and Luiz Adriano (champions with Shakhtar, from Ukraine);
- 2010: Paulo Assunção (champion with Atlético de Madrid, Spain)
- 2011: Helton, Maicon, Souza, Fernando, Hulk and Walter (champions with Porto);
- 2012: Paulo Assunção, Miranda, Filipe Luís and Diego (champions with Atlético de Madrid);
- 2013: David Luiz, Ramires and Oscar (champions with Chelsea, from England);
- 2016: Mariano (champion with Sevilla);
- 2018: Filipe Luís and Diego Costa (champions with Atlético de Madrid);
- 2019: David Luiz, Emerson Palmieri, Jorginho and Willian (champions with Chelsea).
About the Europa League
Since 1972, the Europa League has been 50 editions. As previously said, it is Europe’s second most significant tournament, after only the Champions League.
The event is managed by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and Spanish outfit Sevilla are the most successful team in the competition’s history, having won it six times, the most recent in 2020.
The Europa League winner earns the chance to compete in the UEFA Super Cup against the Champions League champion the following year.
