Sevilla FC in the context of "Football in Spain"

Davor Šuker (Croatian pronunciation: [dâʋoːr ʃǔker] ; born 1 January 1968) is a Croatian football administrator and former professional player who played as a striker. He served as the president of the Croatian Football Federation from 2012 to 2021. As Croatia's all-time top scorer with 45 goals, Šuker is generally regarded as one of the greatest Croatian players of all time.

Šuker began his footballing career in his hometown for local first division team NK Osijek as a 16-year-old. During his final season with the club, he became the league's top goal scorer. He made the move to sign for Dinamo Zagreb in 1989. The Croatian War of Independence halted a promising season for the 21-year-old, eventually resulting in Šuker's move to Spanish club Sevilla in 1991. In La Liga, Šuker was highly regarded, showing consistent form with Sevilla and being consecutively amongst the division's top goal scorers. He signed with Real Madrid five years later, and was again amongst the league's top scorers. While at the Santiago Bernabéu, he helped Madrid claim the Liga and UEFA Champions League titles as well. A move to Arsenal saw him distinguish himself throughout their run to the UEFA Cup final of 2000. He then had a spell with West Ham United, then closed his career playing for German side 1860 Munich.

The UEFA Europa League, formerly the UEFA Cup, is an association football competition established in 1971 by UEFA. It is considered the second most important international competition for European clubs, after the UEFA Champions League. Clubs qualify for the Europa League based on their performance in national leagues and cup competitions. For the first 25 years of the competition, the final was contested over two legs, one at each participating club's stadium, but in 1998, Inter Milan defeated Lazio in the competition's first single-legged final held at a neutral venue, the Parc des Princes in Paris. Tottenham Hotspur won the inaugural competition in 1972, defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–2 on aggregate. Eleven finals have featured teams from the same national association: Italy (1990, 1991, 1995 and 1998), England (1972, 2019 and 2025), Spain (2007 and 2012), Germany (1980) and Portugal (2011).

Sevilla holds the record for the most victories, having won the competition seven times since its inception. Real Madrid (winners in 1985 and 1986) and Sevilla (winners in 2006 and 2007, and 2014, 2015 and 2016) are the only teams to have retained their title. The competition has been won fourteen times by teams from Spain, more than any other country. The last champions before the UEFA Cup was renamed to UEFA Europa League were Shakhtar Donetsk, who beat Werder Bremen 2–1 after extra time in the 2009 final. Benfica and Marseille have lost the most finals, with three losses in the competition. The current champions are Tottenham Hotspur, who defeated Manchester United 1–0 in the 2025 final.