Trabzonspor faces Barcelona in UEFA Youth League final

Trabzonspor, the first Turkish team to reach the final by defeating major European clubs in the UEFA Youth League, is looking to achieve another first in the tournament, which they are participating in for the second time with young players developed at the Özkan Sümer Football Academy.

The burgundy-blue youngsters will take the field against La Masia, the youth academy of Barcelona, one of the most important youth setups in Europe, and will sweat it out against an opponent that has already won the championship twice.

Participating in the tournament via the Domestic Champions path, the burgundy-blues advanced to the next round by defeating Montenegro's Buducnost Podgorica 3-1 in Trabzon and 5-2 away.

Matched with Bosnia and Herzegovina's Sarajevo in the third qualifying round, Trabzonspor secured their place in the round of 32 with a 6-1 home victory following a 2-2 draw away.

In the round of 32, Trabzonspor defeated Juventus 1-0, and in the round of 16, they beat Atalanta 5-3 on penalties after the match ended 0-0 in regular time. The burgundy-blues then succeeded in reaching the semi-finals by defeating another Italian representative, Inter, 1-0 in the quarter-finals.

By defeating Austrian side Salzburg 2-1 in the Final Four organized in Nyon, Switzerland, the young Trabzonspor players earned the title of being the first Turkish team to achieve this feat.

TRABZONSPOR HAS CONCEDED ONLY 1 GOAL IN THE LAST 4 MATCHES

The burgundy-blues, who conceded a total of 6 goals in the first two rounds of the tournament, have conceded only 1 goal in the last 4 matches they played from the round of 32 to the final.

Trabzonspor, which will play against Barcelona, the highest-scoring team in the tournament with 25 goals, in the final, will follow in the footsteps of the teams that have been champions in the last 3 seasons of the organization if they win the championship without conceding a goal against their opponent.

BARCELONA HAS TWO CHAMPIONSHIPS

Barcelona has previously won the UEFA Youth League twice.

The Spanish representative took the trophy to their museum by defeating Benfica 3-0 in the final in the 2013-2014 season, when the organization first began, and Chelsea 3-0 in the 2017-2018 season.

Trabzonspor, which will appear in a final match for the first time, will try to achieve another first by defeating their opponent, who has played in two finals before and has not conceded a goal in those finals.

LAST 2 CHAMPIONS CAME FROM THE DOMESTIC CHAMPIONS PATH

Olympiacos and AZ Alkmaar, who reached the happy ending in the last 2 seasons of the tournament, achieved the championship by following the Domestic Champions Path that Trabzonspor took.

Last season's champion, Greek representative Olympiacos, and the 2022-2023 season champion, AZ Alkmaar, reached the final and won the cup from the Domestic Champions Path, just like Trabzonspor.

This season, Trabzonspor, representing Turkey, succeeded in reaching the final by following the same path.

News Source: AA