Crystal Palace have won the Conference League, beating La Liga side Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the final in Leipzig thanks to a Jean-Philippe Mateta goal. Palace manager Oliver Glasner secured the second European honour of his career in what was his final match in charge of the club.
As someone who runs a website passionately supporting Scottish teams in Europe, I do not particularly enjoy being reminded of his previous honour: the 2022 Europa League final victory on penalties in Seville, after a 1-1 draw with Rangers.
Before Glasner, Palace had never won a major trophy in their 120-year history. He leaves the club having secured three pieces of silverware in 12 months: the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League. A high calibre out-of-work manager. I wonder if he fancies a job in Scotland…
Debut Season Winners
Crystal Palace won the Conference League at the first attempt, joining a prestigious list of 12 clubs. That list includes Celtic, who won the European Cup at the first time of asking in 1967.
Prior to the introduction of the Conference League in 2021, only seven clubs had ever won a UEFA competition in their first season in that tournament.
What makes Palace’s victory so unique, is they are not just winning the trophy after their first season in the Conference League, it’s their first ever season in UEFA competition. They join a select group of eight* clubs to have achieved that feat, and the first since KV Mechelen in 1988.
Even reaching a final in a first European campaign is rare. Palace are the first since Alavés in 2001 and just the 15th club ever to do so.
* the eight clubs won a trophy in their first season in UEFA competition. This excludes the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which was not a UEFA tournament. Inter, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest had all played in the Fairs Cup before winning a tournament in their first season in UEFA competition.
Consecutive New Winners
