Crystal Palace vs Rayo Vallecano: How Oliver Glasner’s Eagles reached Europa Conference League final | Football News

Game 60. The longest season in Crystal Palace’s history has reached its final destination. Leipzig.

Their European journey started so long ago that Eberechi Eze was still registered as a Palace player when they were edging past Fredrikstad in a play-off to secure their Conference League spot.

While Eze has a shot at Champions League glory this weekend, on Wednesday it will be his former side who carry English hopes on the continent.

The route to a first European final has been a far from straightforward one. The feel-good factor from three successful trips to Wembley and a club-record 19-match unbeaten run unravelled in winter and edged towards self-destruction come January.

The FA Cup holders being dumped out of the competition by Macclesfield – a side ranked 117 places below them in the football pyramid – was just the start.

Six days later, the club captain Marc Guehi was being sold and his manager Oliver Glasner confirmed his intention to follow him out of the door a few months later.

Just over 24 hours later, a 2-1 defeat at Sunderland – a 10th successive match without a win – and an extraordinary post-match reaction from Glasner.

The Austrian accused the club of “completely abandoning” his squad. His position felt near-untenable. Fans felt disrespected as Palace’s season continued to plummet. Relegation felt unlikely, but could not be disregarded.

Yet Glasner continued and Palace crept into the knockout stage of the Conference League. The train just about remained on the track.

Palace defied their tag as one of the pre-tournament favourites with some inept and underwhelming performances in front of their home supporters and overseas.

A 1-0 home defeat to lowly AEK Larnaca in October was bleak but not catastrophic. Palace did just enough to progress out of the group phase. Glasner admitted himself when speaking to Sky Sports News last week, “it didn’t feel at the beginning like a special journey”.

But then came one of the great nights under the lights at Selhurst Park. Nearly three months after the Macclesfield humiliation, the club united to deliver an evening to remember.

The legendary Fiorentina put to the sword and all ill-feeling evaporated. The mission to deliver a European cup to sign off the Glasner era felt like the only thing that mattered.

“The closer we came to the final the more I felt it was special. Everybody gets a special feeling. The home game against Fiorentina was the first time I felt, it’s a special night” said Glasner reflecting on the road to Leipzig.

A resounding victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-finals sealed their place in eastern Germany.

The reoccurring theme which has remained steadfast throughout the season has been the remarkable togetherness of the playing squad and the confidence that they would make it to the Red Bull Arena on May 27.

Will Hughes backed that up when speaking to Sky Sports News ahead of the upcoming final: “We always had that belief. It was never arrogance. But we do deserve to be there [in the final]. There have been plenty of ups and downs throughout the season. We’ve dealt with it really well as players”.

Brennan Johnson was struck by the “unbelievable” bond between the playing squad upon his arrival in January – the best he’s experienced in football. A glowing endorsement considering the chaos which engulfed the club that month.

The reintegration of wantaway striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, whose move to AC Milan on Deadline Day collapsed, speaks volumes about the character of the group. Their ability to shut out the external noise seemingly always swirling around the club has been equally impressive.

For some, Crystal Palace is a stepping stone to something bigger. Just look at the career path of Eze, Guehi and Michael Olise. Maxence Lacroix, Adam Wharton and Mateta may be the next. But for as long as they are wearing the blue and red, they will give their all.

They arrive in Leipzig as favourites guided by a manager who has already won a European trophy, in the form of the Europa League. They will be roared on by an intensely loyal, grounded and passionate fanbase.

Palace’s own story – suffering administration as recently as 2010 which plunged them into a Championship relegation battle – allows them to embrace these moments without the assumption that they will be repeated.

The gripes they have had at times this season have been justified. Their frustrations have never come from a sense of entitlement.

Their hopes of building upon last summer’s magical FA Cup triumph seemed to be crushed by a brutal UEFA ruling, a sluggish summer recruitment drive and a drained playing squad.

But somehow they are now 90 minutes away from European glory. And Glasner is hours away from delivering his final act.

In his final interview with Sky Sports News before taking charge of his last match in charge, he summed up the significance of what has been achieved and what is remains at stake.

“I promised in January that I would give 100 per cent of Oliver Glasner until the day I leave. I get so emotional when I heard what we could deliver to the fans [following the FA Cup victory]. They said it was the best days of their lives.

“Maybe they will say ‘Leipzig was the best day of my life’. It’s part of our lives but as a manager there is always an ending. When you leave, what stays? Delivering one of the best days in their lives, that stays with them forever. For me, this is the biggest achievement.”

Glasner’s status as Crystal Palace’s greatest manager was solidified by unforgettable Wembley memories. A glorious German send off will immortalise his place in Eagles folklore.