Our European Finalists: Four Eagles recall experiences of continental Finals

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Palace are now just days away from their first-ever European Final – so to celebrate, we’ve caught up with four current Palace players who reached the same stage before, to reflect on what it’s like to play in such a fixture...

Nathaniel Clyne (2016)

From an Academy debutant in 2008, to being part of the squad which achieved survival – amidst Palace being in administration – on the crucial last day of the 2009/10 Championship season, to making 250 appearances for the club and reaching, now, a European Final. Clyney has done it all with Crystal Palace.

Should he feature in Leipzig, however, it would not be the full-back’s first European Final, having played the full 90 minutes in the 2016 UEFA Europa League Final in Basel, where Liverpool were beaten 3-1 by Sevilla.

Back in 2010 we were in the Championship, so if you compare that to where we are now...
—Nathaniel Clyne

“Obviously back in 2010 we were in the Championship, so if you compare that to where we are now, competing in Europe, having these European nights at Selhurst Park…” Clyne told cpfc.co.uk.

“It’s a special achievement, being part of the Conference League Final, and it is going to be exciting. It's a lot of the lads' first time in a European final, so we’re very excited.

“We're just going to go there and do our best, and hopefully we can bring a lot of joy to South London.”

Clyne and Palace are many bookmakers’ favourites against Rayo Vallecano, but the full-back knows both how strong and determined the Spanish opposition will be – and the pressures of a European Final.

“Obviously, with that kind of game, tensions are going to be high. There are going to be a lot of fans there in Leipzig, watching and supporting us.

“The pressure will be on us, but we've got to learn to cope with the pressure. We'll be playing our normal game and I'm sure we're going to be prepared and ready for them. We're going to do our job and do the best we can as a team to hopefully win.”

As for what a third trophy in the space of a year would mean? To someone who has experienced it all with Palace: “It would mean everything.

“For us to be able to be part of this successful period of Crystal Palace's history, to be part of a team that's making history, is a great achievement.

“It would be massive for the club and it would also guarantee European football again next season, which we’d be looking forward to and excited about.

“Everyone's hungry, and it’s what we want: to be playing at the top and competing for trophies and titles every season.”

Yéremy Pino (2021)

A Europa League winner, Yéremy Pino made history during a breakout campaign with Villarreal CF in 2020/21 – and, like Brennan Johnson, he started against, and helped topple, Manchester United in the Final.

On that occasion, Palace’s No. 11 started at just 18 years and 218 days old. In doing so, he became the youngest Spanish player ever to start a major European final, surpassing the previous record held by Iker Casillas – as Villarreal went on to lift the trophy after a penalty shootout victory in Gdansk.

“I've been here for a year now and I can really feel the fans, both the club and the energy they have to achieve great things,” Pino told cpfc.co.uk.

“It’s really nice to reach the Final, especially for the fans, because every game at Selhurst Park is a party, and I think they deserve a title.”

Everything turned out perfectly!
—Yéremy Pino

On his memories of the 2021 Europa League final, Pino admitted: “I was very nervous. I didn't play much that season, but I had to play in the Final because of several injuries. In the end, I was very nervous… but everything turned out perfectly!

"I think it was one of the greatest experiences of my life, to win a title with Villarreal, the first title in history, with teammates who are like family to me today.”

Pino is well acquainted with Rayo Vallecano, having faced the Madrid-based club on six occasions in La Liga with Villarreal – winning twice, drawing twice and losing twice, albeit unbeaten in the last three meetings.

“It’s a very nice Final,” Pino remarked. “They are going to fight. They are a team who are very good defensively and attacking.

“They are a very united group and it's going to be a big match, because they also play with everything.

“With the reputation of the neighbourhood of Vallecas, they also fight for something beautiful, like we do in South London. It’s going to be a very good game.”

And to win it? “It would be a dream.

"It’s the first time that Crystal Palace have entered Europe, and to finish it in the best way would be a happy ending – so that's what we're going to try to do.”

It's one that you have to definitely not take for granted
—Brennan Johnson

Brennan Johnson (2025)

The most recent Eagle to play in a European Final was, of course, January arrival Brennan Johnson – who scored the trophy-winning goal for Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League last year.

The Wales international, who celebrates his 25th birthday today (23rd May), delivered Tottenham’s match-winning moment with a close-range finish against Manchester United in Bilbao, ending Spurs’ 17-year wait for a major trophy.

“It’s a special feeling,” Johnson told cpfc.co.uk about the experience of playing in such a match. “I think it's one that you have to definitely not take for granted, but it's really exciting as well.

“To score was an incredible feeling, one that you can't really describe. I think the feeling's only better just because of the happiness that you bring to the team, the fans, the club.

“It's more just the fact that you're able to help out. I don't think it's anything of a personal achievement. It's more just all the smiles you put on people's faces.”

Johnson recalled the mood inside Spurs’ dressing room in Bilbao, stating Palace’s squad would be similarly concentrated: “Everyone in the dressing room will just be focused, confident.

“Everyone's just ready for the job that we have to do. I think there won't be anything more or anything less that we've done in the semi-final or the Premier League – it's just sticking to what we know and trusting in our own abilities.”

As for the prospect of winning the UEFA Conference League – a European trophy – for Palace? “Yeah, it would mean a hell of a lot. I think it's an amazing club.

“I've only been here probably six months, but I can feel how the club is and I can feel how much it means to people. These European nights have been so special. I think it's everything the club deserves, to be honest.

“I feel like the lads give everything, the fans travel home and away with unbelievable support. I feel like it's definitely what the club deserves. I'm so looking forward to hopefully being successful next week.”

Daichi Kamada (2022)

Daichi Kamada knows what it means to win European titles under Oliver Glasner, having been a central figure in Eintracht Frankfurt’s memorable UEFA Europa League triumph in 2022, scoring important goals against Olympiacos, Real Betis, VfL Bochum and West Ham United en route to victory against Rangers in Seville.

“I have played many European games and I have experience,” the typically understated midfielder said before Palace’s second-leg quarter-final win over Fiorentina. “But I really don’t know how much I can help the team.

“At least we, me and the gaffer, we’ve already won the European titles. Our tactic is very much to play the tournament games because I think his defensive tactic is the one of the best tactics in the world, so that’s why we performed well in the European competition.”