UEL reflections | Destiny’s ‘chills’ and family feels for Mathys

Destiny Udogie admitted he was struggling for the words to describe his emotions as he spoke to us at Friday’s joyful parade to celebrate our UEFA Europa League triumph.

The full-back was outstanding after returning from injury to start both legs of the quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, the semi-final against Bodo/Glimt and the final against Manchester United in Bilbao.

Looking out at the 10s of thousands of fans lining the streets, Destiny said: “It’s been amazing, winning the Europa League is a big achievement, everything was amazing. The day we came back to London, it was amazing, we knew we’d done something big, so, honestly, it was amazing. Honestly, I had chills, seeing all the fans so happy, it was beautiful - sometimes you just have to live in the moment.”

Asked later about the prospect of returning to Italy for the UEFA Super Cup against the winners of the Champions League – Inter or PSG, who face off in the UCL final in Munich on Saturday - in August, Destiny added: “I can’t wait - let’s bring another trophy home!”

Meanwhile Matys, who joined us on loan from Bayern Munich in January and featured five times in the UEL, told us: “This story was incredible for the club, the fans… I’m very happy. We did it and we deserve it. I’m playing football and playing to win trophies, so I believe in this team, this club and that’s why we did it. This is a big family with the fans, with everyone. It’s not just a club. It’s everything for us. We have to keep going and win again.”