LEIPZIG, Germany — Oliver Glasner said he is leaving Crystal Palace “where they should be” after winning the Conference League in his final game as manager.
A second-half Jean-Philippe Mateta strike saw Palace come out 1-0 winners against RB Leipzig on Wednesday and win their first ever European trophy.
Glasner had announced in January that this would be his last year in south London and signed off by winning his second major trophy at the club.
It also secured Palace a Europa League spot for next season, the competition for which they qualified for this year before UEFA penalised them for breaching multi-club ownership rules.
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“I can’t even believe this was my last game. I took this decision [to leave Palace]. It’s a good chapter to read in the Crystal Palace book, but other chapters will follow,” Glasner said after the game. “I said to the players, get now what you deserved after winning the FA Cup.
“It [Europa League] was one year delayed. The club, fans and players got what they deserve. Sometimes, you have to take a roundabout way, and now Crystal Palace is where they should be.”
Speaking in his news conference as Palace manager, Glasner said even “the best magician couldn’t work without the players,” as he reflected on his trophy-laden two year spell at the club.
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“I just guided this group of players and the staff and I supported them and I said, ‘Really, this isn’t because it’s my 100% conviction’ I can’t do anything [without the players],” he told reporters. “I could be the best magician [but] that wouldn’t work without the players.
“And so it’s all the players deserve all the credit because they have to listen, they have to trust me and myself and the staff, of course.
“They have to work very hard and I think every player will tell you that I’m very demanding. So if things don’t go how I think they should go, or if players probably drop the standard by one or 2%, I can’t accept it.”
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After being an injury doubt to even start the final, midfielder Adam Wharton ended up making a match-winning contribution with his shot parried away for Mateta to slot home. And afterwards he said he wasn’t going to miss the final for a “little swollen ankle.”
“There was a lot of doubt [if I would play]. Pretty much just had my foot in an ice box for the last couple of days, just trying to get the swelling down and stuff,” Wharton said. “Few painkillers and that done the job. So yeah, to be fair, I couldn’t really shoot fully.
“It wasn’t very comfortable, but I’m not going to miss a final for a little swollen ankle.”
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After all the questions had been asked, Glasner stayed in the press room in Leipzig for one final monologue as manager as he said goodbye to the journalists.
“[The last] press conference and I would like to thank you, especially all the English [journalists] who were on maybe all 120 press conferences,” Glasner said. “So thank you for asking not too stupid questions and also always listening to my European accent and yeah, thank you very much and the thing we could deliver is that you can travel in Europe next season as well.
“So like the players, hopefully you have extended your visa already. Hopefully you will sit and write about [Palace in] the next final next year. Thank you very much.”
