On this day in 2008, Everton dominated Fiorentina in a UEFA Cup tie at Goodison Park but were knocked out of the competition on penalties
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David Moyes when managing Everton against Fiorentina in 2008 and (inset) with his winners' medal after beating them in the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final with West Ham United
David Moyes when managing Everton against Fiorentina in 2008 and (inset) with his winners' medal after beating them in the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final with West Ham United
David Moyes admitted he had unfinished business at Everton having returned this year and as well as having the accolade of being the Blues boss who steers the club from Goodison Park to the new stadium, the Scot will be determined to end their record-breaking silverware drought. A whole generation of Evertonians have grown up without enjoying success since the 1995 FA Cup final triumph and after breaking his own trophy duck by guiding West Ham United to the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023 – ending a 43-year wait for the Irons and exorcising his personal Fiorentina demons – and will now hoping to achieve something similar back on Merseyside.
Everton seemingly have a long way to go in that respect but having only been a point above the relegation zone when the 61-year-old came back in January, an eight-match unbeaten run in the Premier League now puts them closer to Champions League qualification than the bottom three. Today though is a date that provides a timely reminder of how close but yet so far Moyes was to glory first time around.
March 12, in 2008 against Fiorentina was Goodison’s greatest European night since Bayern Munich and arguably Everton’s best chance to win major silverware under the Scot but a failure to capitalise on their dominance and net a crucial third goals left the Blues paying the penalty. The hosts were left to rue their missed chances in the one-sided contest and the 2-0 deficit a sorry display in the first leg in Tuscany had left them chasing.
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Moyes lamented: “We battered them, the players played really well but they have not been rewarded for it and I have to admit that is hard to take. The fans were fantastic and they really made for a great atmosphere.”
A 16th minute close range effort off Andrew Johnson’s chest had set Everton on their way and it felt like the roof was about to come off ‘The Grand Old Lady’ when Mikel Arteta’s laser-guided missile of a strike made its way into the bottom corner of the net in front of the Gwladys Street midway through the second half. Goodison hadn’t experienced anything like this since Everton reached the Cup-Winners’ Cup final some 23 years earlier but there was to be no fairy tale ending on this occasion.
Fiorentina’s goal continued to lead a charmed life as a shot was cleared off the line while Ayegbeni Yakubu – who would hit the post in the resultant shoot-out – was denied by a stunning double stop from the visitors’ French keeper Sebastian Frey, who would also go on to save from Phil Jagielka from 12 yards after extra time had finished. The ECHO’s David Prentice wrote: “The European adventure is over... for now. But Everton have whetted their appetite for the kind of nights which had Goodison Park rocking to its very foundations last night. “Everton were utterly magnificent. They dominated Italy’s fourth best team for 120 minutes. They outplayed Fiorentina, they outpassed them, outfought them and outran them. Only goalkeeper Sebastian Frey stood between his team and a rout. But football, like life, can be unfair.”
Everton players show their dejection during the penalty shoot-out against Fiorentina during the UEFA Cup Round of 16 second leg match at Goodison Park on March 12, 2008
Everton players show their dejection during the penalty shoot-out against Fiorentina during the UEFA Cup Round of 16 second leg match at Goodison Park on March 12, 2008
Captain Phil Neville declared that he was “proud” of his team-mates, insisting: “We should have won the game by four or five goals” but Everton’s frustrations weren’t just down to the fine margins on the night. Given the talent in the team that Moyes had assembled over the previous five years, this edition of the UEFA Cup was a competition they could have and perhaps really should have, gone all the way in. After coming through a tricky qualification round tie with Metalist Kharkiv – missing two penalties in a 1-1 draw at Goodison before coming from behind to triumph 3-2 in Ukraine – they grew into the competition and became a real force. A short-lived format of five-team groups with two home games and two away saw the Blues quickly get into their stride. Greek outfit Larissa, whose striker Ibrahima Bakayoko made an emotional Goodison return over eight years after departing, were brushed aside 3-1; a 2-0 win in Nuremberg provided travelling Evertonians with one of their great European away days while eventual winners Zenit St Petersburg, with future Premier League stars Martin Skrtel and Andrei Arshavin in their side were despatched 1-0 at Goodison. With qualification to the knockout stages already secured, Everton triumphed 3-2 at AZ in freezing temperatures in Alkmaar to end the Dutch side’s 32-game unbeaten home run which was the longest in European competition. The Blues next port of call in February would be Bergen but it was the Norwegian champions Brann who were caught cold, beaten 2-0 on their own turf before a 6-1 thumping at Goodison but perhaps Moyes’ men peaked too early. After dispatching Everton in the round of 16, Fiorentina made their way past PSV Eindhoven before suffering a shock semi-final exit to a Rangers side, managed by Moyes’ Goodison Park predecessor Walter Smith.
To make matters worse for the Blues, the final was played just 35 miles from Goodison Park at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium with Zenit beating Rangers 2-0. It’s far from being a fanciful claim that Everton could have contended for the trophy given that the likes of Middlesbrough, who have only ever won a solitary League Cup, got to the final two years before while Fulham, who have never lifted a major trophy, made it two years later. Like in 1985 when the Blues were denied a crack at the European Cup, this was a great wasted opportunity for them but on this occasion they had nobody to blame but themselves.