Oliver Glasner jokes about Crystal Palace statue after historic Conference League victory

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Evening Standard

·7 mai 2026

Oliver Glasner jokes about Crystal Palace statue after historic Conference League victory

Eagles have reached a final in their first ever European adventure

Oliver Glasner is embracing the idea of having a statue built at Crystal Palace — so long as he doesn’t have to build it himself.

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Glasner on Thursday guided the Eagles to their first European final as they beat Shakhtar Donetsk 5-2 on aggregate with a 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park to reach the UEFA Conference League final where they will face Rayo Vallecano.

The Austrian will leave the club this summer but has already guaranteed a lasting impact with the Eagles.

He led them to their first-ever piece of major silverware last summer when they won the FA Cup, and then guided them to the Community Shield at the beginning of this season.

After Palace confirmed their place in the Conference League final, it was put to Glasner that there may soon have to be a statue built to commemorate his tenure at the south London club.

“Hopefully I don’t have to build it,” the Austrian joked. “Usually you say ‘I have two left hands’. Well, I have three.”

The boss: Oliver Glasner

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Reflecting on the semi-final victory, secured through an own goal and further strike by Ismaila Sarr, he continued: “I think everybody could see how good Shakhtar are.

“It was a huge performance and a huge European night [for Palace].

“I never felt today that any player was nervous, whereas at the beginning [of our Conference League campaign] I didn’t feel that confidence was there, it was new.”

Last season’s FA Cup victory earned Palace a place in the Europa League, Europe's second-tier competition, but UEFA retrospectively demoted them to the Conference League — and saw Nottingham Forest take their place — over multi-club ownership concerns relating to their former co-owner John Textor.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, goalkeeper Dean Henderson said: “We’ve got to deliver something special. We’ve got to get back what we deserve.”