Alessandro Barcherini hails Sunderland’s unity after Europa League return | OneFootball

Alessandro Barcherini issued an emotional message after Sunderland clinched Europa League qualification to cap a remarkable Premier League season.

Sunderland sealed seventh with a 2-1 win over Club World Cup champions Chelsea at the Stadium of Light, exactly one year after their dramatic play-off final success against Sheffield United at Wembley. In a social media post, Barcherini said it was hard to capture what the group had achieved.

He noted many had written them off for survival, yet for 47 weeks players, staff and fans were all in together. There were setbacks and adversity, but also late goals, derby wins and a special togetherness, and he felt supporters deserved this return to Europe after 52 years.

The Italian joined in 2022 after three years at Leeds United, part of Marcelo Bielsa’s staff during the 2020 promotion and later working under Jesse Marsch.

Earlier roles included spells with Notts County, Nottingham Forest, Nottingham Trent University and Stoke City.

Head coach Régis Le Bris called qualification an important step that shows anything is possible with hard work, community spirit and humility. He highlighted a painful home defeat by Nottingham Forest, the response that followed, and stressed Sunderland are improving on strong foundations but must stay humble.

Source: Sunderland Echo