Alessandro Barcherini’s message to Sunderland fans after historic Europa League qualification | OneFootball

Alessandro Barcherini has delivered an emotional message to Sunderland supporters after the club sealed Europa League qualification, bringing European football back to the Stadium of Light for the first time in 52 years, according to Sunderland Echo.

Régis Le Bris’ side clinched seventh with a 2-1 win over Club World Cup champions Chelsea at the Stadium of Light, exactly one year after their play-off final win over Sheffield United at Wembley. The head coach said the achievement showed anything is possible, stressing hard work, humility and steady growth.

In a social media post, Barcherini said it was hard to capture what the group had achieved, noting many had written them off for survival. He added that for 47 weeks players, staff and fans were all in together, riding out internal and external adversity.

He highlighted late goals, derby victories and Sunday’s scenes as standout moments, but felt their greatest strength was embracing the suffering that came with the journey. He described the group as special and said bringing UEFA Europa League football back made everyone happy, telling supporters they deserve it.

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

He previously spent time with Notts County, Nottingham Forest and Nottingham Trent University, later leading academy goalkeeping at Notts County in 2015 and at Stoke City from August 2018.

Source: Sunderland Echo