Motherwell's Mural
Levante's crest once again traveled across Europe, but this time from the memory of one of its rivals. The Scottish club Motherwell, before its match against SC Freiburg, displayed a collection of crests from teams that have shaped their history in European competitions. Among them appeared the Valencian club's crest, positioned as the seventh from the left.
Levante in the 2012-13 Europa League
Levante's challenge that season was huge. In the Europa League play-off round, the team coached by Juan Ignacio Martínez managed to beat Motherwell on aggregate 0-3, with Gekas, Juanlu Gómez and El Zhar as goal scorers. The first leg ended 0-2 in favor of the visitors, and the second 0-1, adding up to 0-3 on the aggregate score.
Levante qualified for the group stage, where it finished second, behind Hannover 96 and ahead of historic teams such as Celtic Glasgow and Helsingborgs. The season also saw the Granotas eliminate Olympiacos in the round of 16 with a decisive 4-0 aggregate, after a spectacular away goal by Keylor Navas and goals by Pedro Ríos, a José Barkero from the eleven metres and a double by Obafemi Martins.
The European dream was close: it was the first time Levante reached the Europa League round of 16. However, Rubin Kazan put an end to the Levante journey in a cold night in Russia with a 2-0 win after drawing 0-0 at the Ciutat.
Levante's European Legacy
Since then, the Granotas have not participated in any European campaign. 14 years without competing in a continental competition, but the memory of the 2012-13 victory remains alive in the fans and in the club's history. Motherwell's mural, with Levante's crest among the most prominent, revives how the team almost became one of the protagonists of that continental edition.
