Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner speaks ahead of the Community Shield

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner described leading the south London club out at Wembley as the greatest honour as the Eagles gear up for this weekend’s Community Shield showdown.

The Eagles boss masterminded his side’s victory over Premier League rivals Manchester City in the 2024-25 FA Cup Final some three months ago, as Palace won their first-ever major trophy – a milestone moment for the club.

Eberechi Eze scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win at the home of English football and for Palace, the rest is history.

“When I think back to that FA Cup Final in May, the first thing that comes to mind is the happiness of our fans, the players, the staff, everybody connected with Crystal Palace – how history-making it was for Palace,” recalled Glasner.

“It was such a tough game then when the final whistle went it was such a special moment. And then you see everybody celebrating, tears in their eyes – just truly a fantastic experience.

Expand Palace players celebrate during the Emirates FA Cup Final

“The Crystal Palace fans’ contribution to the victory was huge. You know that when you play Manchester City in a final that lasts more than 100 minutes, you will have some tough moments and in these moments, we could always count on our fans.

“I have met quite a few Palace fans this summer, and also at the trophy parade, and I could see the happiness and tears in their eyes and the emotions. Many told me that they never thought they would experience seeing Palace lifting a trophy.”

However, the 50 year old insisted his team are looking forwards not backwards, with the chance to add another trophy to the cabinet on Sunday.

“We’ve had a good summer but in football – and not just in football but in life, also – the past is gone,” he continued. “We have great memories that will stay with us forever, but that won’t help us when the new season begins.

“Now is not the time to lie back and say, great, we are the Cup winners. It’s about defining new goals for us and aim to have a better season than we did last season.”

Expand The Eagles manager with the Emirates FA Cup

And Glasner explained that the late Diogo Jota will be in his and his players’ thoughts during the game.

“This match will be an extremely emotional occasion following the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre,” explained Glasner. “It is a time when you see not just the football community coming together, but everybody all over the world.

“We can talk about the FA Cup Final, about how big this game was, but at the end of the day it’s just football. There are much more important things in life and you can get reminded of that in a very, very hard way. Of course, we enjoy playing football, and we enjoy the success, but never forget that there are many more important things in life.”

Click here to read article