Spanish Inquisition: Sevilla’s Severance With Mediocrity

September 27th, 2009. The Primera Division season was but a few weeks old and Sevilla had just come off of a 4-0 win against Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames, their sixth consecutive victory in what would be a string of eight successive wins in all competitions to begin the season.

Keeping pace with both Barcelona and Real Madrid, coach Manolo Jimenez challenged that this season would be far more than a two-horse race in La Liga and that, despite their Champions League and Copa del Rey obligations, Sevilla would be in the fight for the domestic title.

January 4th, 2010. Sitting in fifth place in the Liga table, ten points behind leaders Barcelona and eight points behind second-place Real Madrid, in a press conference before Sevilla’s Copa clash against Barca at the Camp Nou, Jimenez begrudgingly admitted that Sevilla’s title hopes were likely over; his side’s best chance was to secure a spot in the top four with there being no doubt that Barcelona and Real Madrid will finish in the top two.

That was before Sevilla, a side reduced to just 14 squad players because of a combination of injuries and the African Cup of Nations for Tuesday’s cup game, marched into the Barca cathedral and secured a 2-1 first leg victory that has the Andalucian capital clamouring (save the southern half, which is mostly comprised of Betis fans) for their club to dump the hex-champions out of their first competition of 2010.

If one knows Pep Guardiola’s Blaugrana, they will pull out all the stops in the second leg to make sure that does not happen, but Sevilla are no pushovers either. This is a side that seems to have finally recovered from the tragic death of Antonio Puerta, which made footballing matters seem trivial–trite even, to regain the form they exhibited under Juande Ramos which saw them claim the UEFA Cup (in consecutive years), UEFA and Spanish Supercups, and the Copa del Rey. This is a side that has now beaten both Real Madrid and Barcelona this term, albeit an under-strength Barca and not yet in La Liga - that match is to be played in a little over a week at the Camp Nou.

This is a side that finished atop their Champions League group with relative ease, winning four matches, drawing one, and losing one. According to Barca coach Guardiola, himself, Sevilla have “the best squad in all of Spain”, having been amongst the best in La Liga for a number of years now. In fact, Guardiola’s two most pivotal signings in 2008 that helped formed part of the crux of the 'triplete' squad were from the Sanchez-Pizjuan: Dani Alves and Seydou Keita.

Dani & Jesus used to wreak havoc together

Sevilla’s philosophy is one that markedly differs from their direct competitors in that they choose to aggressively scout internationally or develop their youth team talent into some of the best players in the game. Julio Baptista, Dani Alves, Seydou Keita and Diego Perotti are just a few of the names that evidence the brilliant scouting going on at the club while players like Carlos Marchena, Jose Antonio Reyes, Sergio Ramos, Diego Capel and Jesus Navas rank amongst the club’s stellar youth products.

The most expensive signing in club history, Alvaro Negredo, totalled just €15 million. In the modern game, competing with some of the best in Europe or La Liga is simply unheard of - if not impossible - without shelling out the big bills, but despite the significantly lower transfer fees when compared with Barca or Madrid, the club’s revenue model seems to be changing.

The club used to rely upon acquiring talented players cheaply and then cashing in when the big clubs came calling. Now, somewhat drunk with the taste of success that came under Juande Ramos, Sevilla are learning that by retaining their star players like Luis Fabiano, Frederic Kanoute, Diego Capel, Jesus Navas and others, they can build a revenue stream through winning titles and competing in the Champions League that, before, was simply not possible.

As a reflection of this change in philosophy is the tone adopted by Sevilla president, Jose Maria del Nido, who has become more vocal in touting his team in the media. Seated next to Barca supremo Joan Laporta in the Copa del Rey match on Tuesday, del Nido’s black trench coat and Al Capone hat, a very unusual outfit for the typically conservative club president, seemed to say it all, “We’re one of the Big Boys now, you see?”

Never a dull moment with del Nido

Now, as arch rivals Betis languish in the Segunda Division in seventh place, Sevilla are enjoying the most successful period in the club’s history. While when both of the Andalucian capital’s clubs were in the top flight, Liga failures could be atoned for with victories against the hated cross-town rival (one of the most venomous rivalries in football takes place in Seville between Real Betis and Sevilla), now Sevilla are beginning to measure their success in far more ambitious terms.

Coming off a victory against the best team in the world, Los Nervionenses are leaving the years of mediocrity are a thing of the past and the Sanchez-Pizjuan could not be happier for it. Jimenez’s pessimistic Liga prediction may still end up being no more than blunt realism, as it is difficult to see both Barca and Madrid dropping enough points for Los Nervionenses to make a rush at the title. However, it is worth remembering that as strong as Barca were last year, holding a 12-point cushion over Madrid at the Christmas break, Los Blancos had the opportunity to close the gap to just one point with a victory in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. But we all know what happened in that match).

The point is that in Spain, especially in the second half of La Liga when teams are beginning to truly gel and develop their own styles that make each weekend a difficult fixture, no advantage is too great and anything is possible.

Cyrus C. Malek, Goal.com