Dealing with Tottenham.. AGAIN?
By: Anthony |
6 Comments
All Sevillistas have an opinion on the North London based Tottenham Hotspur; most hate them for the whole Juande Ramos saga and others for our heated UEFA Cup encounter a couple seasons back. Myself however, love them. After I emigrated Spain at the young age of 5 years old I moved to London where I quickly found myself supporting the mighty Yid Army (my mother being born in England and a Spurs fan since day one also had a heavy influence).
The rivalry that has developed between the two clubs I hold closest to my heart has been draining and sometimes saddening. I feel so torn between my two loves, Sevilla and Tottenham. When they faced off in the UEFA Cup it was easy for me because I said whoever won, I’d be happy. But the whole Juande saga along with the tension which followed is where I became stressed. How could I possibly support either side in a situation like that? I had my cousins from both England and Spain trying to convince me that the other team was evil and completely wrong in their actions but somehow I managed to keep my head in such a heated situation.
It appears as if the two clubs are about to cross paths again but this time in a deal for Spurs midfielder Didier Zokora. The Ivory Coast defensive midfielder has loads of energy and Monchi is looking for a boost in the centre of the park considering Romaric and Duscher haven’t exactly been consistent this season. Zokora isn’t exactly known for his scoring abilities actually never having scored whilst wearing the Lilywhite but having seen him play I know for a fact that he is better than what we currently have. Since Wilson Palacios’ arrival at White Hart Lane, Zokora, who was a favourite under Ramos at his spell with Tottenham, has found playing time hard to come by. Harry Redknapp has left the Ivorian on the bench during most of his time in charge which caused the once-happy, fan favourite Zokora to come out openly and say he would assess his situation at the end of the season in regards to where his best fit is and where he will get the most playing time - the desire of any professional footballer.
Monchi is said to have been interested in Zokora since before Juande’s arrival in North London and now that tensions between the two clubs seem to have been “soothed”, he will launch a full out offensive to finally capture his target. Didier could move to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán for about 8 million Euros but considering Spurs still owe us some compensation for prizing away Juande from Andalucía it will be significantly less than that.
José Maria del Nido and Monchi aren’t taking any chances though and seem to be quite unimpressed with what we currently have in the centre of the park. Next year as everyone knows, we will be making our return to the UEFA Champions League and inconsistency is unacceptable if we expect to advance into the latter stages like previously before.
Along with Didier Zokora of Tottenham, we are supposedly looking at Raul Meireles of FC Porto. The defensive midfielder has made 111 appearances for the club, scoring a total of 13 times. He’s no Marcos Senna but is definitely known for his long range shooting and solid defensive abilities. The Portuguese International won’t come on the cheap though as Valencia were quoted a massive 12 million Euros for him last summer. Monchi as we know though always has a trick up his sleeve and he is willing to include our left sided midfielder Duda in the transfer who spent this season on loan at Málaga. Duda has expressed his desire to return to his homeland if he is not guaranteed time in Nervión and with the recent performances by Diego Perotti and having Diego Capel along with Adriano on the bench, I really don’t see where Duda would fit into any of Jiménez’ plans.
The downside to all of this is that Monchi only apparently has a 15 million Euro budget to work with to capture both of these targets. Considering the Zokora deal would probably be under 8 million because of the compensation owed and the Meireles deal could include Duda heading in the opposite direction, it could work.
A little bit of optimism never hurt anyone, anyway.
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Category: 2009-2010 Kits Revealed!!
By: Anthony | 6 Comments
Sorry that I’m a day behind on this one but better late than never right?
Every year we look forward to the reveal date because it gives us as fans an opportunity to see the evolution of our beloved team. It’s so interesting to see how the kits have changed over the years and this year is no different - Presidente del Nido definitely knows how to mix things up a bit while still keeping it as rojiblanco as possible.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared for the reveal as last season’s UEFA Cup jerseys were atrocious. When all was said and done though, I can’t really complain.
Yesterday, José Maria del Nido alongside Jesús Navas, Renato, Andrés Palop and Diego Capel introduced what you will see on our players next year.
Four kits were displayed:
The home kit for next season will be all-white with the black socks as proudly displayed by Jesús Navas. The all-white is the typical home kit we use year-in and year-out with a few minor changes this time around.
The away kit for next season will be the white/red checkers with blue shorts and white socks as shown by Diego Capel. This is a bit of a change from this year’s red away jersey and in general just a unique design. Racing Santander actually has a similar style shirt with the green/black checkers but I think the white/red and blue combination changes up the flow a bit and gives us a new, different look.
Our third kit next year will be similar to this year’s away kit which is the all red worn above by the ever-inspirational Renato. The material seems to be a bit different than this year’s and same with the faded colour designs on the front but overall it is quite similar in comparison.
The fourth and final kit is the goalkeepers kit worn by Palop. Nothing to jump up and down about as it’s just the typical all black with a few minor detailed changes.
I don’t know what anyone else thinks about these kits but personally, I like them for one reason only. I can’t be bothered about the colours or colour combinations but I absolutely love the fact that they all have collars. I think it’s such a simple touch of class and overall makes the kits look that much nicer.
Enough about what I think though; what do you have to say about them?
Thoughts, opinions and comments please!
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Numancia 0-2 Sevilla; “The First Thing You Learn as a Kid”
By: Anthony | Add Comments
What is the first thing you learn as a kid growing up and learning how to play football? Simple: It’s not how you do it, as long as you get the 3 points. Well maybe you learn how to kick a ball first but once you get past all the little things that’s the mentality.
The scoreline doesn’t accurately reflect the game but definitely flatters us so I’m not complaining. Neither us nor Numancia played well enough to deserve 3 points but once again - I’m not complaining.
We started an extremely altered and weakened lineup to finish off the season with some of our biggest stars and key players being rested. Javi Varas started between the sticks in place of Andrés Palop; Dragutinovic, Mosquera, Crespo and Konko made up our *shakey* back four; Romaric and Renato were the core of the midfield while Diego Capel and Diego Perotti ran the flanks; Arouna Koné and Lautaro Acosta lead the team up top filling in for Kanouté and Fabiano.
It’s funny because in the reverse fixture earlier this year we lost 1-0 and that was with us fielding a full-strength squad.
None the less though, we sent the boys from Soria down to La Seguna with style capturing a 2-0 victory in what for them, was frustrating fashion.
It ended up being our two substitutes who made the difference when in the 88th minute, Romaric sent in a pin-point ball to Chevantón who still had all the work to do but controlled nicely and centred into the penalty area for Armenteros who was running in and smashed it to the top of the goal. 2 minutes into added time it was our young player of the year, Diego Perotti causing havoc on the left flank again as he hit in a low and hard cross which Numancia defender Moreno deflected into his own goal to hand us the 2-0 victory. Chevantón was running behind him anyway so it would have most likely been finished by the Uruguayan International but none the less, that sums up Numancia’s season.
Game Notes:
• Javi Varas believe it or not actually was tested a few times throughout the match and made some very tough saves. It is encouraging to see that we have a more than qualified replacement for “San Andrés” should he choose to hang up the boots in the near future (God forbid).
• Chevantón showed flashed of brilliance which gives me that false sense of hope that he will win the Pichichi next year should he be fit.
• Diego Perotti was immense like he has been all season, I can’t get enough of this kid and Diego Capel should be very worried about his minutes on the pitch in regards to next season.
• Romaric played solid in the middle and set up our first goal causing me to believe he heard Manolo Jiménez is looking for three or four more midfielders for next year and is feeling the pressure to perform now.
• It was definitely encouraging to see a product of Sevilla Atlético in Armenteros grab the decisive goal which shows we definitely have a lot of upcoming talent in our infamous Cantera.
We finish the season on a solid 70 points, a total we haven’t achieved since Junade’s departure. Jiménez’ contract as you know has been extended and needless to say it shall be a very interesting summer window in regards to who joins or leaves the club.
Overall I cannot say enough about this season. I enjoyed every minute of it when I look back at all the craziness that occurred. From the highs to the lows, I love being a Sevillista and want to send a huge THANK YOU to all the readers and posters here on the Sevilla Offside. You haven’t heard the end of me and I will definitely be posting just as often this summer to keep everyone who is interested, up to date with all the ongoing’s in Nervión.
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Preview - Numancia v Sevilla; All Good Things Come to an End.
By: Anthony | 7 Comments
I don’t care what anyone says, this season has definitely been a success in every way. Sure we didn’t win any silverware to make it the most memorable season per se, but we achieved our goal of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. There have been so many down’s from us crashing out of the UEFA Cup in the group stages to our embarrassing defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey. Those horrid moments however were all forgotten last week when Diego Perotti latched onto the end of a pin-point Adriano cross to head home the goal which would cement us in third and give all Sevillistas something to be proud of.
Today we travel to Soria to finish off our successful campaign against Numancia but overall it’s a meaningless match - we will finish third regardless and Numancia will be relegated.
There isn’t much to write about this match except for the fact that we will be missing 5 key players; not for any reason other than Jiménez’ decision to rest them. Kanouté, Luis Fabiano, Aldo Duscher, Adriano and Fernando Navarro will all be watching from the stands today as we try to finish off this year on a good note.
The squad for the match will look like this:
Palop, Javi Varas, Konko, Escudé, Squillaci, David Prieto, Dragutinovic, Crespo, Mosquera, Romaric, Renato, Diego Capel, José Carlos, Acosta, Jesús Navas, Perotti, Armenteros, Chevantón and Koné.
Game Notes:
• José Carlos and Armenteros were called up for this one from relegated Sevilla Atlético.
• No Kanouté or Fabiano means Chevantón and Koné will most likely start up top and considering both have been injured for most of the season it will be interesting to see how they perform with no pressure.
Transfer News:
Jiménez stated in a press conference that he has 2-3 midfield targets that he would like to bring to Nervión for next season but made it clear that we will not be held ransom for any deals. Despite having extra cash because of our qualification for the Champions League, Manolo stated that at Sevilla we still have our economic policies and President José Maria del Nido along with Monchi won’t break the bank to bring any certain players in.
When asked about bringing in new strikers for next year he said it all depends on how the injured ones recover and that he will assess that problem mid-summer if need be.
All in all it’s been an entertaining year; there’s no denying that. I hope our boys go crazy against Numancia and send them back to la Segunda in style - Sevilla style.
Tags: Acosta, Adriano, Armenteros, Athletic Club, Champions League, Chevantón, Copa Del Rey, Crespo, David Prieto, Diego Capel, Diego Perotti, Dragutinovic, Duscher, Escudé, Fernando Navarro, Javi Varas, Jesus Navas, José Carlos, Kanouté, Kone, Konko, Luis Fabiano, Manolo Jimenez, Match Preview, Mosquera, Numancia, Palop, Renato, Romaric, Sevilla, Sevilla Atlético, Squillaci, Team News, UEFA CupCha-Ching, Thanks Barça!
By: Anthony | 1 Comment
Monchi seems to be my favourite name this week and for this post nothing has changed. At Sevilla we’re known for our crazy, over-priced sell-on clauses, but this time it’s a different clause which is making us millions.
The transfer of Dani Alves to Barcelona at the end of last summer was one which was imminent. We in Nervión knew it was coming for some time and our failure to qualify for the Champions League this season sealed Dani’s fate in Sevilla. We didn’t let him go to Cataluña on the cheap though as we got a deal which had the potential value of €32m.
Yesterday with Barcelona’s triumph over Manchester United in Rome, we cashed in big time on Alves. In total, we gained an extra €2.25m in the several clauses within our former star right-back’s contract.
His contract stated that we would receive €750,000 if Barcelona won the league and an identical amount if they won the Champions League in which they did both. In addition, we were paid €500,000 because Barça won the Copa del Rey and an additional €250,000 because the Catalans directly qualified for next year’s Champions League.
Daniel Alves came to us in December of 2002 when we paid Brazilian Club Bahía €500,000 for his services. We were at this point newly promoted and looking for cheap but decent talent and Alves seemed to fit the bill. Little did we know that he would develop into one of Europe’s best right-backs. At his first season in Cataluña, Dani played 34 league matches and 12 in European competition scoring 5 goals in total.
Even after the way he went about his transfer, I can’t have anything but love for Dani as he was one of the reasons we as a club hold the stature we do today and have the status we do. Thanks for everything Dani, and these €2.25m Euros make everything a lot sweeter.
Another good bit of business by our legendary sporting director Monchi if I do say so myself.
Starting Early; Our Transfer Targets this Summer
By: Anthony | 9 Comments
We really don’t waste time in Nervión. Maybe it’s all the excitement over qualifying for next year’s Champions League or maybe it’s just good time management on our part; whatever it is, all I know is that Monchi has already made it clear of who he wants to acquire in the summer transfer window.
Our infamous sporting director Monchi has come out and said he is going to aim to sign 4 targets during the upcoming summer months in preparation for next season and our quest in the Champions League. Anyone who watched us this season could clearly tell that we still have a long way to go before we can consider ourselves challengers for the league because we just don’t have the depth that Barcelona and Real Madrid do. We also don’t have the massive budgets that they do to splurge out on Europe’s top superstars and all things considered, we’re doing all right.
All right isn’t good enough anymore as we aim to solidify our place as one of Spain’s best teams and during the summer transfer window it is pretty clear that we need to bring in some key additions to continue pushing up the table and show that we’re here to stay, not just for a visit. Monchi has been known over the years to find the best undiscovered talent around the world but now that teams everywhere have much better scouting, our sporting director feels that we have some competition and will therefore go for proven but reasonably priced talent.
Our Main Target - Jesús Gámez:
He has been one of the main reasons that Málaga has performed so well this season and is definitely one of the most sought after right-backs in Spain right now. This transfer will be anything but straight forward though as Málaga had apparently already rejected an offer from us this past January worth €3.5m and an unnamed player as well as a €4.5m offer from Valencia. Jesús has made it clear that he would welcome a move to the red side of the Andalucían capital and play in the Champions League. Joseba Diaz, Gámez’ agent also said, “There is nothing concrete, but I would love to see Jesús leave for Sevilla”.
It’s been clear since Alves left last summer that we have struggled terribly to find a suitable replacement at right back with the capabilities that Dani had. Mosquera and Konko have been less than convincing this past season and for a team who wants to do well domestically and in Europe you must have a solid defense. I guess that does sound ridiculous considering we have the second best defensive record in the whole league only behind league winners Barcelona but at the same time, we require sharper talent; Mosquera and Konko are not Champions League quality footballers. Gámez does well when pushing up and is also solid defensively which is similar to Alves and his style of play.
A side note which is actually really important in my eyes is the fact that he is Spanish. No, I’m not racist by any means but I see us bringing in more and more foreigners when we are located in a country overflowing with talent and I think it is always good to have as much homegrown talent in the squad as possible.
Málaga are asking any possible suitors for cash but it is clear that they will need players since they have several playing for them only on loans which expire this summer. One of those player’s is our very own Duda who plays on either the right or left flank. It’s obvious that in Jesús Navas, Diego Capel, Adriano, and Diego Perotti, we have possibly the best flank men in all of La Liga and Duda would clearly be a surplus to requirements. That’s not even mentioning Tom de Mul who is on loan at Racing Genk for the end of this season and will also be re-joining us soon. Another player of ours who is currently on loan at Málaga is Lolo and the former Sevilla Atlético youth product has also been a vital part behind the success of our Andalucían neighbours making 26 appearances this season and scoring 4 goals playing in a defensive midfield position. Two players who would struggle to find playing time in Nervión could definitely be used as makeweight in the deal for our target Gámez and it’s hard to see what Málaga would do without them.
Other Targets
Swiss International Gökhan Inler was said to be one of the players Monchi was looking to bring in during previous window’s and now he looks to step up his pursuit in order to finally clinch a deal. The now Udinese man plays as a central midfielder and is a Poulsen-esque type player who we still have yet to find since the Dane’s departure to Juventus last summer.
Another central midfielder our scouts are apparently monitoring is Stéphane M’Bia who currently plays his league football for Rennes in France. Their sporting director Pierre Dreossi has acknowledged that M’Bia could very well leave this summer when he stated yesterday “M’Bia is the only player we are willing to let out this summer if there is a good offer, for the moment that has not occurred.”
There is one more player who Monchi said he is following but preferred to keep him unnamed for the time being. Whoever we sign I am definitely looking forward to new faces around the camp because we definitely need to freshen things up a bit and add depth to the squad to create competition within.
Let’s hope Monchi can work his magic like he so often has done before.
Jiménez to Stay!!
By: Anthony | 7 Comments
I’m in shock right now, I don’t know about anyone else but I for one did not see this coming.
The club announced today that Jiménez’ contract will be extended for one more year meaning he will stay on until the end of the 2009-2010 season. The board met with President José Maria del Nido explaining the positive’s and negative’s in regards to keeping Manolo on board or finding a suitable replacement. Monchi was apparently the most keen to keep Jiménez on and his opinion, being a highly respectable figure in Spanish football and most importantly in our organization pushed more weight than that of other board members. By the end of the board meeting it was said that a unanimous decision was made in favour of keeping Jiménez for at least another year and putting certain clauses and targets in his contract which could see him stay longer.
I have been a huge Manolo hater this year and sometimes rightfully so; his lack of inspiration and dumbfounding tactics certainly gave the fans and upper management every reason to be concerned.
It seems that all of that has now been forgotten since we clinched third place this past weekend with a 1-0 win over Depor. That in turn secures our direct qualification for next year’s Champions League which was our original and main goal going into this season.
Jiménez took us to the quarter finals of the Copa del Rey where we were demolished by Athletic Bilbao and we also bowed out of the UEFA Cup in the group stages where we finished 3rd behind Sampdoria and Standard Liege. These two massive upsets alone were enough to have us fans out in numbers calling for Manolo’s head but it seems that this overshadowed everything positive he had helped us achieve in Nervión.
We got what we wanted in Champions League football for next season and it’s a bonus to directly qualify so technically this season was a successful one. Not only did Jiménez achieve our goal for this year but it should also be noted that his heart lies deep within the club, something you don’t find in many coaches these days.
This was Jiménez’ first real season in charge after taking the reigns over from Juande Ramos last season when he left us stranded and moved to Tottenham. He was coached us for a total of 90 games, winning 51, drawing 13 and losing 26 which all in all gives him a win percentage of 56.66% - not bad at all. Those statistics alone suggest that he should be kept on as manager but it is not a question about achieving good results, but rather great ones. Outside of the “top two” who of course consist of Barcelona and Real Madrid we are the best team in Spain as suggested in the past several seasons and “good” results aren’t satisfactory enough anymore, we need to be challenging and aiming to push up the table and in Europe.
In regards to the financial aspect of this deal, it is a good bit of business by President Del Nido. Manolo Jiménez is one of the 5 lowest payed coaches in La Liga having previously been in charge of our academy team, Sevilla Atlético. He will no doubt receive some sort of a pay rise but he definitely won’t be turning into Bill Gates overnight meaning we still have expendable cash to play around with in the summer transfer window.
Speaking of transfers, I think we should also note that a third place finish in the league is actually a better result than it appears to be considering we lost Dani Alves, Christian Poulsen and Seydou Keita last summer - three massive pieces to our previous hugely successful squad. Jiménez played the cards he was dealt and although he didn’t always trump when he had the opportunity, he has ended up with the winning hand.
Del Nido however did confirm that we would not have a large budget this year so the odds of actually winning the Champions League are slim but he emphasized that there should be no doubt in regards to the fact that we will definitely strengthen the squad for next year. We have always been known for finding the hidden gems of the world like Fabiano, Kanouté and Alves so I am not worried in regards to our transfer policy going into the summer window, especially having Monchi calling the shots. Our golden days a few years back was a team who had solid chemistry, not filled with superstars and we all know where that took us both domestically and in Europe. If Monchi and Del Nido can add some talent to the squad and give Jiménez sufficient time to integrate them into the squad, we should be looking pretty for next season. Obviously the right-back spot and a solid central midfielder are our main priorities but another striker seems imminent and same with a central defender.
This may not be a bad thing for us and actually with all things considered, I am happy to see Jiménez stay. It is better to imply the same coaching style next year to keep that consistency within the squad rather than bring a total newcomer in and have to start from scratch.
¡¡Qué bien Manolo!!
Sevilla 1-0 Depor; MISSION COMPLETE
By: Anthony | 2 Comments
What a night for us, it was like we were playing in a final of a major tournament. We have officially achieved what we set out to this season and that is to qualify for next year’s Champions League.
You knew it was going to be a special night when Javi Navarro was presented to the afición and was warmly welcomed with a massive ovation. This came after Javi “el capitán” Navarro announced his retirement a few days ago due to his ongoing injury struggles.
We completely dominated Depor from start to finish but struggled to capitalize on our chances. The boys from A Coruña relied on their counter attack but Squillaci and Escudé held down the back line perfectly, thus, Depor struggled to created many clear-cut scoring opportunities.
It took until the 90th minute of play for Diego Perotti to make a run down the left flank, only to find out he had no where to go so he played it back inside to Koné who passed off to Renato who spotted Adriano on the right side who finally put in a perfect cross for the Argentinean Perotti who never stopped moving after his run and as a result got his head on the end of it putting us up 1-0 with no time left to play. El Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán erupted and our bench cleared to jump on top of the goal scorer, Perotti in sheer happiness.
It was so fitting for the kid who has been our most consistent and stand out player this year to get the goal which sends us to the Champions League next year. He’s already a part of Sevilla history and only 20 years old. I really can’t even say enough about him, he’s such a good player at such a young age and we’re so lucky to have him as a part of our squad - I can only imagine what massive role he will play in the future of Sevilla Fútbol Club.
This is how it all went down:
This video gives me goosebumps and fills me with so much pride. I never realized just how much I love this club and how my emotions run in direct correlation with the success of Sevilla.
It truly was a historic night in Nervión and despite whatever has been said this season, we have to tip our hats off to Manolo Jiménez. I’ve been one of his biggest, if not the biggest critic this season but at the end of the day he got us to a position which is highly respectable and is also where we aimed to achieve. I guess because we’re a big club now that we have higher expectations and because he wasn’t able to achieve above and beyond what we wanted then we labelled him as a failure. Sure, he’s no José Mourinho or Guus Hiddink but he’s not half bad. His heart is with the club and whatever happens after this season, I won’t really have a bad word to say about Manolo.
We travel to Numancia next week to finish off the season and since they’re already relegated and we’ve already qualified for the Champions League you can probably expect either an extremely boring clash or an extremely entertaining one filled with quick attacking play. I really hope both teams go for the throat and don’t hold anything back so us as the fans have quite the spectacle to watch.
Sevilla v Deportivo la Coruña Preview; ¡Adios!
By: Anthony | 10 Comments
We’ll be saying goodbye to a lot of things today, some fortunately and others, not so much. Two things we’ll unfortunately be saying goodbye to are the fans because this is out last home game of the year and also to our former captain and legend Javi Navarro who officially retired earlier this week but will be present at the game tomorrow. One thing we can say goodbye to are Depor’s European aspirations when we smash them like we have three previous times this season alone.
Today will mark the fourth time we’ve played Depor this season in which we’ve won the previous three matches. We knocked them out of the Copa del Rey with victories both home and away and also in the reverse of this fixture when we came out of A Coruña with a 1-3 victory.
So sure, we’ve had Deportivo’s number this year but this match means a lot to both sides so it won’t be as simple as we may have hoped for. We’re still looking to secure that third spot for direct qualification to the Champions League while Deportivo are looking for a European place of their own, except in the Europa League but also a very slim chance of getting into that fourth spot.
This match will be our last played at home this season and nothing would be nicer than going out in style with an emphatic victory over a solid Depor side. On a night where our beloved ex-captain Javi Navarro will receive a retirement award before the match, we should show the confidence and hunger which he inspired during his time with the team.
Last Minute Updates:
• Kanouté did briefly struggle this week with his fitness but trained normally on Thursday and Friday so he will most likely start today.
• Romaric is suspended for today’s match after getting sent off last week.
• Chevantón makes his return to the squad after being sidelined for most of the season with a knee injury.
The official squad for tomorrow’s match:
Palop, Javi Varas, Konko, Adriano, Squillaci, Escudé, Dragutinovic, Crespo, Fernando Navarro, Maresca, Renato, Duscher, Jesús Navas, Perotti, Diego Capel, Luis Fabiano, Koné, Chevantón and Kanouté.
A win today would solidify us in third place and also allow us to say goodbye to our home fans and know that they can go home happy. We haven’t exactly been convincing at home this season but if Kanouté and Fabiano can link up like they have in recent weeks I can’t see the Depor defense keeping up with us.
OFFICIAL: Javi Navarro Retires
By: Anthony | 6 Comments
After two years of attempting to recover from his horrid knee injury, our infamous captain has decided to hang up his boots.
Two days ago, Javi came to a decision that he would never be able to regain full fitness in order to play competitively in La Liga again. It truly is a sad day for all Sevillistas who have not only lost one of our best defenders but our leader and captain.
Monchi and Joaquín Caparros brought Javi Navarro to the club back in 2001 when we were a newly promoted side with the most limited of budgets. The then 27 year old was brought in with hopes of bringing “experience” to the side; I wonder if it ever crossed his mind that he would be where he is today, 5 trophies later.
Not many former captains can look back on their career with their club and say that they lead them to 5 major honours including 2 UEFA Cups, 1 UEFA Supercopa, 1 Copa del Rey and 1 Supercopa de España. Truly the star of our golden age where we were ranked the number one team in all of Europe for 2 consecutive years.
Javi established himself as one of La Liga’s hardmen during his 8 years in Nervión with his no nonsense tackling and aggressive mentality. He helped us qualify for the Champions League for the 2007/2008 season but suffered his injury in the process and never fulfilled his dream of lifting the only major European honour he hadn’t achieved with us in Sevilla.
Regardless, Navarro said he hopes to stay on in Sevilla, hopefully landing a coaching role. He had that hunger, desire and passion that we seem to currently lack and somehow integrating him in the team again would only be beneficial.
We have yet to replace Javi in terms of captaincy with Palop not exactly being the best fit in my eyes and that may be one reason for our lack of motivation out on the pitch since Navarro’s absence.
Looking back at his 8 years with us Javi said that winning the first UEFA Cup was his fondest memory because it set the stage for Sevilla to be known in Europe and because it was the beginning of something very special.
I still get goosebumps every time I watch this video and while it doesn’t necessarily highlight Navarro, just look how inspired we looked on the pitch - Javi was the driving force behind that, that was his team to lead.
There comes a time in life where you have to say goodbye, this case is harder than usual. A true legend in every way, the symbol of Sevilla Fútbol Club and the greatest captain this club has ever seen. Definitely a massive part of the history of our club and no one can forget what he has done and the greatness he has helped achieve.
¡Qué grande Javi!
¡¡El mejor capitán del mundo!!
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