Sevilla 2-0 Getafe; “One Foot in the Door”
By: Anthony |
7 Comments
What a relief it is to finally get the job done at home in such a crucial match. Playing at our once fortress which is the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán hasn’t exactly been of any benefit to us this season. We’ve been extremely inconsistent and for a team who is trying to push the boundaries in La Liga, home form is key. A total of twelve dropped points at home in league play has seen us dropped to fourth place when we were aiming for the top two. In fairness to us, we’ve had an insane injury and absentee list which included players who have a massive role in the squad.
Sorry ladies and gentlemen for the day late post but here it goes.
A crucial 2-0 win over Getafe does not only get us one foot in the door of the Copa del Rey final, but its also a massive relief. Of course I never doubt my beloved club but our recent home form combined with Getafe’s reputation for playing well against the big clubs of La Liga had me a bit worried about how the match would unfold.
Not only did we win by two goals, but we managed to keep a clean sheet which is absolutely vital in these two-legged cup ties. I’ve so often seen the away goal rule knock out the stronger team (Barcelona against us this year and us against Barcelona in 2008) so to have a clean sheet going into Madrid next week is absolutely huge.
It was somewhat of a strange first half as Fabiano and Negredo started for us up top in what seemed to be a dream combination. I mean what team in the would wouldn’t love to have those two men in their starting XI? To have Luís Fabiano who had a killer 2009 and Negredo who is in red hot form as your two starting strikers is like a dream. Where it got weird is in the 37th minute where Jiménez withdrew Negredo, much to his disgust and replaced him with Romaric. Getafe up until that point was dominating possession and bossing the midfield and we knew that its key we had complete control of those two things or we could kiss the Copa final goodbye.
Full credit to Jiménez who had the balls to pull off such a substitution which was clearly to the displeasure of the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán crown and of course to Álvaro, himself. It definitely did pay off though as Romaric helped create a stronger midfield and as a result, allowed the play to shift to our control. Just as it looked like we were going into halftime deadlocked, Navas sprung Adriano up the right flank and our Brasilian put in a high cross which I thought was a waste of a ball but I was proved wrong when our leading scorer from last year, Luís Fabiano got his head on the end of it and put it beyond the Getafe keeper who was left stranded.
The second half started and continued throughout with us completely dominating the match. At this point it appeared as if Getafe weren’t necessarily looking to win the match, but rather not concede any further goals. Kanouté was brought on for Fabiano who seemed to pick up a slight knock during the match and was nursing some slight discomfort. Duscher was then brought on for a man who half already been substituted in, Romaric to provide some more defensive strength to the midfield.
It seemed that 1-0 would be the final score and I was content with that knowing we worked hard and kept the clean sheet but the kid who never stops working, Jesús Navas made one of his ever dangerous runs in the 80th minute and his low attempted cross which was hit with some pace struck Getafe’s defender Mario and deflected into his own goal.
Once we were 2-0 up I knew it was game, set, and match. True enough it did end like that and once the final whistle was blown I could not help but feel a great deal of optimism towards our chances of holding the Copa del Rey again for the first time since three years ago in another close encounter with that “other team” from Madrid.
A 2-0 advantage is huge in a cup tie against a decent squad like Getafe. I keep hoping that the fact that I can almost taste the final isn’t going to come around and bite me in the ass. It’s happened too often before with my beloved club and it would hurt if it happened at a time like this. A piece of silverware would do so much to the team’s confidence and show that our patience with Jiménez and his questionable tactics have finally paid off. It would also allow us to once again establish that we’re one of Spain’s elite teams and by doing so, hopefully will allow us to keep some of our big stars who had been linked with moves away from Nervión; Luís Fabiano, Diego Perotti and Adriano being the few who were named this past January.
My personal man of the match has to be none other than Jesús Navas. Sometimes I really wonder what we would do and where we would be without him. The match complexity is completely different when he is on the pitch and is allowed to play his game. His runs are still proven to be unstoppable at best and his assist rate is only second to the best player in the world. His pace is stunning and is the perfect key to unlock any defence. He had a hand in creating the first goal and was the whole reason we grabbed the second so all in all, he was the difference in this match for us.
A two goal lead going into the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals should give us some confidence for the time being and hopefully enough to go away this weekend to La Romareda where Zaragoza, a club whom which are currently sitting in relegation, wait for us. It would be good to grab another win as that would probably show that we’re taking the league seriously and the past two matches against Almería and Valencia weren’t flukes.
I’m liking this winning thing, let’s hope we can keep it up.
Vamos mi Sevilla.
Sevilla v Getafe Copa del Rey Semifinal Preview, 4:45PM EST GolTV
By: Anthony | 11 Comments
How do you approach a match when you know you’re a mere 180 minutes away from reaching the final of the prestigious Copa del Rey? While I have no idea of the answer, I hope our team does considering we today, host Getafe in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
Needless to say that we’re the favourites going into this match up, but now it’s all up to us to prove it. Leaving Barcelona and Depor behind in our Copa success this year has shown all of Spain that we weren’t totally exaggerating when we said at the beginning of the season that we have what it takes to break up the “big 2 of La Liga”. We may have struggled in the league as of late and be far off the pace of the two-horsed title race, but going into the semifinals in the style in which we have, is quite the achievement. It wasn’t easy however, with us almost slipping up twice against Barcelona and Depor respectively; but we had what it took to get through and now with almost a full squad, we definitely have what it takes to push further.
A massive victory a few days ago at home against league rivals Valencia has hopefully got our confidence back on track and also proved to any doubters what we are capable of. Being capable was never a doubt of mine, I always had full confidence in our immensely talented squad, but our consistency is something far to be proud of. Dropping a total of 12 points at home this season which was unheard of in recent years is something that must change. Two consecutive victories in the league against Amería and Valencia have seen us re-gain a Champions League position in fourth place – something we haven’t seen in a month.
Despite being a very strong side in the Copa, our opponents also possess similar qualities. A victory on aggregate after two legs would see Getafe make the Copa del Rey final for the third time in four seasons. Obviously we’re not going to let this happen, but it’s an impressive fact.
Our squad for this match will look slightly different from the one that faced off against Valencia on the weekend and very different than any Copa side we’ve fielded this year. We were missing so many key players it really is a wonder how we went to the Camp Nou and handed Barça a 2-1 defeat which ultimately saw us progress instead of the defending champions.
One player making his return is Argentinean defensive midfielder, Fazio who has been called up by Jiménez to his selected squad of 20 which will face Getafe.
The full squad is as follows: Palop, Javi Varas, Stankevicius, Marc Valiente, Escudé, Fazio, Adriano, Fernando Navarro, Lolo, Duscher, Romaric, Navas, José Carlos, Zokora, Renato, Capel, Perotti, Luis Fabiano, Kanoute and Negredo.
Selection will be difficult for Jiménez as it seems as if there’s an overload of talent considering there’s only 11 positions on the pitch to fill.
Needless to say players like Navas and Andrés Palop are standard to every starting XI which Jiménez fields week in and week out. But for tomorrow’s match, what happens to guys like Negredo who are typically outside the starting XI, but are in such red hot form that to sit them would surely dent their confidence? Álvaro Negredo, the club’s most expensive purchase in history is finally proving his worth and showing us supporters exactly why he was valued at that crazy amount. Two goals last week (one insane golazzo) has definitely given Jiménez a selection headache at this point as our typical frontmen in Kanouté and Fabiano have yet to come up with these goods of late. Yes, they were both absent due to international duty and injury, but Negredo seized his opportunity and it would be a shame to have such an in-form player sitting on the bench.
Another player I’m absolutely delighted with is new January signing Marius Stankevicius. The unfortunate part is that he’s only on-loan from Sampdoria but the good news is that we have him for the rest of this busy season. It wasn’t a busy transfer window in Nervión which is rather strange these days but as usual, Monchi was all business. The Lithuanian is extremely versatile and due to our shortage of centre-backs, he started alongside Escudé this past weekend against Valencia. Anyone who watched the game would have definitely noticed his presence on the pitch. He wasn’t only solid defensively, but was always a threat from set pieces due to his massive stature. A guy who I had no idea about, definitely impressed me and if we are to succeed in this Copa del Rey fixture, I believe he will be a major part of it.
Other Team News
It was announced officially on transfer deadline day that Arouna Koné has been transferred to Hannover 96 on loan until the rest of the season. Right from the beginning I was never a fan of him and he had several chances to prove his worth to the club but failed to live up to expectation. His confidence is brutally shot and it was evident on the pitch as even when Kanouté and Fabiano were absent, he showed up invisible. I don’t really feel that we will miss anything now that he has gone and strongly feel that raising a cantera player will bring more benefit to the club than playing poor old Koné. A great move for the player and the clubs involved.
Our long lost “wonderkid” as he was dubbed before moving to us, Tom de Mul has worked to make the squad all year but it has now been announced that he will need to undergo a surgery on a groin injury which has kept him out of the squad for this whole season. Team doctor Adolfo Muñoz has said that the Belgian will take about eight weeks to fully recover from this procedure and be match fit.
I was never good at making predictions so I’ll avoid that, but I strongly believe we’ll come out with nothing less than an impressive victory at home, showcasing exactly why we should be in the final. The confidence we have gained from our victory over Valencia should give us enough of a boost to take a significant lead into Madrid next week for the second leg of this encounter.
Vamos Campeón.
Tags: Adolfo Muñoz, Adriano, Almeria, Alvaro Negredo, Barcelona, Champions League, Copa Del Rey, Deportivo, Didier Zokora, Diego Capel, Diego Perotti, Duscher, Escudé, Fazio, Fernando Navarro, Getafe, Javi Varas, Jesus Navas, José Carlos, Kanouté, Lolo, Luis Fabiano, Manolo Jimenez, Marc Valiente, Marius Stankevicius, Match Preview, Palop, Renato, Romaric, Team News, Tom De Mul, Transfers, ValenciaSevilla 2-1 Valencia; “What We Need”
By: Anthony | 1 Comment
While a solid home performance resulting in a epic victory was exactly what we needed, it’s not the only thing. We finally for the first time this year performed up to our potential in a league fixture. 2010 has been a bit of bad luck for the month but maybe a victory over possibly our biggest rivals, it a sign of things to come.
Now sure, it wasn’t a blowout by any means like I may be expressing, but it was definitely a dominant performance by a rejuvenated Sevilla side. We haven’t been the most consistent of late and I tried to convince myself that it was because of the constant lack of our key players like Luís Fabiano, Fredi Kanouté et al, when indeed our victory over Valencia may have justified my point.
What it means is we clearly can outline key components to our squad but on the other hand it also shows we do not have the depth in our squad to consider ourselves one of the elite teams in La Liga.
All that aside, I can’t explain my euphoria when I saw us finally convincingly win a match against one of the strongest teams in La Liga. Valencia may not be Barça or Real by any means but they have been the most consistent team on the road this season. Not suffering a loss since the first away match of the season in Getafe has shown that Valencia are far from push overs.
Right from the beginning we signaled our intent by showing we came out to play. We went straight for the throat because we knew it was truly make or break for us. It was either we jump into fourth place and into a Champions League spot (something we’ve been out of for a few weeks now) at an opportunity so good that it would hardly ever present itself again this season or we would have seen ourselves slowly find confidence hitting an all time low; that comes with great side effects. However, no need to worry about what could have happened because the main point is we won.
I don’t know if anyone else has thought about this or believes it as much as I do but our victory has a lot to do with players who returned from injury and international duty. The two most notable from yesterday’s match were Fredi Kanouté who made his first start and Didier Zokora, both back from their disappointments in Africa.
Zokora absolutely bossed the midfield and made himself a nuisance around the likes of Villa and Mata leaving them stranded and therefore ineffective. This is something we have seriously lacked in recent weeks and it is an absolute relief to have him back in the squad. His fellow African, Kanouté lets his subtle play speak for itself. Our fan favourite big man showed us exactly what we lacked while he was on international duty. He may not have scored or set up either goal, but what he does is draw defenders to him every time as they know his danger leaving the other striker and midfielders with more space to create.
Another player who we can’t help but honour is Álvaro Negredo who seems to have undergone a bit of a renaissance as he’s appeared to have found his goal scoring form again. The first goal was a “right place, right time” sort of thing, but the second was an absolute flash of brilliance. The ball was delived to his feet in world class fashion by none other than Jesús Navas only to be topped off by a picture perfect finish. César Sánchez, Valencia’s goalkeeper may be short, but this was a lob which even the best shot stoppers in the world couldn’t have prevented from finding the back of the net. At first I thought he took too much time on the ball, but in the end it proved perfect as he’s definitely got a candidate for goal of the season.
This vital win over a close rival sees us jump into fourth place ahead of Depor and Mallorca who both lost this past weekend and gave us the perfect opportunity which we used to our advantage. We sit in the final Champions League spot at 36 points, three behind Valencia and quite off the pace of the top two spots in the table.
We must take this motivating win and build on it. Our schedule doesn’t get any lighter from here on in as we’re the only Spanish team competing in all three competitions from La Liga to the Copa del Rey and even the Champions League. In two days time we welcome Getafe to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán for the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. We’ve met previously in the 2007 final of the competition where we came out on top and if that match is anything to go by, Wednesday’s encounter will be one to remember.
Vamos mi Sevilla.
Sevilla v Valencia Preview; “All or Nothing”
By: Anthony | 4 Comments
Every game for the past month has been considered a “make or break” for our beloved club, but this one holds a little more weight in terms of where we’ll finish at the end of the season. Valencia in my eyes has become one of our largest rivals if not our main one since Betis dropped to the Segunda División. There’s just something about them I love to hate. It’s not a Real Mierda hate where I absolutely despise of the club and everything they stand for, but its like one of those rivalries that I love to get excited about.
As we’ve seen in 2010, our boys have been less than consistent and it’s starting to become really scary. We’ve advanced to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey handing Barcelona and Deportivo defeats along the way which would generally be an encouraging thing but to say we scraped through by the skin of our teeth would be quite accurate. The combination of an extremely busy schedule, insane injury list and international duty has definitely taken its toll on our squad.
Today however we can be excited about the fact that Luís Fabiano and Kanouté will most likely finally be paired together for the first time in a couple months. They both made their return this past week getting in some minutes to prepare them for this big match today.
With both Depor and Mallorca incurring losses this weekend, a win would see us jump into fourth place and that final Champions League spot. Saying today is a must win, is an understatement.
The combination of Silva, Mata and Villa is no doubt one of the deadliest in the league, but if I’m being completely honest, besides those three men, I don’t rate anyone else in the Valencia squad very highly. They’ve very much become reliant upon those men and if we can contain them, we should be able to pave a path for victory. “Containing” these players will not be easy however as we have a massive injury crisis at the moment. Last week it was confirmed that Drago will be out at least a month with a broken rib and Squillaci is also out long term as he underwent a leg surgery about a couple weeks back. Two veteran defenders out leaving Escudé to partner Sevilla Atlético star Marc Valiente at centre back. Today will also mark the return of Didier Zokora, our rock in the midfield who we’ve terribly missed this past month while he’s been representing his country. It is a possibility that we may see Zokora or Duscher at centre back as they both have much more experience than Valiente who has only played a couple games for the senior squad.
A prediction of Jiménez’ lineup today is a hard one to call as we still have a few key players out due to injury. I do however predict Fabiano and Kanouté to finally be paired together up top and see Navas and Perotti on the flanks as usual. A Romaric/Renato midfield would be something I’d love to see but to be realistic, I don’t see Manolo going that offensive (as usual, right?). Maybe rightfully so as he’ll want to relieve as much stress off the defense as possible seeing as we have a makeshift back line. Navarro will start on the left and Adriano most likely on the right as the centre back positions are anyone’s guess at this point. Who will be paired with Escudé is beyond me.
Here’s the squad, decide for yourselves: Palop, Javi Varas, Adriano, Stankevicius, Marc Valiente, Fernando Navarro, Escudé, Zokora, Renato, Romaric, Duscher, Lolo, Jesús Navas, Luis Fabiano, Kanouté, Negredo, Capel and Perotti.
I won’t be able to watch the match today as I have my own match to play. It’s bittersweet but I guess I’ll have to settle for the replay at midnight on GolTV. This is going to be one hell of a match that means so much to us and we have to break this stupid curse about our poor home performances. The boost of Fabiano and Kanouté re-uniting should be enough to do so.
Vamos Campeón.
Tags: Adriano, Alvaro Negredo, Barcelona, Champions League, Copa Del Rey, Deportivo, Didier Zokora, Diego Capel, Drago, Duscher, Escudé, Fernando Navarro, Javi Varas, Jesus Navas, Kanouté, Lolo, Luis Fabiano, Mallorca, Marc Valiente, Marius Stankevicius, Match Preview, Palop, Perotti, Real Betis, Renato, Romaric, Sevilla Atlético, Squillaci, Team News, ValenciaSevilla 0-1 Depor; “The Beautiful Game”…
By: Anthony | 3 Comments
Like this picture, our match yesterday was far from pretty. Sure we’re through to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey so I should be happy right? Wrong. There was so many things wrong with our performance, I don’t know where to start. Let’s just say that sometimes the beautiful game isn’t always so beatiful and that we’re lucky that only 15,000 spectators attended the match which was a bit painful on the eyes at the best of times.
In Sevilla we were known as a team that lit up the pitch upon contact but at the turn of the decade that has changed for the worse. We’ve been probably the most inconsistent team thus far in La Liga which is something to be quite ashamed of considering we considered ourselves potential title contenders coming into this season.
Let’s start with the fact that we actually lost the second leg 0-1 which saw us progress through 3-1 on aggregate. We’re through which is what technically matters but the fact that we couldn’t keep a clean sheet or score against one of the weakest Depor side’s Lotina has fielded this year is a bit scary and just overall pathetic. Granted, we played a somewhat conservative lineup with Lolo and Duscher playing the double defensive midfield role while Perotti, Romaric and Capel were stationed in support behind Luís Fabiano. What I did like to see was the fact that Marc Valiente got the nod and never once looked like the Achilles’s heel of our defense. He was solid back there and it’s an encouraging sign considering the mass plague that has seemed to hit our defenders recently.
Rodolfo Bodipo scored just minutes before the half to give Depor the 0-1 lead which the eventually was the final score. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared of fate after we went down a goal. I was cocky and arrogant to say the least in my preview of the match and fate is a funny thing to mess with; I smelt a recipe for disaster.
After the break we came out with more intensity but still failed to create anything truly worth mentioning. The introduction of Jesús Navas brought up even more pace and danger as he replaced Diego Perotti but despite more chances being created, we failed to find the end product. Lolo came close with a couple headers but other than that, we just saw out the rest of the match with boring possession.
Of course it’s exciting to make it to the semifinals of a prestigious competition like the Copa del Rey but it’s also nerve racking when you follow a team like we do. After seeing today’s results pan out we will face off against Getafe in the semifinals which is a repeat matchup of the Copa del Rey final of 2007 when we last hoisted the trophy as Kanouté sealed the 1-0 victory for us.
However there is some more bad news as Dragutinovic was forced to sub off in the first half and after undergoing a scan it is revealed he has a fractured rib and will be out for a minimum of 20 days. Just what we needed right? Another defensive injury. As it is we’re already extremely short at the back and considering we go up against Valencia this weekend, this is a frightening sign. Marc Valiente seemed to do quite well alongside Escudé but it was against a very weak Depor side; his inexperience may prove to be a massive vulnerability against David Villa and co.
I guess you don’t want to hear my negativity anymore so let’s bask in the glory of achieving a semifinal birth and a real shot at silverware this season.
Vamos mi Sevilla.
Copa del Rey Preview; Sevilla v Depor
By: Anthony | 3 Comments
We go into today’s crucial match against Deportivo having a 3-0 advantage from our triumph last week at the Riazor. Let’s face it, 2010 has not exactly been our year as we’ve struggled at the best of times. However, this appears to be changing as we smashed Depor midweek showing the world the real Sevilla and then won at home against Almería this past Saturday in what was a sloppy encounter due to the drenched pitch, but the main point is we got the result when it was needed.
The Copa del Rey has been our competition this year as we knocked out defending Champions Barcelona, albeit on the away goals rule. I don’t think we’ll be holding our breath this time as we have a commanding 3-0 lead going into this second leg at home in front of our passionate fans. At this point we have no choice other than to make the Copa our main priority seeing as I strongly believe we’re the best team in the competition, hands down. Squad for squad we have the most talent, there’s no doubt about that; at this point it all comes down to consistency, something we’ve lacked of late.
There surely can’t be any excuses for either squad as we both had some of our most key players missing for the first leg. The difference I believe was Jesús Navas who set up Negredo for our first goal and ended up having the favour returned for a goal of his own later in the match. He’s truly our standout player of the season and clearly the focal point of this Sevilla side which we are building for the future. Another man definitely worth mentioning in every high regard is our captain, Andrés Palop. He has been absolutely immense, or a diamond in the rough if you will, especially where he virtually saved us from crashing out against Barça in front of our home fans and then saved us from further embarrassment when we lost 4-0 at the Camp Nou in the league.
I only expect good things from today’s match as big Fredi Kanouté makes his return to our squad after Mali crashed out of the African Cup of Nations last week. Luís Fabiano also made his return to the squad last week so if three goals was seen to be a great margin in the first leg of this encounter, I can only have higher hopes for today.
It appears as if Depor has a great deal of injuries so I can’t imagine them coming up with the good to produce an upset. Sure, anything can happen in football, but we’re beginning to show signs of the old Sevilla and by re-gaining some of our most crucial pieces to the puzzle in Kanouté and Fabiano, surely things can only get better.
However, Jiménez may face a bit of a dilemma today when it comes to selection. He has called up the following squad: Palop, Javi Varas, Stankevicius, Escudé, Marc Valiente, Dragutinovic, Adriano, Fernando Navarro, Duscher, Lolo, Renato, Romaric, Jesus Navas, Jose Carlos, Negredo, Luis Fabiano, Kanouté, Koné, Capel and Perotti. With Negredo playing so well of late and scoring a goal in his last two starts, can Jiménez possibly bench him and give preference to our more experienced and proven goal scorers? Or does he stick with Negredo in hopes of keeping his confidence high? Personally I would start Fabiano and Negredo and give Kanouté a shout in the second half as a sub because I’m sure he still hasn’t fully recovered physically from his international duties.
Expect to see us in the quarter finals of the Copa del Rey, because that’s where we’ll be. A win is a must today and that’s all I see happening.
Vamos Campeón.
Tags: Adriano, Almeria, Alvaro Negredo, Andrés Palop, Barcelona, Copa Del Rey, Deportivo, Diego Capel, Diego Perotti, Dragutinovic, Duscher, Fernando Navarro, Javi Varas, Jesus Navas, José Carlos, Julien Escudé, Kanouté, Kone, Lolo, Luis Fabiano, Marc Valiente, Marius Stankevicius, Match Preview, Renato, Romaric, Team NewsSevilla v Almería Preview – Saturday 12PM EST GolTV
By: Anthony | 22 Comments
So later today we welcome Negredo’s former team, Almería to El Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in a clash which could be the difference between getting our league form back on track or falling further back of our desired Champions League spots.
After demolishing Depor midweek, we look to continue our dominance in the league where we have fallen as far back as 8 points from third place Valencia; a place where we want to be.
At the beginning of the season there was talk that this is the best Sevilla side in history and therefore we have a great shot at breaking up the infamous “big two” in La Liga this campaign. We’re 16 points back of Barcelona with 20 matches left so quite obviously the math isn’t exactly in our favour when talking about the odds of us accomplishing such a great task. Maybe top two is a bit out of our league at this point but top four definitely isn’t and in fact, that’s where we absolutely must be, no excuses.
Our one win in the past seven league matches is clearly a sign of our lack of consistency. To establish ourselves among the top teams of La Liga, I’ve said it time and time again but we need to be more consistent. We can’t be dropping points against teams like Racing, Atléti, Getafe, Málaga and Valladolid who are far beneath us in the league table. Although they do say no match in football is ever a given; if we want to establish ourselves as one of the elite teams in Spain we can’t be foolishly dropping points against opponents where we should be coming away with three every time. Our home record has also been pathetic of late with our last home league win coming all the way back on November 8th where we defeated Villarreal 3-2. A top team can’t be gaining points at home only once every 2 or three months, the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán has to be our haven and a place where other teams dread coming which currently is far from the case.
Having understood all that, you will also know that this match against Almería is an absolute MUST win. Our league form has been poor of late and granted that we’ve had a lot of injuries, we also have a fairly deep squad so there is very little excuse. Boys like Koné and Negredo who have been fortunate by the absences of Kanouté and Luís Fabiano have failed to seize their opportunities and show exactly why they’ve been substitutes all season. With the return of OFabuloso and Big Fredi this week, expect nothing to change. Both our infamous hitmen will most likely start unless Kanouté is still fatigued from his African Cup duty.
Negredo will be looking to punish his former employers and with the spirits high in Nervión from our Copa success, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be done.
Vamos Campeón.
Depor 0-3 SEVILLA; The Beginning.
By: Anthony | Add Comments
It was just over a week ago that I returned to the blog and have been loving it ever since. I feel so much more in touch with my team and love to discuss the ongoings with other Sevillista’s out there. It’s been like a new beginning for all of us here at the Sevilla Offside.
Since the turn of 2010 our team has struggled to cope with the mass amounts of injuries and have as a result slipped to sixth place in La Liga. Despite our poor form in the league, we managed a bit of luck in the Copa del Rey and have since progressed to the quarter finals at the expense of the current holders, Barcelona.
Yesterday we traveled to A Coruña to take on a resurgent but also injury-struck Depor side in their hostile home of the Riazor. This day will hopefully spark a new beginning for us.
We virtually ensured our passage to the semifinals after our 0-3 thrashing of who were once labelled “SuperDepor”.
Right from the get-go we came out as a team who wanted to play. We moved around the ball nicely (something we failed horribly trying to do against Barça), bossed the midfield through Romaric, Duscher and Renato, and finally got Negredo some touches which allowed Navas and Capel some space on the flanks.
A topic we’ve discussed much of here on the blog is the signing of Negredo this past summer transfer window where he became the club’s highest paid player but has since failed to live up to that price tag.
He must have been reading this blog or something because yesterday he put in the performance of a lifetime; definitely the best in the infamous rojiblanco anyway. A goal on the half hour mark signaled our intent for the match and was definitely well-deserved considering we dominated and carried the play up to that point. Once again the goal was all made possible by Jesús Navas who gave an absolutely insane ball over the top of the defense for our big man up top to head and loop over the Depor keeper who decided to leave his line.
The first half ended 0-1 to us which was just a taste of what Depor was about to receive. At the beginning of the second half we brought on the big guns. When I say big guns, I mean some pretty big fucking guns. Diego Perotti who is a huge personal favourite of mine came on for Diego Capel which completely changed the complexity of the match. A goal followed Perotti’s introduction as he absolutely made the left flank his own and in the 68th minute put in one of his perfect crosses into the Depor box which Renato towered up and headed in to put us up 0-2.
Two minutes later we sealed the deal when Negredo returned Navas the favour for setting him up for his goal earlier on in the match. Our €15m Euro man broke down the right flank, out-muscled the defenders, spotted Navas who opened up in the 18 yard box and passed it off to watch him finish it with the greatest of ease. 0-3 in our favour and there was no turning back.
With the score at 0-3 we saw Romaric and Luis Fabiano miss further opportunities which would have put us up by 5 so Depor lost the match, but not without thanking us further.
Overall it feels good to finally win so emphatically and against a great rival like Depor. We didn’t only come out victorious, we came out feeling like champions. Sure, we have to keep focused on the second leg of this encounter, but it’s hard not to think about the semifinals. Aside from the Copa del Rey we should really be putting much more emphasis on the league because we’re currently in sixth and a massive 8 points behind Valencia for our former third spot.
The match showed what we are truly capable of week in and week out but it appears as if our biggest downfall is consistency. We just don’t have the consistency to be considered one of the top elite teams in Spain right now which currently consists of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
We travel back to Andalucía to host a struggling Almería side in a match which we need to come out on top to get our league campaign back on track. We need an identical performance to the one yesterday in A Coruña to get the result necessary.
There are more positives notes for us as we can expect the likes of Perotti and Fabiano to feature just as we caught glimpses of them yesterday. And big news as Kanouté is set to make his first start for us this Saturday since leaving the squad to join his countrymen and play in the African Cup of Nations.
With a squad which is getting closer to 100%, there is absolutely no reason what so ever that we should not get our season back on track. I think the rest of La Liga should take note and watch out for a new and resurgent Sevilla.
Vamos Campeón.
Category: Team NewsCopa del Rey Preview: Deportivo la Coruña v Sevilla
By: Anthony | 41 Comments
Knocking defending champions Barcelona out of the Copa del Rey last week surely makes us favourites to win the competition now. With Barça, Real Madrid, Valencia and Villarreal out, we have as good a chance as any to wing the infamous King’s Cup.
We go from the Camp Nou to a ground which is equally as hard to win in and that is the Riazor. Depor’s home form has been one of the best over the past few years and this season is no different. They’ve won against teams like Real Madrid and knocked Valencia out last round proving they will be anything but easy to dispose of in this competition.
Both us and Depor are coming off loses on the weekend to Barcelona and Mallorca respectively. That was a small part of our poor recent form which definitely scares me knowing we’re going into one of the most hostile stadiums in all of Spain.
Our injured and depleted squad has found it hard to cope of late making it clearly evident that we just are not deep enough to consider ourselves top two contenders just yet. Luckily for us, Depor has just as a depleted squad as us. Six of their key players are out in comparison with our six just to show you how both of us have been finding it hard of late to field a competitive side.
Some late good news for us as it was announced today that both Luis Fabiano and Diego Perotti are back to full fitness and trained normally meaning they could both feature at some point tomorrow against Deportivo. Fabiano has been sidelined since December 5th where he sprained his ankle terribly and has been unable to play. We have missed his scoring touch, especially of recent where we are dominating matches but at the end of the day being unable to put the ball in the back of the net.
Abdoulay Konko picked up a knock against Barça and will be out for the next month meaning we will have to find a stand-in right back also due to Sergio Sánchez’ retirement. Drago is also a doubt for the match as he picked up and injury two matches ago and with Squillaci out we will have to find Escudé a central defensive partner to contain Depor’s unpredictable attack.
Kanouté is still on African Nation’s Cup duty but Álvaro Negredo should start after being rested this past Saturday against Barça. Renato, Adriano and Romaric should also get starts as they were reserves in the Camp Nou.
This competition unfolding like it is can only mean one thing and that is we are in it to win it. At this point although we are struggling in the league, we must make the Copa del Rey one of our main priorities because quite frankly, it would be way too good of an opportunity to pass up. A win against Depor and we’re only 3 games away from being in the final.
In order to come out on top we’ll need to expect some big performances by some big players, most noticeably Negredo. The €15m Euro man looked to be worth every cent last year, but since the turn of the decade he’s been a massive disappointment. With the absences of Kanouté and Fabiano, it was supposed to be his time to showcase his talent and prove why he deserves a spot over our two hitmen but he’s failed to do so with his mediocre performances against some of the weakest teams. If he can step up his game where it counts, tomorrow against Depor, all will be forgiven; if not however, I can’t see how he’ll get much playing time once big Fredi and OFabuloso return.
It’s quite evident at this point that we will never see the form Koné had in the Eredivisie while he Ivorian is in Sevilla colours so I expect Jiménez to start Negredo up top by himself with Renato playing slightly behind him as we’ve so often done this year.
This match is really make break and will truly establish our intentions for the Copa del Rey.
Barça 4-0 Sevilla; Salt in the Wounds.
By: Anthony | 6 Comments
It’s hard to find the words to say in this situation. Having said that though, it’s also had to be mad at your team but rather feel a great sense of disappointment.
I know Barcelona is hands down the best squad in the world despite us knocking them out of the Copa del rey last week but for some reason I have this slight feeling that we deserved better last night.
Like someone pointed out on the comment section of the preview I posted; we ended the half at 0-0 where we barely touched the ball but held our own quite comfortably and then attempted to play some offensive football and got punished in the second half.
The problem is, you can’t even be the slightest bit let down when your team loses to Barcelona and that’s why I’m trying to stay positive here. I mean, technically speaking we used a very broken lineup considering we have an insane about of absences. From injuries to suspensions to international duty, we played a makeshift eleven against Barça and for the most part the young Sevilla Atlético boys held their own which is a very encouraging sign. It’s funny how when we put in Capel and Duscher who are much more experienced players, we concede goals. I don’t care how young José Carlos and Marc Valiente are, the point is when they were on the pitch, we didn’t concede and also played some half-decent football.
The first goal was hardly Escudé’s fault as he actually was a stand out performer all night and just had a bit of bad luck. It was due though as we could barely keep possession for two minutes and as Barça passed around us like a training exercise.
Andrés Palop was hands down the man of the match and the score could have been much worse if it wasn’t for him, our saviour. From Messi to Henry, no one could beat Palop until the pressure just became too ridiculous to handle.
At the end of the day it just comes down to the fact that we weren’t good enough on the night and proves that there is still a major gap between us and the top position. Of course the injuries didn’t help and the second time around this season will be very different when we have a full squad, but no excuses, we got it handed to us – big time.
Injury Crisis Updates
Our injury problems continue as it was confirmed Konko has broken a bone in his hip and will be sidelined for about 4 weeks. This is horrible news as Sergio Sánchez was earlier this week forced to retire due to a heard condition and Konko is our only other true right back. This will be a great chance for our new loaned player Marius Stankevicius to prove what he’s worth as he can play anywhere at the back. Expect to see a lot of him over the next few weeks.
But some good news finally as Luis Fabiano has reached full fitness and may be ready in time for this week’s Copa del Rey clash against Deportivo la Coruña. Scoring has definitely been our weak point lately as we’re clearly missing our two hit men in Fabiano and Kanouté. It is said that team doctor Adolfo Muñoz and Manolo Jiménez do not want to rush his return so he may return on the weekend to face Almería instead of midweek to play in the Copa. Regardless it’s good news to have our top scorer on the verge of returning to the pitch.
Diego Perotti is said to be recovering but won’t be in time to play midweek against Depor but rather also may be ready by the weekend. He did suffer a slight concussion and therefore has still not returned to full training. If he is called up to the squad this weekend he will be a late addition as a last minute assessment on his fitness and condition will be run.
Some other injury updates as Fazio and Lautaro Acosta are both near full recovery and we can probably expect to see them soon. Last but not least is Squillaci who returned to his native France and underwent a successful surgery in Paris a few days ago. He is going to be out approximately another month.
This extensive list just shows how many key players we’re missing in our squad and can somewhat justify our poor results as of late. Of course this is no excuse for a team with top 2 aspirations but at the same time, it exemplifies the reality that our squad is just not deep enough to pursue those aspirations just yet. Not sure if the option is to necessarily buy as we clearly have some quality coming up through the youth ranks that I’d love to see given a shot. One player I spoke about with a regular poster here on the Sevilla Offside, “Edinho” is Finnish International, Teemu Pukki. He was tipped to be the next great player out of the infamous Sevilla cantera but has only made one senior appearance which came last season. Koné has clearly done shit all so I say we give the kid a chance, surely he can’t be any worse than what we’ve seen lately.
Transfer News
This January transfer window like most winters has been a quiet one in terms of comings and going in Nervión. We picked up Lithuanian defender Marius Stankevicius on loan but other than that it’s been very quiet. Yesterday, reports in France claimed that we have declared interest in Mathieu Chalme who currently applies his trade at Girodins de Bordeaux. He plays right back and since the retirement of Sánchez and the injury to Konko, we only have Stankevicius but since he is only on loan, we need a more long term replacement. He has had an outstanding season thus far hence why Tottenham Hotspur are also said to be interested. To be honest I can’t say I know much about the guy at all but if Bordeaux’s league position is anything to judge by, he could very well be what we need.
To round everything up, it has to be said that this is our fourth league loss in a row which is completely unacceptable, regardless of the conditions. I believe we’re strong favourites for the Copa considering Barça, Valencia, Villarreal and the mierda are all out of the running leaving Atléti our biggest threat. Having said that though, we have to pull up socks in the league or we could see ourselves falling further off the pace of that desired 3rd place or higher finish. This weekend against Almería is extremely crucial in hopes of getting our league play back on track.
Vamos mi Sevilla.
Tags: Almeria, Andrés Palop, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Champions League, Copa Del Rey, Deportivo, Diego Capel, Diego Perotti, Duscher, José Carlos, Konko, Luis Fabiano, Marc Valiente, Marius Stankevicius, Match Report, Pukki, Real Madrid, Sergio Sánchez, Sevilla, Sevilla Atlético, Team News, Transfers, Valencia, Villarreal
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