Navas set the tone for the game in the first minute when he struck a volley beating Fabricio. On the 23rd minute Luis Fabiano added to the Galician’s pain as he capitalized off a defensive error, stole the ball, walked it around Fabricio, and slotted it in with ease. O Fabuloso put the first nail in the coffin on the 40th minute when the two Depor defenders crashed into each other and Fabiano was there to chip it over Fabricio, the game was over before we even reached half time.

It was definitely an encouraging display of football as everyone was getting some touches in and Depor didn’t really have any promising opportunities. Once again Jesús Navas was controlling the left flank and causing havoc every time he touched the ball, and with Capel doing the exact same on the left side, Depor didn’t know what to do. Fabiano and Kanouté were in sync and always a threat to the Depor defense, Romaric and Duscher plugged up the midfield so they couldn’t attack through there and when they finally managed to penetrate that, Crespo, Escudé, Squillaci, and Fernando Navarro played solid along the back line. A all round solid performance by my boys tonight.

On the 68th minute Omar Bravo went in studs up on Romaric which meant he was ejected with a straight red. There was no end to Depor’s troubles tonight, BELIEVE ME!!

In the 75th minute came my highlight of the match. My boy Chevantón was finally back from his knee injury that has kept him sidelined since October. If you’ve read my blog since I started you’d know that I absolutely love Cheva and think he’s the best supersub since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. His return will hopefully spark some more goals to come in the future, but for now it was for something else.

Palop got a straight red on the 82nd minute for tripping up the Depor striker and was given a straight red. Since all three substitutions had already been made by Manolo Jiménez it meant that a player on the field would have to play in goal for the remaining 8 minutes plus added time and also for the penalty. Chevantón stepped up and volunteered to play in goal knowing that he would first have to face a penalty shot. Up stepped Pablo Álvarez and tried to place the goal in the bottom left corner but struck the post and then went out for a goal kick. What a series of events in the final minutes, probably the most exciting game this whole season.

The boys ended the game in style just killing time and passing the ball around. Will Depor just go away now? I’m sick of writing about them and seeing them, we’ve beat you three times, we’ve finished our business with you. We now move on to the quarter finals of the Copa del Rey but are not sure who we will face yet. Whoever it is, they better watch out, because with the way they’re playing, I can’t off the top of my head think of a team that can stop us.

With 3 victories in less than a week surely our confidence must be sky rocketing by now right? We now travel back to Nervión to take on strugglers Numancia in a game that means a lot. We must build off our win last weekend to Depor and try and get our league campaign back on track and running. Barça may be out of sight but I’d consider it a great insult if Real Mierda finished ahead of us, they’ve been awful this year.

There’s some big news going on in Nervión, I meant to actually post it yesterday but I ended up doing the review for the game instead. Look out for tomorrow’s entry!!!

¡¡VAMOS MI SEVILLA
VAMOS CAMPEÓN!!

A game where you totally outplay a much weaker opponent but have nothing to show for is an extremely frustrating day indeed. We found this out first hand today when we took on Osasuna at home, completely dominated, pulled ahead by a goal, only to concede last minute and have nothing to show for it.

Luis Fabiano was included in the squad but was a substitute due to the flu and its times like these that I miss him most…

The game got off to a somewhat slow start with a lot of scrappy play and neither team really enjoyed good possession. We didn’t go without some amazing chances though as Navas tested the Osasuna defense with one of his ever-teasing crosses which found the head of Kanoute, who headed it just wide. Totally unlike him really, I’ve never seem him miss from that close, pretty ridiculous considering it would have given us the initiative to grab the game by the scruff of its neck and possibly go on and put in a couple more before the half. Shortly after, Romaric hit a left footed missile towards goal which just flashed wide, it could have possibly beaten the keeper, but either way, it was good to keep the pressure on. A few minutes after that Kanoute was brought down in the box in what appeared to be an obvious foul but nothing doing said the ref as play was waved on. If you look at the replay closely it does appear as it was an obvious foul seeing as the Osasuna player went right through him and tripped him before he could receive the foul. I know La Liga reffing is garbage and that is why I’m never shocked with these kind of calls anymore.

We went into half time with the momentum in our favour when we got out back on the pitch it showed. We started to play like Sevilla again. The style of football that we were known for, moving the ball up the wings and crossing it into Kanoute or Renato, totally catching the Osasuna defense off guard every time. Finally a breakthrough. A cross came in from the left wing, Renato being too short missed the header, but it was perfect as Navas darted in, controlled, and bang, golazzo. A perfect low shot in the bottom left corner out of the reach of Roberto. Navas was playing well all game and it was good to see him get the breakthrough goal; thoroughly deserved. A few minutes later Navas had another attempt but it was no where near as good or accurate as the first one, way over the net it flew.

A bit of controversy after this as Adriano was subbed out and obviously pissed off about it. As he headed for the sidelines where Capel was ready to enter, Romaric tried to console him and shake his hand but was just brushed off, the same when he got to the bench, the Sevilla staff tried but were brushed off. In my opinion it’s a fair reaction, getting subbed out in the 63rd minute after being one of the biggest threats on the pitch is aggravating and unjust. I really hope this won’t affect his position in the starting lineup or anything like that because he’s been probably our most consistent performer all season.

After the introduction of Capel, things started to slow down. We were taking our time on the ball, and despite passing it around with the utmost confidence, we were also allowing the pressure to mount on ourselves. Fazio was later introduced for Duscher who had a solid game in the defensive midfield slot and Crespo for Drago allowing Navarro to go back to his favoured left back position. With all these unnecessary substitutes we turned into a more defensive side and the pressure was mounting more and more as the last 15 minutes or so ticked on.

Osasuna almost scored through a play where our defense seemed to be half asleep. Navas seized control of the game though and immediately on the counter attack almost scored only to be a bit off balance and hit it straight at Roberto.

From heroes to zeroes it was as Osasuna snatched a goal in the 91st minute. A ball that seemed to be harmless flew in, the original shot was shanked well wide, but Pandiani was sitting sweetly behind our once again, fast asleep defense for the perfect deflection.

Some last minute drama though as we won a corner at the other end. Navas put in another perfect cross, Squillaci flicked it on nicely with a back heel, Kanoute came in, toe punted it, the keeper got the slightest of touches and it just about hit the inside of the crossbar to stay out. Extremely unlucky, yes I know.

My verdict on this match is simple. We suck. 2 points from 2 matches against the 2 bottom teams. Those right there are not statistics good enough for a team that wants to not only qualify for the Champions League, but do well in it too. These are supposed to be the matches where we try to make up ground on Barca, not lose any more. We only have ourselves to blame, we didn’t take the opportunities in the match when they arrived and because of it we get screwed with a last minute goal and we’re sitting in fourth place.

From here we play Depor at home on Thursday in the Copa del Rey in another must win match. I can’t emphasize the importance on this match to get us back to our winning ways. Depor is going to be one hell of a tricky match though as they’ve been on amazing form of late. Like Fabiano said earlier this week “Sevilla need to be Sevilla in order to win”, if we can play like I know we can, no doubt, we’ll win.

I wish these fixtures were as easy as they seem but unfortunately they aren’t. Osasuna won their game against Getafe last week in an emphatic 5-2 display. Our peformance however, not so emphatic, a 0-0 draw with struggling Mallorca is definitely something we might look back on and regret. We’re way better than that, taking nothing away from Mallorca or anything but we deserved better. We can’t afford to drop points against any of the “lower” teams if we want to keep pace with this year’s phenomenal Barcelona side.

Fabiano said it best when interviewed about tomorrow’s game. “We have an important game coming up which we should win. With respect to Osasuna, Sevilla has to be Sevilla.” I couldn’t agree more, and this is why we have lost stupidly this year and its becoming a huge concern. We have to play the style that we’re good at and comfortable with. So many times this season we’ve tried to go up the middle or put in a bunch of long high balls. That isn’t us, we play our best football down the wings utilizing Navas, Capel or Adriano and then putting in the crosses for Kanoute and Fabiano to poach upon. It’s been clear a few times this year that our strikers, especially Kanoute, have become very frustrated with their lack of opportunities, but in all honesty it’s not their fault, our midfield has been really hit or miss this season so far. We need to play simple football, the same style that won us 5 trophies in 15 months and impressed Europe and the world. Simplicity is beautiful, let’s keep it that way.

Let’s be honest here, I hate to be cocky or arrogant but we are a much better side than Osasuna is. It’s actually quite funny because it seems like just yesterday that I was watching a Sevilla v Osasuna semi-finals in the UEFA Cup semi-finals to see who would progress to the finals. I remember it being a hard match, and although we won it was no walk in the park. We have developed quite the rivalry ever since. They had a really strong team that year and since I don’t follow them I don’t understand how they have become so bad. Have they lost a bunch of key players I don’t know about? I know they did have Carlos Vela at one time, but he’s really young so surely he couldn’t have made that much of a difference. Anyhow, it doesn’t really matter, anything less than a win tomorrow isn’t acceptable, we need to take advantage of these struggling teams.

This match became more important today when Valencia handed Atletico a 3-1 defeat. This puts Valencia in second with 33 points but us in third with 31 points and hopefully with a victory tomorrow we’ll be back in second where we belong.

Some bad news however as Luis Fabiano is a doubt to play tomorrow as he has a cold which seems to be quite contagious around the football world recently. He is included in the squad but will not start. Also, Mosquera is out as well with an ankle injury that he picked up against Espanyol several weeks back. The pain has re-occurred and he will sit out one more week to hopefully be ready for the next match.

The players called up for tomorrow’s match by Jimenez are; Palop, Javi Varas, Crespo, Escudé, Squillaci, Fernando Navarro, David Prieto, Dragutinovic, Duscher, Romaric, Maresca, Renato, Jesus Navas, Capel, Fazio, Adriano, De Mul, Luis Fabiano and Kanoute.

If you’re watching the game tomorrow look out for the sea of red and white flags in the crowd as President José María del Nido requested we bring in the new year with the ever-strong support we’re known for.

A match report will follow tomorrow’s game. Hopefully it’ll be all good news for us Sevillistas.

Phew, now that rant is off my chest, its time to get back to work.

Sevilla 2 – Villarreal 0

First off, I have to say, this was a must win game for Jimenez. Even though my boy Monchi said he wants him around next year, without this win, it would have been a bit harder to get that point across to the fan loving Del Nido.

With that being said, Jimenez did the first real tactical change of the year, going with a 4-5-1. The loan striker was Luis Fabiano, and surprisingly enough, this opened the field way up for Sevilla to attack on the wings. With Adriano stuck in the middle until getting hurt (more on that later) the wings were wide open for Navas and Capel to do their things.

I never give game recaps per se, but what an amazing ball from Dani Alves to Luis Fabiano for the goal. An over the top long ball from about 50 yards away bounced twice into the box and Fabiano buried it in the back of the net.

The technical change really sparked something in Sevilla, and maybe we’ll see more of it this coming weekend. Seriously, what do we have to lose?

Defense = Hospital Unit

It’s obvious that Sevilla have overcame some pretty outstanding obstacles this season, with the death of Puerta and the departure of Juande Ramos to name a few.

But, right now, our focus must turn to the defense and the hospital unit it has become. Here’s where we currently stand in the back.

Center Backs:
Javi Navarro-Out indefinitely (hasn’t played a game all season)
Boulharouz- Played around 3 games and had surgery in Holland (what a waste he was)
Escudé – He’s in one game, out the other. Mr. Inconsistency
Mosquera – The Only Healthy One

Outside Backs:
Drago – Also had surgery and will be out for a few weeks.
Crespo – Started and in his first game got blasted in the face by Diarrá which fractured his cheekbone and left him out for 1.5 months.
Casado – Played just over an entire half against Villarreal in November, then rolled his ankle and was out for quite some time. Moved up to the first team again, to sub in for Diego Capel in the 92nd minute and didn’t even mark a minute against Recreativo in February.
Adriano – Out 3-4 weeks with an injury to his left calf suffered against Villarreal in the last game.
Dani Alves – Still kicking (knock on wood)
Fazio- Still hanging around

Now, that leaves us with newly promoted Diego Prieto. The youngster from the Cantera will stay with the first team until the end of the season. While Lolo, will not (thanks to some rule about being under 23 and he had to play against Mallorca). I personally like the kid, and when he was asked why all after all of the millionnaire signings in Sevilla, the young kids from the cantera are playing, he had this to say.

“Bueno, sí…es que hemos tenido muchos lesionados.” (Well yeah, we’ve had a lot of guys get injured

Duh.

Darth Del Nido’s Quote of the Day

Ha sido una tarde magnífica de fútbol, con mucho espectáculo. Es cierto que hemos conseguido una victoria apurada hasta el final, pero no por ocasiones. Hemos recuperado la moral en el juego, nuestra posición en el terreno de juego y la credibilidad ante los adversarios”.

It was a terrific afternoon of football, really spectacular. Its obvious that we played a pure game until the end, but not because of occasions. We recovered our moral in that game, our position in the field, and the credibility against our rivals.

Convocatoria

Palop, De Sanctis, Boulahrouz, Daniel, Drago, Lolo, Mosquera, Hinkel, Martí, Renato, Poulsen, Keita, De Mul, Diego Capel, Jesús Navas, Adriano, Luis Fabiano, Kanouté y Koné.

Again Manuel Jiménez brings up another player from Sevilla Atlético, this time Lolo, a 20 year old defender who is the captain of the Segunda B team.

Injury Ward

Javi Navarro, Escudé, Maresca, Duda, Crespo, Fazio, Maresca and Boulahrouz.

Boulahrouz was left off the team today as Sevilla departed for Romania due to a injury to his abductor muscle. Crespo will be out a month thanks to Diarra’s shot that fractured his Right cheekbone. Fazio will only be out for a short while as there was no tear in his abductor muscle.

Sevilla have been playing well as of late after what some people thought would be a lull with the departure of Juande. I for one did not want to see Juande go, but now that there is no sense of the unknown at the club at the hands of Manuel Jiménez, Sevilla are playing with renewed vigor and charisma. That Real Madrid game was the best game they have played all season and I look for them to carry that on through Romania and into the next round of La Liga play.

Also, Drago resigned with the club until 2011 on Monday. His quote to Sevilla Radio said

“si me hubiera ido al Newcastle hubiera ganado muchísimo más dinero que aquí. No firmo por Newcastle porque es difícil ganar algo, sé que no voy a jugar ni la Champions ni voy a levantar un título. En el Sevilla siempre hay ambición, siempre hay ganas de ganar, por eso me quedo aquí, con mi familia, con la mejor afición del mundo, con mis compañeros y con este club ambicioso”.

Basically he said he could have made a lot more money going to Newcastle, but he stayed in Sevilla because there are always trying to win, amongst the fact that they have the best fan base in the world. Of course we do, we are Sevilla.

Two more things to add into the post one is this great picture I made for the Sevilla group (Sorry Corey)

And in case anyone was wondering, Buffalo is getting it’s first lake effect storm of the season.

Here’s to more days like this.

Juande Ramos has officially left Sevilla for Tottenham. Manolo Jimenez was installed as Sevilla’s coach today. Jimemez is a Sevilla legend, playing in 354 games over 14 years for the club and was most recently the coach of Sevilla Atlético for the last seven years.

As I left the house last night I really thought to myself that he wasn’t going to leave for England. La Liga is thought by many to be the best league in the world. So, why would Juande leave the defending UEFA Cup, Copa del Rey, and Copa de España champs to a Tottenham team who is in 18th place in the Premiership?

To be perfectly honest, I don’t know. He says in the letter that it’s impossible for him and for his profession that he doesn’t go to London. I don’t agree with that statement about his profession, as Sevilla are not a small club and he is not coaching for peanuts.

Manuel Jimenez’s lineup for his first game as Sevilla gaffer are

Palop, De Sanctis, Daniel, Boulahrouz, Adriano, Fazio, Crespo, Dragutinovic, Martí, Renato, Poulsen, Keita, Jesús Navas, Diego Capel, Luis Fabiano, Koné, De Mul y Kanouté.

The most notable selection is Crespo, a 20 year old defender from Sevilla Atlético. I don’t know anything about him, but will look it up later on.

I’ll leave the game preview up to Oscar at the Valencia Offside.

Below is the letter that Juande Ramos posted on his website. It is a goodbye to all of the Sevilla fans. Translate it at your liking, but if anyone really wants me to translate it, I’ll do it when I get sometime.

Querido amigo sevillista:

Hoy quiero dirigirme especialmente a ti. En un momento donde los sentimientos y las emociones alteran la rutina, resulta muy difícil dilucidar qué camino hay que escoger. Para mí el Sevilla F.C. representa la época personal y profesional más importante de mi vida. Todo lo que yo he recogido de su afición, directiva y jugadores es incalculable, como imposible de describir en palabras. Mi gratitud será eterna.

Por eso, esta decisión de dejar el conjunto hispalense que ahora tomo representa la elección más complicada de un profesional. Yo soy un trabajador, nunca he tenido una proyección profesional sencilla. Mi camino se inició tras mi obligada retirada como futbolista por una lesión en edad demasiado temprana. Ahí comprendí que sólo el sacrificio podría ayudarme a crecer. Cada paso que he dado siempre ha estado acompañado de un gran esfuerzo. Todas son las categorías en las que he tenido la dicha de trabajar: juvenil, tercera, segunda B, segunda, primera.

Después de la excelente racha de nuestro Sevilla F.C. el destino ha querido que se cruce en mi sendero un reto profesional que supone el más ambicioso de los que jamás he recibido. Pero ¿y el Sevilla F.C.? Para mí el equipo de Nervión representa algo más que un conjunto donde entrenar. Mi vida personal y profesional está vinculada en torno a esta ciudad tan alegre como humana, tan sensible como enriquecedora. Pero también tengo una familia que ha sufrido por mi profesión por esa característica de efímera y titubeante que marca el depender de resultados.

Los malos marcadores condenan al técnico y a veces, aunque resulta insólito, un entrenador también puede recibir una propuesta de trabajo irrechazable a mitad de temporada. Y este reto a mi me ha llegado ahora. No en junio, en octubre.

La pasión de todos vosotros no entenderá de mi emoción y decisión, algunos incluso os enojareis, pero hay veces que es irrechazable la oportunidad que te brinda la vida. Hay trenes que no tienen retorno aunque no paren en el arcén en el momento más adecuado. Y hoy, amigos, os aseguro que en este caso, después de cerca de veinte años de carrera sería imperdonable no aceptar un proyecto que representa la posibilidad de crecer desorbitadamente a una persona humilde como yo que ya ha cumplido la cincuentena. Es una propuesta profesional que supone la culminación a mucho esfuerzo y sacrificio personal y de mi entorno.

El Sevilla F.C. es mucho más grande que un técnico o un jugador. La grandeza de su afición es algo innato, es imposible de concebir su pasión y entrega si no se convive con ella; por eso estoy convencido que la profesionalidad y honestidad de todos los miembros de esta centenaria entidad van a aprovechar esta singular coyuntura de mi adiós para enderezar mucho más el rumbo de una temporada que comenzó dubitativa. Yo sólo he sido una parte de un engranaje que funciona excepcionalmente y que va a obtener el mérito del triunfo seguro de nuevo esta temporada.

Los profesionales son extraordinarios, la perspectiva es enorme. El Sevilla F.C. va a ser todavía mucho más grande tras mi marcha. Ese es mi más sincero deseo porque el profesional disfruta y padece pero la persona siente y vive con estima y pasión. Mi corazón se queda en Nervión pero por mi familia y mi profesión es imposible no marchar a Londres. A la familia roja y blanca del Sánchez Pizjuán sólo deciros que podré ir muy lejos pero, amigo sevillista, te aseguro, que nadie estará nunca tan cerca de vosotros.

Adios Juande, y buen viaje.