On August 23rd 2008 a match between Sevilla and Málaga was scheduled for I Trofeo Antonio Puerta, a match to commemorate Antonio and continue his legacy. Originally Del Nido wanted to select either Shalke, whom which Antonio scored his infamous UEFA cup game winning goal, or AC Milan, whom which Sevilla played in the UEFA Supercup the same week that Antonio had passed. Due to both their busy schedules Del Nido chose Málaga, whom which were recently promoted to the Primera, and this was a way to both introduce them back to the league, and make it an Andaluz tournament.

Sevilla easily handled their fellow Andalucian’s beating them 2-0 with goals coming from Luis Fabiano, and Renato. But what was important wasn’t the goals, the trophy, or even victory for that matter. It was for everyone to remember Antonio for the great player, husband, and friend he was.

I really respect Del Nido for things like this, he makes Sevilla a respectable club, and he treats it like family, not a business like most football clubs these days.

Descansa en Paz Antonio
Siempre Con Nosotros

Today, Del Nido came out with a pure classic. Talking about Dani Alves and his supposed desire to leave for Barcelona, the Sevilla president had this to say.

“Por 25 millones de euros le mando al Barcelona las botas de Daniel Alves para que se las ponga un lateral del filial. Es quizás el mejor lateral derecho que hay actualmente en el mundo, y mi ilusión es que continúe los cuatro años que tiene”

For 25 million Euro, I’ll send Barcelona Dani Alves’s cleats so that a youth squad player can wear them. He’s possibly the best right back in the world and my hope is that he will stay here for the four years he has

Haha. What balls this guy has. I swear, the best things come out of this guy’s mouth. Basically he just told Laporta to screw off, and Dani Alves isn’t going anywhere.

Later in the convo, Del Nido denies that anyone has contacted him about the Brazilian, but does say that he won’t talk to anyone until the season is over.

It just so happens that this comes out of the Madridista AS, which sticks it to the Catalans any chance they get. But Del Nido knows how to deal, I’ll tell you that. He’s not afraid to stick his neck out there and say something stupid, but its what he’s known for. Well, that and the whole Malaga deal, but that’s neither here nor there! Jeje.

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.