Fabiano was back in the squad but Negredo got the nod over him to start alongside Kanouté and Zokora was replaced in the centre of midfield by Lolo. Perotti picked up a knock against Mallorca and wasn’t included in the squad meaning Capel started on the left side of the midfield. Drago also once again started in the centre of defence alongside Squillaci as Escudé is making his recovery to full fitness.

Having made those changes to the lineup we still looked strong from the get go with Renato feeding and endless supply of decent balls up to our front pair and Lolo supporting perfectly. Just 5 minutes into the match was all it took for us to take the lead as Renato hit a perfectly placed free kick into the bottom corner out of reach of Iraizoz’ outstretched arms.

Despite taking the lead, we never let up at all as just 15 minutes later, Diego Capel sent Negredo through on goal and our record signing finished with the greatest of ease and showed exactly why he’s not only the club’s record signing but also the highest earner in wages per week. Absolute class.

We carried on like a team who was really hungry; a team who wanted to prove that we’re here to stay and not just one who will let Real or Barça win the league without a massive fight. Like the German national team who is never satisfied with just a simple result but rather in absolutely demolishing their opponents, we grabbed another goal just before half as we had a freekick just outside the box which Negredo struck hard but right at Iraizoz, but the Athletic keeper couldn’t contain the shot as big Fredi Kanouté was there to knock in the rebound.

The struggle continued for our Basque opponents as Amorebieta received a second yellow for a rash tackle on our new star right back, Sergio Sánchez and was sent off.

The sending off made Athletic change their tactics to a more defensive mindset which is why despite being a man up and dominant in possession, it took us about 20 minutes to finally score once again. This time it was another quick play on the flank which saw Lolo feed Negredo on the wing who then slotted it through to Jesús Navas who smashed an unusual left footed shot to the far side of Iraizoz’ goal, way out of the goalkeeper’s reach.

Again it was an excellent buildup in the play which shows that this team really does have what it takes to compete with the big boys of La Liga. This was not only a fantastic result for our own personal results but in smashing Athletic 4-0, we set a La Liga record which is as follows.

No one in the 80 year history of the Primera División has ever won by 4 goals in San Mames.

We are goooooooooood.

This win also gives us the confidence we will need as we travel to Glasgow midweek to take on Rangers in second match of the Champions League qualifying round. A win in Scotland would not only show that we’re strong domestically but also against one of the top side’s in Europe. It would really show the progress that the squad has made under Jiménez despite all the critics over the past few seasons (myself included).

Everything is looking up for us in Nervión, we’ve certainly showed the strength we have since our opening day loss to Valencia at the Mastalla and now even sit 4 points above the team who handed us our only defeat thus far this season.

Today Enzo sat down in a press conference held in Sevilla where he said his final goodbye’s to the fans, the club, and the city. Of course he came in dressed stylishly like a typical Italian and explained that he renewed his contract at the beginning of the year because the way things were going he planned to retire in Sevilla. Of course we know that since his public critique of Manolo Jiménez things have been a bit more difficult for Maresca and he has struggled to see much playing time.

Personally I wish Enzo Maresca all the best in Greece and will never forget the numerous times he has captained this beloved club as well as the unforgettable 2 goals he scored against Middlesboro in the UEFA Cup final way back in 2006 where we cruised to a 4-0 victory. I will also never forget the penalty he smashed in to top off our 3-0 thumping of Barcelona in Monaco to win the UEFA European Supercopa (I’m sure all Barça fans remember this quite well too!).

¡Nos Vemos Maresca!

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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!!

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!!

Jiménez surprised me and probably any other Sevillista when he left Jesús Navas, Diego Capel and Diego Perotti all on the bench to start the match with Adriano being the only true winger in the starting XI.

It was also evident that we need to address our right back problem this summer as Konko was being turned inside and out by Plasil the whole match. Dare I say it but Osasuna actually had control of the match for the whole first half but just failed to capitalize on their chances and opportunities so we went into the break deadlocked at 0-0.

Entering the second half nothing changed as in the 48th minute, Nekounam smashed his freekick towards the top right corder but San Andrés (Palop) matched it with a perfect save. Off the corner it was Plasil again causing us trouble as Konko didn’t mark him properly and as a result he headed towards goal but what looked to be dangerous, hit another Osasuna player and went the danger was cleared.

The whole Kanouté/Fabiano partnership which appeared to be working so well over the past few weeks just wasn’t happening in Pamplona and also realizing that we had no width, Jiménez put on our prodigal son Jesús Navas for Kanouté.

Jiménez confused the hell out of me when he took off Adriano who was clearly our only attacking threat the whole match and put on Diego Capel. It was so obvious that Konko was struggling so why not take him off for Capel and push Adriano to right-back where he is just as comfortable? I don’t know Manolo, I don’t know… The substitution did bring a bit more pace on the left flank but Capel was well marked and couldn’t do much and Osasuna at this point were still controlling the match.

We started to turn the heat up a bit but regardless, it was too late and despite a break or two we failed to materialize anything dangerous. With 10 minutes left, Romaric picked up his second yellow and was sent off. The call was pretty harsh in my eyes considering it didn’t even look like he had any wrong intent in the tackle. The drama didn’t stop there though as in stoppage time, Sergio was given a straight red for a tackle on Diego Capel which was also a harsh call but that’s football and two bad calls ultimately made the match even.

This was supposed to be the match where we sealed third place but we still find ourselves yet to do that. I don’t know what’s more worrying – Jiménez’ awful tactics or the fact that we couldn’t manage a win over Osasuna this whole season. No disrespect to the boys from Pamplona but when we play our game, we are clearly on a whole other level but this inconsistency could come back to haunt us.

This season has given Sevillistas a lot to be excited about but at the same time gives us a lot to put into perspective. We’ve been really up and down throughout the campaign and despite that we sit in a solid league position, and have technically qualified for Europe for the 6th consecutive season (regardless of whether it’s the Champions League or Europa League). Those are the positives, here are the negatives. Jiménez has less than inspired our players throughout the season and it’s a scary thought to see players who have such little faith for the man in charge. You can’t expect us to break into the top 2 if we don’t have the proper coaching and as much as I’ve tried to defend Jiménez and put my trust in him throughout the course of the campaign, I think I officially give up. Romaric, Renato and Duscher are all central midfielders so starting them in a four-man midfield just doesn’t work… We’re not Barcelona or Real Madrid, all the remaining matches still matter! With a win we could have solidified that third place spot but instead it’s going to be down to the wire to do so.

Optimists would say that we’ve officially qualified for Europe for the 6th season running but realists (call them pessimistic if you want!) would say that we should be achieving so much more. I think I’m somewhere in between and I just expect so much more out of this beloved club. It’s so obvious that one of the main reasons behind Fabiano and Kanouté’s successful partnership has been Jesús Navas’ near-perfect service and without him they clearly struggled. Not only did Navas not play, but there was no winger on the right flank at all to support our dynamic duo up top.

My thoughts on this matter are simple. We’re a big club now, whether we like it or not, that’s what it has come down to. We need a coach to inspire the players, give them something to look forward to and something to believe in. I think that by keeping Jiménez, we would only stagnate as a team and not progress like we so badly need to. We have the squad to cause some serious damage in Europe but at the same time there are obvious problems that need to be addressed. Those will be saved for another post, on another day but for now we have to decide how we are looking at this situation.

Should I be optimistic right now or a bit more reserved?

His horrible homesickness has restricted him from being called up to La Selección but at the same time it’s helped us out in Nervión because we don’t have to worry about him moving onto one of Europe’s giants.

There is no doubt that Navas is going to be one of football’s greats, if he isn’t already that is. At the prime age of 23 years young he has already etched his name into the Sevilla history books by having played the more matches in the famous Rojiblanco than any other current active player. Jesús has played 219 matches for us, 5 more than our ex-captain and twice UEFA Cup lifter, Javi Navarro. The other players on the squad who have played the most are as follows, Renato with 200 matches played, Andrés Palop with 177, and Adriano with 170, all who are quite off the pace from our beloved Navas.

At this point, only serious injuries would prevent Navas from becoming a Sevilla legend and playing the most ever matches in the Rojiblanco. The man who currently holds that record is none other than Sevilla legend Juan Arza and the record for the second most matches played in our colours belongs to a familiar face – Manolo Jiménez (our current coach of course) with 415 and 354 respective matches played.

When asked about his achievements though Navas was more than humble stating:

“What I want is to continue to enjoy games and help the team as much as possible. Playing in Sevilla is the best, but above all I think things we want to continue in progressing as a team. “

It is clear that it is just a matter of time before Jesús Navas gets his name written in the stone which are the Sevilla history books and no one deserves it more than him. He plays his heart out every match for his boyhood beloved club and is an all around class act.

!!GRANDE NAVAS¡¡