Of course nothing can be taken for granted in La Liga seeing as it is the best league in the world but let’s make one thing clear – anything less than three points at home today will be a massive disappointment.

Coming off a midweek triumph in Europe will undoubtedly add to our confidence but at the same time we have to be careful because success is a dangerous thing. We saw what happened after we beat Real; we came back from the international break and got shot back down to reality by Depor.

What will make this an even more difficult task is the amount of absences we will have from our regular squad and starting XI. We have several key players out due to illness, knocks picked up against Stuttgart midweek and longer term injuries as well. It’s funny how just a bit over a week ago I was saying how Manolo has a selection headache because of how well everyone was playing, but now it seems like he’ll have a selection headache for a whole other reason.

The biggest blow to us is that both Luis Fabiano and Ivica Dragutinovic will be out due to viral infections as will Frédéric Kanouté due to a minor knock he picked up midweek against Stuttgart which he has been unable to fully recover from. Adriano will also be out of the squad for what is projected to be about a month as he limped off in Germany due to a pulled muscle. Last but not least, Andrés Palop will remain out of the squad due to his minor injury meaning Javi Varas will start his third consecutive match.

Due to all these injuries a few call ups have been made to the squad including Manuel Redondo, José Carlos and last but not least, Chevantón. Yes, I said it – CHEVA.

He used to be a personal favourite of mine as he would always come on and score – he was like the ultimate supersub. Obviously with the competition we have up front this year he is struggling to see minutes on the pitch and rightfully so but now is a good a time as any to prove his worth. Injuries never really helped his cause as when he would get an opportunity to play, he often got injured and wouldn’t play again till weeks later. Having said all this, he probably will not start or possibly even play at all as I expect Negredo to start up top alongside Koné.

It will be very interesting indeed to see how Jiménez assembles our starting XI tonight with so many key players out. Just so you have an idea of who you might see tonight, the squad will look something like this:
Javi Varas, Dani Jiménez, Konko, Sergio Sánchez, Squillaci, Lolo, Escudé, Fernando Navarro, Redondo, Zokora, Duscher, Renato, Romaric, José Carlos, Navas, Capel, Perotti, Chevantón, Koné, Negredo.

Even with this squad I believe we have the depth to come away with all three points. With our passionate fans behind us for 90 minutes, we should expect nothing less than a victory at home.

¡¡VAMOS MI SEVILLA!!

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It was just two years ago when we faced a much earlier than expected exit from Europe’s largest competition at the hands of Fenerbahçe in a penalty shootout that went all wrong. We’re back though and stronger than ever, we have a much deeper squad in which Jiménez mix and match to field a starting XI capable of challenging any team in the continent.

We travel to Glasgow for the first time since that historic UEFA Cup match three seasons ago when we walked out triumphant over Espanyol. It was a match which all Scots should take a look at to get an idea of just what they’ve got themselves involved with. Having said that though, this is a team who has changed much since the days when Alves missed a penalty and Martí was pulling the strings in the midfield.

It will be far from easy against the defending Scottish Premier League champions but then again, this match will be far from anything that Rangers face domestically. The SPL is generally a two horse race with the last decent outside competition coming from Aberdeen some 25-odd years ago. The “Gers” haven’t lost a match in any competition since March 15th against domestic rivals and former winners of this tournament, Celtic. Then again, to add to our favouritism once again, it will be noted that Rangers haven’t won against Spanish opposition since the 85/86 season.

The key to this match will be to contain our confidence. Since losing the first match of the season against Valencia we have gone on to win 5 straight matches in all competitions and more times than not, emphatically. Our resurgent side has shown not only that they have what it takes to respond to defeat, but also that we have what it takes to compete with the big boys of La Liga and Europe as a whole.

More good news for us as the defending Scottish Champions are also lacking in the scoring department having not scored a goal now for 293 minutes against domestic competition.

After absolutely demolishing Athletic Bilbao on the weekend we head into the land of Haggis and Irn-Bru with absolutely peaking confidence – just the way to head into a Champions League match up. Summer signings Sergio Sánchez, Didier Zokora and especially Álvaro Negredo have all impressed thus far and have basically cemented themselves in the starting XI more times than not.

Let’s get to the bit of bad news now as we’ll be without our ENTIRE Argentine contingent. Perotti still hasn’t recovered from that Achilles tendon he aggravated against Mallorca last week, Duscher is still recovering from his lengthy back injury while Fazio is out with a slight ankle knock picked up a couple weeks back. Acosta has a muscle strain and needs to undergo a further scan to dictate the seriousness of the injury and Chevantón is still out with a long term calf injury.

Okay so enough of the depressing stuff because all is good of late in Nervión. If you saw the weekend match you would have seen that two of our potentially most valuable players for tomorrow’s match played absolutely out of their skin, fantastic. Diego Capel showed this weekend just why he was not too long ago considered a regular in our lineup and Renato showed just what experience he brings to the squad. The Brasilian scored in our last Champions League against Unirea and will have to have another strong performance tomorrow if we are to overcome Rangers at Ibrox. Some more good news for us as Romaric has returned to the squad after regaining full fitness giving Jiménez more depth and options in the centre of the park. Speaking of the centre of the park, Lolo had a solid match against Bilbao giving Manolo more selection headaches (as if he didn’t already have enough) and showing exactly why Monchi was so reluctant to let him go back to Málaga.

Rangers may have drawn Stuttgart in Germany and think they have a shot being at home against us but I think anything less than a full three points will be embarrassing. If we truly want to establish ourselves among the elite sides in Europe we must get results in places where they are expected; Scotland being one of them. It will be interesting to see who gets the start up front as all three of our strikers are in red hot form.

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 rivalry that has developed between the two clubs I hold closest to my heart has been draining and sometimes saddening. I feel so torn between my two loves, Sevilla and Tottenham. When they faced off in the UEFA Cup it was easy for me because I said whoever won, I’d be happy. But the whole Juande saga along with the tension which followed is where I became stressed. How could I possibly support either side in a situation like that? I had my cousins from both England and Spain trying to convince me that the other team was evil and completely wrong in their actions but somehow I managed to keep my head in such a heated situation.

It appears as if the two clubs are about to cross paths again but this time in a deal for Spurs midfielder Didier Zokora. The Ivory Coast defensive midfielder has loads of energy and Monchi is looking for a boost in the centre of the park considering Romaric and Duscher haven’t exactly been consistent this season. Zokora isn’t exactly known for his scoring abilities actually never having scored whilst wearing the Lilywhite but having seen him play I know for a fact that he is better than what we currently have. Since Wilson Palacios’ arrival at White Hart Lane, Zokora, who was a favourite under Ramos at his spell with Tottenham, has found playing time hard to come by. Harry Redknapp has left the Ivorian on the bench during most of his time in charge which caused the once-happy, fan favourite Zokora to come out openly and say he would assess his situation at the end of the season in regards to where his best fit is and where he will get the most playing time – the desire of any professional footballer.

Monchi is said to have been interested in Zokora since before Juande’s arrival in North London and now that tensions between the two clubs seem to have been “soothed”, he will launch a full out offensive to finally capture his target. Didier could move to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán for about 8 million Euros but considering Spurs still owe us some compensation for prizing away Juande from Andalucía it will be significantly less than that.

José Maria del Nido and Monchi aren’t taking any chances though and seem to be quite unimpressed with what we currently have in the centre of the park. Next year as everyone knows, we will be making our return to the UEFA Champions League and inconsistency is unacceptable if we expect to advance into the latter stages like previously before.

Along with Didier Zokora of Tottenham, we are supposedly looking at Raul Meireles of FC Porto. The defensive midfielder has made 111 appearances for the club, scoring a total of 13 times. He’s no Marcos Senna but is definitely known for his long range shooting and solid defensive abilities. The Portuguese International won’t come on the cheap though as Valencia were quoted a massive 12 million Euros for him last summer. Monchi as we know though always has a trick up his sleeve and he is willing to include our left sided midfielder Duda in the transfer who spent this season on loan at Málaga. Duda has expressed his desire to return to his homeland if he is not guaranteed time in Nervión and with the recent performances by Diego Perotti and having Diego Capel along with Adriano on the bench, I really don’t see where Duda would fit into any of Jiménez’ plans.

The downside to all of this is that Monchi only apparently has a 15 million Euro budget to work with to capture both of these targets. Considering the Zokora deal would probably be under 8 million because of the compensation owed and the Meireles deal could include Duda heading in the opposite direction, it could work.

A little bit of optimism never hurt anyone, anyway.

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Every year we look forward to the reveal date because it gives us as fans an opportunity to see the evolution of our beloved team. It’s so interesting to see how the kits have changed over the years and this year is no different – Presidente del Nido definitely knows how to mix things up a bit while still keeping it as rojiblanco as possible.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared for the reveal as last season’s UEFA Cup jerseys were atrocious. When all was said and done though, I can’t really complain.

Yesterday, José Maria del Nido alongside Jesús Navas, Renato, Andrés Palop and Diego Capel introduced what you will see on our players next year.

Four kits were displayed:

The home kit for next season will be all-white with the black socks as proudly displayed by Jesús Navas. The all-white is the typical home kit we use year-in and year-out with a few minor changes this time around.

The away kit for next season will be the white/red checkers with blue shorts and white socks as shown by Diego Capel. This is a bit of a change from this year’s red away jersey and in general just a unique design. Racing Santander actually has a similar style shirt with the green/black checkers but I think the white/red and blue combination changes up the flow a bit and gives us a new, different look.

Our third kit next year will be similar to this year’s away kit which is the all red worn above by the ever-inspirational Renato. The material seems to be a bit different than this year’s and same with the faded colour designs on the front but overall it is quite similar in comparison.

The fourth and final kit is the goalkeepers kit worn by Palop. Nothing to jump up and down about as it’s just the typical all black with a few minor detailed changes.

I don’t know what anyone else thinks about these kits but personally, I like them for one reason only. I can’t be bothered about the colours or colour combinations but I absolutely love the fact that they all have collars. I think it’s such a simple touch of class and overall makes the kits look that much nicer.

Enough about what I think though; what do you have to say about them?
Thoughts, opinions and comments please!

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Today we travel to Soria to finish off our successful campaign against Numancia but overall it’s a meaningless match – we will finish third regardless and Numancia will be relegated.

There isn’t much to write about this match except for the fact that we will be missing 5 key players; not for any reason other than Jiménez’ decision to rest them. Kanouté, Luis Fabiano, Aldo Duscher, Adriano and Fernando Navarro will all be watching from the stands today as we try to finish off this year on a good note.

The squad for the match will look like this:
Palop, Javi Varas, Konko, Escudé, Squillaci, David Prieto, Dragutinovic, Crespo, Mosquera, Romaric, Renato, Diego Capel, José Carlos, Acosta, Jesús Navas, Perotti, Armenteros, Chevantón and Koné.

Game Notes:
• José Carlos and Armenteros were called up for this one from relegated Sevilla Atlético.
• No Kanouté or Fabiano means Chevantón and Koné will most likely start up top and considering both have been injured for most of the season it will be interesting to see how they perform with no pressure.

Transfer News:
Jiménez stated in a press conference that he has 2-3 midfield targets that he would like to bring to Nervión for next season but made it clear that we will not be held ransom for any deals. Despite having extra cash because of our qualification for the Champions League, Manolo stated that at Sevilla we still have our economic policies and President José Maria del Nido along with Monchi won’t break the bank to bring any certain players in.

When asked about bringing in new strikers for next year he said it all depends on how the injured ones recover and that he will assess that problem mid-summer if need be.

All in all it’s been an entertaining year; there’s no denying that. I hope our boys go crazy against Numancia and send them back to la Segunda in style – Sevilla style.

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!!

So it’s needless to say really that even despite what I had to say in my last post, we probably have no chance at the league title this year and since we also dropped out of the UEFA Cup and Copa del Rey, we have one objective – Champions League qualification. We currently sit in third place with a massive 57 points and this combined with the fact that (thanks for the stats Aaron!) Villarreal has lost 3 of their last 4 in the league, Málaga was winless in 4 of 5 before upsetting the Yellow Submarine yesterday afternoon, Valencia has only won 2 of their 7, and Atlético has one of their last four. We have been steadily pulling away for about a month now having won 6 of 7. only the mierda has a longer winning streak, pretty impressive stuff in my opinion. Having said all that, we’re probably in as good a position as any to qualify for next years Champions League but tomorrow’s match against Getafe will either be one where the visitors from Madrid realize they’re probably going down and fight with everything they have resulting in us having to really earn it or we’ll just play like we have of late and add another exclamation mark to “El Sevilla Campeón”.

The reverse fixture last year in Madrid ended 2-0 for us with Luis Fabiano grabbing the first goal and De Mul scoring the second which was also his first ever while wearing the rojiblanco.

Getafe has lost four of their last five league matches and things won’t get any easier when they come to play the (second) hottest team in La Liga right now.

This was always going to be an extremely difficult task for the visitors but it gets even worse for them as Julien Escudé and Luis Fabiano are both back in the squad after their minor injuries which kept them out for last week’s win over Recreativo in Huelva. It looks as if Duscher and Konko are both still recovering from their respective injuries and will be game time decisions by Jiménez as to whether they play or not.

The official squad named for tomorrow’s match is as follows: Javi Varas, Palop, Mosquera, Dragoutinovic, Squillaci, Escudé, Adriano, Fernando Navarro, Fazio, Maresca, Renato, Romaric, Capel, Perotti, Jesus Navas, Luis Fabiano, Koné and Kanouté.

It’s needless to say that our big star Fredi Kanouté will look to keep up his stunning goal scoring form seeing as he’s now made Sevilla history having scored as many as Croatian legend Davor Sukur. With his partner in crime, Luis Fabiano back Getafe’s back line is going to be a very busy one also seeing as Navas has been in-form of late as well. With Navas’ deadly pin-point crosses, Perotti’s or even Capel’s quickness and Romaric’s solidity throughout the centre, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t walk all over Getafe tomorrow.

I think Goal.com (shame on me, yes I know) said it best here.

PREDICTION

Getafe will be fighting for their right to stay in La Primera and have much to lose in this match. Unfortunately for them, they could well lose the match as well. Sevilla are determined to secure their Champions League berth and are much too dynamic a side at home. A buzzing Sanchez Pizjuan should prove to be too much to overcome for Los Azulones.

Sevilla 3 – 1 Getafe

Sounds about right to me folks.

Last time we played Recreativo we were in a bit of a slump but fortunately for us we came away with an unconvincing 1-0 victory. The scorer was none other than Kanouté himself, the man who is going to be in Nervión for the next 3 years and look to take us beyond expectations as well as establish ourselves as one of Europe’s elite teams.

This weekend traveling to Huelva won’t be easy seeing as both teams have something to prove and of course it is an Andalucían derby. Recre sits in 17th place, just one spot out of the dreaded drop zone and we sit in 3rd on 54 points, 6 ahead of 4th place Villarreal and 11 ahead of 5th place Atlético.

Things have been good in the Andalucían capital of late as we’re sitting in 3rd place pretty comfortably with no other competitions to bother us and therefore meaning we can solely focus on La Liga. The only thing bothering me personally is Jiménez’ name flying around in the papers like he is some kind of criminal who needs to be removed from Nervión. The man started the season solid, hit a huge bump but has put us back on track and if anything exceeded expectation in the league. Sure it probably doesn’t excuse him from our disastrous exits from both the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup but we can’t go around like the Mierda and sacking our managers left, right and centre. Just this past week Marseille coach Eric Gerets has been linked to us and also the recently successful Turkish national team manager Fatih Terim also rumoured to be interested in the Sevilla job.

Jiménez may have had his troubles this year but he has done more than steady the ship, he has made us a La Liga wrecking crew and it looks clear that if hadn’t had so many injuries this season we would have found some consistency.

Kanouté and Luis Fabiano have been in stunning form of late but the Brasilian International was injured while on duty and will be out pending assessment of his minor knock he picked up. Sevilla Atlético star José Carlos has been called up to the squad in place of O Fabuloso but it is the Ivorian International Koné who looks like he will be given the start alongside big Fredi. This is good for Arouna as he could get the chance to show Manolo he still has what it takes to play for the rojiblanco after coming back from that horrible injury.

I don’t see Recreativo as much of a threat to be honest and regardless of Fabiano being out for this tomorrow’s clash I still think we’ll walk out of Huelva with an easy three points. We will also have a chance to gain ground on that coveted second spot as Real play Málaga which is never an easy match.