Sevilla, Monchi magic and happy days for Lopetgui
Of late, European football has come to be dominated by Spanish clubs. Since 2001, LaLiga clubs have faced off against non-Spanish opposition in European finals – both Champions League and Europa League – on no less than 15 occasions. In every instance, without exception, the Spanish clubs have prevailed. As a comparison, no Italian club has lifted a European trophy in a decade and in that same period Spanish clubs have won the Champions League on six of the ten occasions the tournament was contested. It’s dominance equal to, or surpassing, any other period in the history of continental club football, and as a microcosm of that, the success of Sevilla across that 20-year period has been a vital element in that domination.
The Andalusian club picked up their sixth Europa League – or UEFA Cup as it was known in its former guise – when they defeated Inter Milan in a pulsating final last week played out in FC Köln’s RheinEnergieStadion. To give you some perspective on how successful Los Palanganas have been, in the last fifteen years or so, they have contested 18 knockout ties in the competition, comprising quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. They have won every single one. And this is a club that, were in the Segunda in 2000 and hadn’t won a major title since the 1940s. So, what happened to transform the fate of the club?
The answer to such questions often revolves around money. Some wealthy individuals, consortiums, companies, or even countries these days, move in, swamp the club with cash and kick off a run for power, prestige and a huge dollop of popularity. That however isn’t the case with Sevilla. Setting the model for so many other aspiring clubs, simply put, they are a well-run, organised football club, with the right people on the right places. A prime example of this perfect staff selection is Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, universally known as Monchi.
A former goalkeeper, who had a long, but hardly overly distinguished career, playing 85 league games in a nine-year with Sevilla, his major claim to fame was playing in 20 games in the 1998-99 season contributing to the cub’s promotion to the top tier of LaLiga. Aged 30, he then retired from playing and, the following year was appointed as Director of Football charged with developing both the club’s youth system and their scouting network. He excelled at both, bringing the likes of Spanish players Alberto Moreno, Jesús Navas and Sergio Ramos to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, and adding Adriano, Dani Alves, Júlio Baptista, Seydou Keita and Ivan Rakiti from abroad.
From being a club with modest ambition, suddenly Sevilla were both profitable and successful. Astute transfer dealings kept the club’s finances in the black and trophies followed success on the pitch. Five of the club’s European titles were accumulated in the period up until Monchi decided to try his luck in Italy with Roma in the summer of 2016. In 2019 though he returned, and so did success. In his absence, Sevilla had seemed like a ship without a rudder, but all that changed when Monchi settled back into his old chair, albeit with as new title as Sporting Director. No less than 15 players were added to the club’s roster, with 23 moving out, no less than 11 on permanent deals. Also, this was not merely moving on some out of favour reserve players. Of the team that played in the Europa League Final of 2016, only Argentine midfielder Ever Banega survived to start this year’s final, and only one of the other ten on parade in Germany were at the club last season. He also brought in a new coach and support team. If such wheeler-dealing sounds like a recipe for disaster, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Last season, Sevilla finished in sixth place, garnering 59 points and edging into the Europa League in the last available spot. This term, they accumulated 70 points, finished fourth, qualifying for the Champions League and got back to the old routine lifting the Europa League trophy.
Another example of good recruitment was Mochi’s decision to hire Julen Lopategui as the club’s new coach to replace Joaquín Caparrós. At the time, Lopetegui’s stock was pretty low after a disastrous period. Appointed to take the Spain team to Russia for the 2018 World cup, it became known that he had agreed a deal to take over at Real Madrid at the end of the tournament. With perhaps an overly quick zeal, brought on by a fit of pique, he was drummed out of his job with Las Rojas, as the Spanish FA clearly felt slighted. At least he had the comfort of his position at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu to fall back on, complete with a three-year contract. His stay would be nothing like as long as that though. After a string of disappointing results, headlined by a 5-1 El Clásico defeat in the Camp Nou on 28 October, he was shown the door. Those three years had been reduced to three months.
When the appointment at Sevilla was announced in June last year, to many, it looked like a gamble by Monchi. If it was however, it paid off with handsome dividends, as the new coach welded the squad into an effective unit. A 2-1 defeat to Celta Vigo on 9 February was the last time they lost a game until the end of the season, comprising 15 LaLiga outings and a further half-dozen in the Europa League, including successes against the likes of Roma, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester United, and Inter Milan in the final. A total of 21 games in all. No wonder Lopetegui was in tears after the victory over Inter. Will this transfer window bring another period of Monchi magic? It’s more than likely. Banega for example is moving on, but don’t be surprised if it all works out well for Sevilla once again.
Finally, big tip of the hat to Elche for delivering on my prediction. Sometimes these things are written and, in this case, I wrote it! After another clean sheet performance in Girona, and goal from Pere Milla, six minutes into injury time completed Elche’s climb from the Segunda B to the Primera División in just a few years. A terrific success for coach Pacheta and veteran skipper Nino.
There’ll need to be a few new faces at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero if the club are going to make a decent fist of sustaining their new status, but that’s for tomorrow. For now, let’s say ¡Felicidades Elche!
Hasta luego mis amigos.