Sevilla will fight like dogs to the bitter end
FEAR is good for a footballer. It provides more than motivation. It keeps your feet on the ground and makes you prepare properly. Without fear you lose something as a player.
Liverpool will arrive at the final in the best moment of their season, but it would be a massive mistake after the wins over Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal for them to think they have already won.
They will have to play really well and match the level of effort that Sevilla put in to have a chance. We say in Spain that the dog looks like the owner and Sevilla are a team in the image of their coach, Unai Emery. This is a team who are proper fighters.
Emery prepares for each game very well. He analyses the opposition down to every small detail and when you think the team is down and out, they always try to come back. They fight to the wire.
I know from the friends I still have in England that is something that is said about Liverpool now, so it will be two teams giving everything.
We beat them with Alvaro Negredo scoring the winning goal in the last minute. We were on top in the first half, really dominant, but in the second half the game was quite even and it was not easy.
They are well organised in defence, their full-backs play high up the pitch, and are a team that play in transition. They are also very strong in set-pieces. Offensively they have a huge variety in what they will look to do from corners and free-kicks.
A lot will depend on the players in the midfield. If Ever Banega plays as a midfielder, Sevilla will try to build from the back. If Banega is the one who plays as a second striker, maybe behind Kevin Gameiro, then he links the game and creates opportunities in the middle. They don’t build as much from the back when he plays there.
generally, ‘the team’ is Sevilla’s main strength, but the player who makes the difference for them is Banega. He is the danger man as far as Liverpool should be concerned.
Vitolo is someone else they must watch. He likes to come in from wide areas and affect the game from the middle.
A lot of people ask, ‘What is Sevilla’s secret in the Europa League?’ They are trying to win the competition for the third successive year and the truth is they have always taken the competition very seriously – before there was the incentive of qualifying for the Champions League – and now have confidence.
They are a team that battles, a team that puts high effort into every game, and knockout matches are always a battle. On Sunday, they will play in the final of the Copa del Rey against Barcelona.
I saw Liverpool’s games against Villarreal in the semifinal and, even though they lost the first leg in Spain, they were the better team. The second leg was a complete performance and Daniel Sturridge was a massive difference. When you have a goalscorer like him, it
‘When you think they are down and out, they always try to come back’
makes it easier for the team. It seems at the moment there is a perfect commitment between the staff and the players and supporters at Liverpool and that is always a recipe for success. The final makes me think of Istanbul, of course, and there was the perfect join between players and supporters that night too.
What I took from that match I will never forget and to see the Liverpool fans being so loyal when the team was outplayed in the first half was something that serves as an example to all. It is normal that expectation now falls on Liverpool, it is high in any competition that they play. But inside they will know they cannot cut any corners.
It is a wonderful opportunity for them and they must take it. A little bit of fear will help them.