Friday, May 18th, 2012
Yesterday we looked at Malaga CF and today we continue our Andalusian theme as Patrick Doyle looks at Sevilla’s prospects for the coming La Liga season.
Sevilla have been one of the best teams La Liga in recent years, and will have high expectations once again heading into the upcoming season. Looking to improve on last year’s fifth place finish, Sevilla named Marcelino its new coach and has added to their squad in the transfer market. Winning the title may be a bit unrealistic, with Real Madrid and Barcelona likely hogging the top two spots, but Marcelino has already signaled that he expects them to challenge for a spot in the top three and a berth in next year’s Champions League. They will look to do that while they also battle domestically in the Copa del Rey and across Europe in the Europa League, a competition they won in 2006 and 2007. Sevilla have looked good in the preseason, but the honeymoon period for the new look squad and its new coach will end abruptly if they stumble to begin the year. Their first match is el derbi Sevillano, which resumes this year after Betis earned promotion back to the top flight.
Sevilla have brought in a few new players, most notably Piotr Trochowski a two-footed central midfielder from Hamburg. The 27-year-old has been a mainstay in the Hamburg midfield and featured in four matches for Jogi Loew’s national side at the 2010 World Cup. Piotr may not do anything excellent, but he does almost everything very well and don’t be surprised to see him have a go from distance. His ability to track back and put in a winning tackle will be extremely valuable to a Sevilla side desperate to improve on a leaky defense that gave up over 60 goals last season.
There are also rumors linking Sevilla to Tottenham’s Giovanni Dos Santos. There are a number teams being linked to the young Mexican after he turned in a great performance this summer, leading Mexico to victory at the Gold Cup. So far Marcelino has been coy on the subject, stressing that Sevilla will focus on quality, not quantity in the transfer market. Tottenham view him as surplus to requirements with Rafael van der Vaart in the fold, as Gio has been sent on loan to Galatassary and Racing Santander in recent seasons. Dos Santos came up in the Barcelona youth system and his attacking flair should translate well to the Spanish Primera.
But of all the new faces, the most important improvement may come from the return of Jesus Navas. Sevilla will welcome back talented winger, who just a year ago was one of the most exciting young prospects in all of Spanish football. Injuries cost him the majority of his 2010/2011, but he finally appears healthy, notching a goal in one Sevilla’s preseason matches. Navas is largely unheralded outside Spain but it was only last summer when he played the final 60 minutes of the World Cup Final, helping Spain lift the trophy. The lightning quick Navas should immediately slot into Marcelino’s starting eleven, and Sevilla will rely on him to create plenty of goal scoring chances.
Having sold Luis Fabiano last year, and with rumors persistently linking iconic striker Frederic Kanoute away from the club, Sevilla may have a very new look this year. But there is still plenty of quality all over the squad and the expectations will be high. Playing on three different fronts may prove difficult, as their squad depth is a major question mark, but with the right breaks, they will fancy their season ending with some silverware.
Tags: Jesus Navas, Kanouté, Sevilla
