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Yes you read that right. An absolutely stroming performance for my well rested team. It would take too long to go through every goal but to put you in the picture, Zonneveld got us under way in the fourth minute with a well taken penalty (incredibly our first of the season) and Tudor finished it of with a header from a corner. In between Robinho and Casqueras got two each whilst Dario Silva, Fernando Sales and Jesus Navas all contributed one. New boy Adraininho, coming in on the left wing got three assists and looked fantastic. We were 6-0 up at half time so I took the opportunity to rest Robinho. Oh, and Osasuna had, until this point, been having good a season and are currently in seventh, one place behind us who have moved into sixth place.
After such a comprehensive victory it seems somewhat churlish to talk about improving the team but you may be interested to know that I have secured the services of four players on free transfers for next year. Joining us will be Oude Kamphuis, a Dutch right back to replace the disappointing Redondo whose contract is expiring and will not be renewed. The other three are all experienced Brazilians, right wing Robson Ponte, left wing Savio and left footed striker Amoruso. Hopefully these new signings will give the squad an injection of quality and a bit more strength in depth.
Sevilla 6 – Getafe 0
Another home game and another stunning result. Dario Silva got us under way with goals on 10 and 16 minutes, both well taken headers from crosses. Pablo Alfaro headed in a corner in the 29th minute and we went in confidently 3-0 up in half time. Zonneveld scored from the spot for the second time in successive games soon after the break and Robinho turned and shot for the teams fifth on 52. I was able to substitute both him and Adrianinho (fantastic on the wing once again) soon after. Zonneveld finished it of with a well placed shot from the edge of the area, his sixth of the season but first from open play. One bad point, Robinho picked up a booking and will get an automatic one match ban. Otherwise, I’m walking on air.
Zaragoza 0 – Sevilla 0
To be honest I was expecting an end to our good form. Firstly we were away from home to a solid team. Secondly with Robinho suspended and Dario Silva exhausted I was forced top play Jesus Navas and Kepa up front. Also replaced for fitness reasons were Zonneveld and Julio Baptista. The match itself was, to put it bluntly, boring. The good points being the continued good form of both new signings, Tudor and Adrianinho.
We have now played everybody and are in sixth place, amazingly only two points behind Deportivo in third. Next up is Athletic Club Bilbao away, the team we started the season with a 0-0 draw against. In that game we didn’t get a shot on target, whatever the result I don’t think there will be repeat of that.
I shouldn’t have opened my mouth. With Robinho absent once again (this time on international duty with Brazil,he scored twice, his first for his country) we lacked any class up front and, almost predictably, failed to get a shot on target.
They dominated from the word go, Tiko got a hat trick (a penalty from Tudor’s handball and two shots from the edge of the area. Urzaiz got the other. Nobody on the Seville team even came close to raising their game. Enough said.
Sevilla 4 – Malaga 0
A return to form for the team that had shown signs of weakness in their previous fixtures. With Robinho still away on international duty I decided to start with Adrianinho partnering Dario Silva up front. A quick aside here, Robinho is away with Brazil playing in the North American Gold Cup. I can’t see how Brazil, a Soth American team, even got in the competition. Moreover, the fact that they are there almost guarantees them a win (Mexico and the USA being the only possible challenge to them). Finally, is there anyway I can complain about my star striker being taken away from me at such a vital point of the season for what is, in effect, a completely meaningless competition.
Anyway, back to the match. The decision to play Adrianinho up front certainly seemed to pay off and although he didn’t score he was a constant threat and he proved an assist for Dario Silva’s eighth goal of the season. Sandwiching this goal were contributions from Pablo Alfaro, both headers from corners. The fourth was a well taken shot from Jesus Navas. A good result but with matches against Valenica, Athletico Madrid, Barcelona and the first of two European ties against Steaua Bucharest coming up I could really do with Robinho coming back.
Sevilla 1 – Valencia 1
With Robinho still half way around the world I kept to the same team that did so well against Malaga. After a cagey start Dario Silva took advantage of Valencia’s inability to clear a free kick and calmly socred to put us one nil up. This advantage lasted until the 40th minute when Di Viao showed his class and sent a screamer past the despairing Esteban. Whilst both sides had chances to win it, the score remained at 1-1. Next up we are away to Athletico Madrid and, should Robinho return, a perfect opportunity to bring out the lone striker formation.
With Robinho still away I scrapped the idea of using a lone striker. I thought about using Adrianinho but although he is playing well, he is yet to score so this seemed like too much of a risk. I did make one tactical change though, after the run around that Fernando Torres gave us in the home fixture I decided to man mark him. This is unusual for me as I usually adopt a zonal marking system but the circumstances seemed appropriate. The job fell too Tudor.
The marking job seemed to be working, Fernando Torres seemed unusually quiet and it was Juan Sebastian Veron, a purchase from Chelsea who opened the scoring showing some of the form he displayed prior to his ill fated move to Man Utd in 2001 with a powerful shot from 30 yards.
Things got worse in the 83rd minute when Tudor was sent off for a second yellow card (both cards for fouls on Fernando Torres) and Colsa scored from the resulting free kick. 2-0, down to 10 men, game over.
Sevilla 2 – Barcelona 0
Robinho returns and so does our form. Quickly on Robinho, he played all five matches during the tournament scoring four goals en route to the final in which Brazil won 2-0. The boy is going to be an absolute superstar.
I started the match with a familiar 4-4-2, Aitor Ocio coming in for the suspended Tudor. Fernando Sales opened the scoring on 21 minutes with a magnificent free kick. Just before half time Robinho marked his return with a well taken goal and we went in 2-0 up. On the downside Adrianinho went off after 8 minutes and will be out for a week with a sprained wrist.
I decided to try the lone striker tactic in the second half, Gerardo Torrado coming on for Dario Silva. Whilst we didn’t add to our score, this limited Barcelona’s chances to long shots and the odd set piece. I am of course overjoyed to beat one of the best teams not just in Spain but the world. We can go into the away match on Thursday against Steaua with some confidence.
Steaua Bucharest 3 – Sevilla 1
I’m going to give up making predictions, they always seem to go against me. The key factor in this game lay in the defence, with Tudor unavailable after being registered for Europe by Juventus and Pablo Alfaro serving a suspension the defence was formed by the untried partnership of Pablo and Aitor Ocio. It would prove decisive.
Steaua’s first was the most controversial, Munteanu diving for a penalty. The second from Gheorghe was much less of a talking point, bad marking giving him an easy chance from close range. Our precious away goal was headed in by Julio Baptista from a well worked free kick. Their third was a free kick after Pablo fouled on the edge of the penalty area. The return tie should be interesting.
This match must have felt like revenge for the Mallorca team. Their first goal came early from Jesus Perera bafter good interplay between their forwards and midfield. Our equaliser came, for the second time in arrow, from the head of Julio Baptista, this time from a corner. They saved the best to last, recent signing Zenden beating the defender before chipping the keeper, the type of goal Robinho has been scoring all season.
Sevilla 1 - Steaua Bucharest 0
A win but not enough to take us through. Our last chance of getting hold of siloverware for the season gone. It all started so well, Robinho volleying into the net after only 2 minutes. A penalty after their keeper fouled Julio Baptista followed on 15 minutes. The keeper somehow escaped a booking and should really have walked but the referee bottled the decision. Fernando Sales stepped up and hit the post. It would be our best chance. Steaua came with one game plan, to defend. It paid off, they restricted our chances to 3 shots on goal (one of which was the goal), they only had one shot all game and we had over two thirds of the possession. Given how ell they played in the first match and the tactics they adopted in the second they probably deserved to go through, but only just.
Sevilla 2 – Albacete 0
Following our failure to progress to the next round I was worried that low morale could have an effect on our performance on a game that, on paper at least, we should win easily.
As it turned out my fears were not totally unfounded. Our performance was lacklustre and it wasn’t until the beginning of the second half that we scored, Robinho picking up on Dario Silva’s short pass and blasting past the keepers left. Even then though we rode our luck and it wasn’t until Tudor headed in a corner in the 89th minute that the outcome of the tie was put beyond doubt. That said, a win is a win and we have three more valuable points.
Numancia are the worst team in the division. They have only won two games all season and are as good as relegated already. To this therefore should have been three easy points and a chance to consolidate our position. At half time however, things were not going to plan. They went 1-0 up on 24 minutes, a well taken free kick.
My half time dressing down seemed to do the trick with the whole team (but Robinho especially) suddenly coming to life. On 47 minutes we had drawn level, Robinho, seeing their keeper in no-mans land, executing a perfect lobbed goal. Our second and third also came from the boot of our young Brazialian sensation, both goals coming when he broke from the shoulder of his marker, both created by compatriot Adrianinho. Our next match is at home to Deportivo. I will probably use the lone striker tactic that worked so well in the away fixture.
Sevilla 4 – Deportivo 0
Deportivo are having a strange season. In the league they are performing well below the expectations you would expect of a team of their recent stature. However in the Champions League they are doing excellently, beating Juventus to get through to the quarter finals on the Wednesday prior to this match.
I’m not sure whether it was fatigue catching up with them, something symptomatic in their league form or good tactics that made this such a resoundingly good result for us, probably a mixture of the three. Robinho once again played excellently on his own up front although it was Fernando Sales who got us underway, arriving late in the box to head in Adrianinho’s perfectly weighted cross. The second was a Robinho classic, with Deportivo defending high up the pitch he beat the offside trap, ran the ball from the half way line and finished with an exquisite shot that that beat the keeper both by coming up then down as well as swerving wickedly left to right.
With Robinho tiring I took a gamble and replaced him with Dario Silva on 65. Dario Silva promptly repaid my faith by heading in Zonneveld’s cross in the 75th minute. Ten minutes later he was at it again, this time blasting a powerful shot past the keepers left. All in all a very satisfying result.
Villareal 0 – Sevilla 0
Another frustrating one this. At the beginning I was unsure whether to go for a lone striker of the familiar 4-4-2. A look at the home leg showed that we trounced hem 5-0 using the 4-4-2 so this is what I went with. However on 31 minutes Dario Silva went off injured so I bought on Petit and went to the lone striker option. On 49 minutes however disaster struck when Robinho was sent off with his second yellow card (both for diving and the second time this has happened this season) Off went Petit (who will not be happy with that but has just decided to retire at the end of the season so I’m not too worried about keeping him happy) and on came Jesus Navas, the youngster given the difficult job of working on his own up front. Althouh we had chances the score was to remain 0-0. It also means that with Kepa and Dario Silva both injured and Robinho suspended, I am going to have to use the untried and, let’s face it, goal shy partnership of Jesus Navas and Adrianinho up front in the next fixture at home to Real Sociedad.
In the event, Dario Silva recovered in time to play and it was he who got the only goal of the match. On the stroke of half time he found enough space in the opposition penalty area to receive the ball with his back to goal, turn and fire home. I started with Adrianinho as his attacking partner. However, whilst his performances of the left wing have been somewhat inspirational, as a striker he looks lightweight and once again he failed to make an impression. Eventually he dropped back to the wing and Jesus Navas to his place up front.
Betis 2 – Sevilla 0
A reversal of the fixture earlier in the season and a completely lacklustre performance. Sickening news a few days before the match was that Robinho will be out for the next month with a neck injury, that could spell disaster for us unless one of our other forwards can find a consistent scoring touch. Also, the manager who tried to goad me earlier in the season Serra Ferrer has since been sacked and their assistant manager Alexsis has taken over first team affair. This has led to an improvement in form that had pushed them up to sixth in the table, one place behind us, going into the match.
Despite the absence of Robinho and with Adrianinho also absent, I decided to use the lone striker option, Dario Silva taking the role. The gamble did not pay off, Arzu scoring with a shot the keeper really should have saved. At half time I changed back to a 4-4-2 but to be honest we never really got going, Arzu scoring again to make it safe just before the end.
I’m a little worried now, with Robinho out we have given up 5th place to our rivals and still have to go to the Bernabeu for the away match against Real Madrid. I really had my heart set on coming above Betis this season.
Sevilla 3 – Levante 0
Despite the fact that Levante are in 18th place, I was suitably impressed with them in the away fixture. Add to this the fact that Dario Silva was suspended and therefore joined Robinho on the absence list and I went into the match slightly apprehensive.
Starting with Adrianinho and Jesus Navas up front I was worried that we would lack fire power. I needn’t have been concerned, Jesus Navas scoring well taken goals before and after half time. Kepa , on for Jesus Navas for the final 20 minutes, got his first goal for the club. It is probably too little to late though as Jesus Navas, now 19, is improving with every game and Amoroso is joining us in the close season.
Finally, Betis lost to Valencia this weekend so with the three points we got here we reclaim 5th place.
A disappointing draw. Once again we never really got going and were punished just before half time when their Serbian striker Milosevic broke free from his marker and chipped the keeper, the ball going in off the post. The equaliser came on 56 when Dario Silva forced a penalty from Josetxo on the very edge of the area. Adrianinho, playing on the left wing, once again missed a couple of golden opportunities. I am hoping it is just a mental block and that once he gets one they will begin to flow. Real Madrid next and once again I don’t hold out much hope.
Real Madrid 8 – Sevilla 0
My only hope for this game was that, having tied up the league already, Real might lay off a little. Some hope. Their class told from first to last, Ronaldo got 4, Morientes 3 and Roberto Carlos the other. Betis have got six points in their last two matches, we have got 1. The entire season is looking to be on the verge of collapse.
Sevilla 1 – Espanyol 1
Another poor result. Tudor was the only real shining light, scoring from a corner and putting in an immense performance at the back. He couldn’t do much about their goal though, Martin Posse jinking in from the left wing, beating Aitor Ocio and finishing well. At the death Tudor had another possible goal from a headed corner harshly disallowed.
Betis drew with Barcelona, a game I was hoping they would lose. They remain four points ahead of us with three to play and barring a disaster should therefore finish above us.
In quite possibly our poorest result of the season we are taken apart by a team hovering above the relegation places. We miss a penalty and then cave in almost completely. We have dropped two places in the league to eighth, both Athletic Club Bilbao and Deportivo leap frogging us. The only poistive being that Betis also lost (to Albacete) but with four points more than us and only two remaining games, catching them looks a folorn hope.
Getafe 2 – Sevilla 1
Robinho retunrs and does precisely nothing. Our gaol is a header from a corner, scored by Petit in what is likely to be his last ever game for us (Julio Baptista is suspended, Gerardo Torrado is injured). They score two simple goals and our season is as good as over. We drop another bther place to ninth (Espanyol taking advantage) and is Betis are now mathematically out of reach. Just to rub salt in my wounds, future free transfer signing Amoroso has damaged his spine and will be out for 11 months. Regrettably I have had to cancel the transfer.
Sevilla 3 – Zaragoza 0
The last game of season and we finally give the fans something to shout about. It’s all too little to late and makes no difference to at leastr league position (we finish ninth) but at least it is a win.
Robinho gets the first two goals, breaking from the half way line, executing a nice one-two with Dario Silva, beating their last defender then slotting home for the first. The second was less spectacular, finding space on the edge of area he advances, wrong foots the keeper and finishes. The third is a penalty, well taken by Casquero.
So, how do I feel. It’s been a real up and down season. The start and end were, to be frank appalling, but in between we played some quality football and pulled of some good results. This mid-season consistency is what I will be looking for throughout next season. The next post will be a full assessment of the season.
Esteban – mostly solid without ever really excelling, his drop in from at the end of the season coincided with us losing vital points. If I can find a suitable replacement for the right price he may well drop down to the back up position.
Antonio Notario – didn’t really get a chance. He will never be the first choice he believes he should be and therefore his contract is expiring and will not be renewed.
Right Full Back
Redondo – never really recovered from a bad start to the season, his contract is expiring and will not be renewed.
Daniel - the young Brazilian came in from Redondo a never looked back. A good season and a bright future.
Left Full Back
David – solid if uninspiring back up player, will be with us again next season
Zonneveld – the new signing performed well backing up his solid performances with some well taken free kicks and penalties. Will begin the new season confident of his place in the first team.
Centre Back (right footed)
Javi Navarro – disappointing season marred by poor performances and unnecessary bookings and dismissals. Is unhappy at losing his place in the team but only has himself to blame. Placed on the transfer list and dropped to the reserves.
Aitor Ocio – the back up player largely performed well when called upon and will retain his place in the squad next season.
Igor Tudor – the mid-season signing came in and did a good job, he will be one of the first names on the team sheet next season.
Centre Back (left footed)
Pablo Alfaro – performed well. At 35 though he my well have to settle for a back up position next season
Pablo – very disappointing, placed on transfer list and relegated to the reserves
Right Wing
Marco Navas – another disappointment, transfer listed and put in the ‘B’ team
Fernando Sales – after an up and down season that ultimately turned out with more positives than negatives he will be the back up player next year
Left Wing
Antonio Lopez – another up and down season, will challenge new signing Savio for the back up position next season
Jesuli – the old boys return from Celta was a major disappointment. Will be transferred at the first available opportunity and will play for the reserves until then
Adrianinho – the January signing came in and added a touch of class to the team. The only downside is the lack of a goal but hopefully this is an aspect of his game as first choice next season
Centre Midfield (right foot)
Julio Baptista – a good season, he held of the strong challenge for his place by Gerardo Torrado and will keep his place next year
Gerardo Torrado – another good season, as well as challenging Julio Baptista he performed well in the midfield spoiling role required for the lone striker tactic. Let’s hope for more of the same next year
Centre Midfield (left foot)
Petit – the only one of my signings to disappoint. He is retiring and will not really be missed.
Casquero – possibly the biggest revelation of the season, made the position his own and will continue to play here next season
Striker/Forward (right foot)
Jesus Navas – the youngster showed improvement throughout the season and will keep the back up place ahead of Kepa next season
Dario Silva – solid if not spectacular. Will have to improve and increase his goal tally if he is to resist the challenge from the ever improving Jesus Navas
Kepa – never really shone and will be put on the transfer list and relegated to the reserves
Striker/Forward (left foot)
Robinho – what can I say, exceptional and he will only get better
Finances
This is somewhat embarrassing. We made a loss last season of nearly £20 million. Although we remain within our wage budget, any repeat of this in the coming season will send the club teetering towards bankruptcy.
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