Sevilla are synonymous with the UEFA Europa League, having become the first club in history to win the trophy 3 consecutive times. The Andalusian club have seen off multiple opponents in the final like clockwork, most recently defeating Liverpool 3-1 to have many pondering the club’s affinity for this competition.
Here’s what makes Sevilla UEFA Europa League specialists:
Transfers make the club go round
One would expect a club that has won 3 UEFA Europa League trophies consecutively to have a modicum of consistency about their playing staff. Yet, it’s almost stunning to note that Sevilla have named 35 different players in the squads for the finals in all three years. It basically boils down to a change of 9 players each year, a stunning turnover rate that would usually cripple a club.
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There are plenty of arguments against such inconsistency – traditionalists among the footballing managerial universe such as Arsene Wenger espouse the importance of keeping squad harmony intact, noting that signings in excess of 3 in the summer usually have a disruptive effect on a club.
Wenger’s reasoning is true to a certain extent – Sevilla are notoriously slow starters in the league, as losing their stars every season usually results in a cut-price replacement who takes time to gel to the club’s playing style. However, by the turn of the year, Sevilla have managed to put a fluent side together, which results in a fresh, in-form side taking on the business end of the season.
It explains why Sevilla were so awful in the Champions League group stages but then managed to find their feet in the Europa League this season. The Andalusian side are usually struggling in the league midway through the season and can then opt to focus on the cups – which has meant that Sevilla can win the Copa del Rey in addition to UEFA Europa League this season.
A quirk of the footballing calendar plays perfectly into their hands – with their stalwart captain Coke noting the difficulty after the Europa League final, saying “Every year we change 10 players. The beginning is difficult and it's hard to get going, so what we've done is all-the-more impressive.”
Magic Monchi
Consider Sevilla’s strikers in the last few years – Alvaro Negredo was signed for a pittance and sold on for big money to Manchester City. He was replaced by Carlos Bacca, signed for a low amount and sold to AC Milan for a large sum. Bacca was supposed to be replaced by Ciro Immobile, but Kevin Gameiro has finally adapted to life in Seville, becoming the first choice striker and now looks set to be sold for big money.
It’s a vicious cycle that Unai Emery has come to accept – he’s ably assisted in this regard by Sevilla’s sporting director, Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo, also known by his superhero moniker, ‘Monchi’. Why is such importance ascribed to one person? Monchi is a magician in the transfer market, with a scouting network that has a replacement ready for every Sevilla player that won the Europa League on Wednesday night.
The man credited with rescuing the Andalusian club from economic disaster is a realistic man, noting that many English clubs can outbid him in the transfer market, thus opting for the ’buy cheap, sell high’ model. However, when speaking with the Guardian, Monchi noted that sporting excellence came first, relaying the tale of Adel Rami, saying “Winning has given us sporting glory and that has a knock-on effect economically.
“We’ve created an environment conducive to players succeeding and improving. I went down to the dressing room after the semi-final and Adil Rami, who’s been at Lille, Valencia and Milan, hugged me and said: ‘I don’t know what it is about this club but I’ve never played a final in my life before and in one year I’m playing three.”
Home form
In his negotiations, Monchi is quick to play up the importance of Seville as a city – the Andalusian economic centre comes with many selling points, both cultural and economic. Ivan Rakitic, the most Croatian of players, met his wife here; Grzegorz Krychowiak, a Pole aged 19 turned out to be the most ‘sevillano’ of transfers. The players have a tendency of taking to the city like ducks to water.
It reflects in the performances at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, where Sevilla have a stunning home record. The 45000 spectators that throng the minimally – roofed stadium have watched in awe as their side have defeated the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid under the Andalusian sun, the only side in La Liga to do so.
So dominant have Sevilla been at home (14 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses), that they could afford to go the entire Liga season without an away win (9 draws, 10 losses) and still finish seventh in the table. A strong European team is based around being able to press home the advantage at their own stadium, and Sevilla have done exactly that in the 4 games in the Europa League, finishing with a 10-3 aggregate, with 3 wins and a loss (which was eventually a victory on penalties).
Sevilla’s famed anthem is a sight (and sound) to behold – with the febrile atmosphere it creates surely striking fear into the hearts of the opposition in Europe. Indeed, it’s almost a pity that Sevilla and Liverpool did not meet earlier in the competition, as the contest of an Anfield night versus a Sevillan one would have been a clash for the ages.
Unai Emery
All this talk of transfers and fans can be put aside if the mixture on the pitch is not right. Unai Emery is the man tasked with the daunting task of moulding an ever-changing roster of players into a side capable of winning trophies, and the Spaniard has made the best of a situation that would get the better of far less practical managers.
There is an implicit acknowledgement that Sevilla will never set La Liga alight on a consistent basis. Indeed, Sevilla have finished outside the UEFA Champions League positions in each of his seasons at the club, only qualifying on the basis of winning the UEFA Europa League.
It’s a rather clever tactic that can absorb the high player turnover rate, and as such Emery has created a team strategy that is tailor-made for knockout competition. ‘Defences win you leagues’, goes the popular maxim, yet Emery has accepted that a constantly changing backline which has conceded 50 goals this year is not the foundation upon which to build a league challenge.
Hence, Emery has created a forward-thinking strategy, with the emphasis on attacking with speed and precision, with a slight twist. The twist? Sevilla are a bit of an anomaly in La Liga, they attack down the wings with low crosses into the box, with strikers such as Bacca and Gameiro, who have exceptionally high conversion rates within the box, profiting.
How does this translate into a strategy perfect for the Europa League? A counter-attacking side catches teams off guard in the home fixture, lulling sides into a false sense of security before Sevilla attack swiftly; rapier-like to score. Consider the goals against Shakhtar Donetsk in this year’s Europa League as examples.
Sevilla’s proclivity to score also has a mental side effect, the club rarely are dishearted by conceding a goal because they’re always confident in their ability to hit back. Consider the Europa League final itself, an abject performance in the first half resulting in the concession of a goal to Sturridge was reversed by bursts from Gameiro and Coke.
Emery has fashioned a perfect system, which expects the wheels to come off at the start of every year; yet so perfect is the mixture of all of Sevilla’s attributes, that they can recover to make a late charge that earns them the tag of UEFA Europa League specialists.
