By Pete Hall
SEVILLE, SPAIN – To become champion of any team sport, you cannot blow your opponents away week in week out. Sometimes you have to win ugly.
After the start that Sevilla made to the La Liga season, you’d think that Jorge Sampaoli’s high octane team wouldn’t have to resort to doing such against a Valencia side that have had more managers than clean sheets in the last year. But dogged determination over flamboyance was the order of the day as Sevilla secured a 2-1 win on Saturday that moves the Andalusians up to second in the table, above Barcelona.
Sevilla have arguably been the standout performers in Europe at this juncture. Replacing three-time Europa League winning boss Unai Emery in the summer, Sampaoli had big boots to fill, but the former Chile boss has wasted no time in shaping this most traditional of clubs into his own attack-minded force to be reckoned with, and the results have been startling.
They are dominating possession in every game. Last season, Emery’s men kept possession for just under 50 percent of their league matches on average, but this time around, the domination of the ball inched over 60 percent after Saturday’s win over a struggling Los Che. Only Barcelona keep the ball more on average in La Liga.
Tension was palpable around the ground before kick off on a rain-soaked evening at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, though. The Rojiblancos have picked up 19 wins in their last 23 encounters at home, but they’ve lost the last two in all competitions, leading to accusations that Sampaoli’s revolution had been derailed. The Sevillistas expected a response.
The defeat to Barcelona at home before the recent international break drew attention from those less versed on the brilliance of Sevilla this season, despite Lionel Messi inspiring a comeback victory for the Catalan giants. In truth, the hosts deserved at least point.
Further praise was won as they dramatically came from two goals down to beat Deportivo last weekend, with all the thrilling intensity that has been a staple of Sampaoli’s teams down the years.
But then came that second home defeat, this time at the hands of Juventus in the Champions League. The controversial manner of the loss—with English referee Mark Clattenburg criticised from all corners for his decision to send off Franco Vazquez and a seething Sampaoli to the stands—must have affected the players on Saturday, and coupled with that aforementioned pressure from an expectant crowd, Sevilla looked distracted and their fluidity was conspicuous in its absence.
Samir Nasri’s injury problems haven’t helped matters. The Manchester City loanee has been nothing short of a revelation this season, in no matter what position deployed by the tinkering tactician Sampaoli, but he was again not fit enough to play against Valencia.
The Argentinian coach’s penchant for a midfield three with one pivot remained in tact despite Nasri’s absence. Matias Kranevitter was the anchor, with Steven N’Zonzi and the reborn Sergio Escudero further forward.
Neither N’Zonzi nor Escudero has the guile of Nasri though, and it showed. Valencia got plenty of men behind the ball, were happy to sit back and let Sevilla have possession—it didn’t make for entertaining first-half viewing, and in Spain, the terraces let you know how they feel, vociferously.
So many sides fall flat because they don’t have a Plan B, but Sampaoli, for all his desire for free-flowing football, has Sevilla well drilled, and if they do struggle to find their rhythm, they will remain solid and hard to beat, relying on a stroke of luck or individual brilliance to secure the victory.
While Valencia’s players simply formed an orderly queue to take turns to shoot during their pre-match warm-up, Sampaoli’s coaching staff had the players conduct some intense drills that centred around them working together in a system.
Sampaoli’s job then is to rouse his men when the going his tough, and that is where he shines. Sevilla emerged rejuvenated in the second half and got their reward as Vitolo’s cross was deflected in off Ezequiel Garay on 53 minutes.
However, Cesare Prandelli shuffled his Valencian pack, and his changes proved a masterstroke as Munir scored a delightful equaliser 12 minutes later to stun the Sanchez-Pizjuan into silence.
The best shine when faced with adversity. A new, resilient Sevilla don’t give in easily. Sampaoli threw two more strikers into the fray in Wissam Ben Yedder and Angel Correa—he gambled, and fortune favoured the brave once again, as Nico Pareja grabbed the winner.
Still, Sergio Rico was forced to make a world class save at the last to make sure of the three points. The Spanish stopper insisted that it was all in the line of duty, but had a more poignant message to those who fear Sevilla’s fluidity has deserted them permanently.
“Sometimes a win is a win,” Rico told Sportsnet post-match. “I had to do what I had to do, just like everyone else. We didn’t play as well as we can, but we feel good and know we can get even better. We have a style of play that we believe in. Second in the league isn’t bad, no?”
Quite. Their story is remarkable and it looks like further enthralling chapters are to come. With the marquee players Sevilla have sold in the last few years, you’d have forgiven them if they’d have slipped down the league. Not in this part of the world.
With a business model the envy of many across Europe, a technical director in Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo—Monchi to you and I—who has an incredible eye for the next to talent and an exciting manager intent on bringing success to southern Spain, the future looks bright in the City of Towers.
After all, winning ugly is the sign of champions, right?
Pete Hall works for Sky Sports and is a special correspondent for Sportsnet. He filed this report from Seville’s Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.
Sportsnet’s Soccer Central podcast (featuring James Sharman, Thomas Dobby, Brendan Dunlop and John Molinaro) takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues.
