Sevilla – Athletic

After last week’s slumping 0-1 defeat at Levante, it seems that most of our enthusiasm and optimism has dissipated for this season. But wait…maybe it hasn’t? Oh! Look! Another bad/mediocre team is headed to Sevilla where we always win!

Marcoloco Bielsa and his lions come to town on Monday (ugh), so, you know, three points!

Sevilla is pretty much a mess right now, though, with our Europe chances still near enough to have the most fleeting hope of overcoming a current five point gap, but the only thing that will get us there is some away points. As has been pointed out, we’ve had miraculous closing stretches before (07-08, for one), but nothing about the current state of the team says that will happen again. So, management is saying “objectives still obtainable,” coaches are saying “objectives still obtainable,” and players are saying “objectives still obtainable,” but anyone who’s been watching lately can see we’re fairly listless. No lists at all. Ok, the pessimism is really starting to sink in so…

I’m going to pass the baton to our friend messioronaldo and see if he can’t inspire us to cheer on once more:

Mallorca – Sevilla Match Comments

It’s an exciting time to be a Sevilla fan! On a smaller scale, it’s an exciting time to be a part of MonchisMen!

On the latter, the blog has been booming lately mostly due to several new faces that have been popping up (looking your way, shendm, mark, tirasus, niller, ricky, skallum…who else? holla at me!). It’s so fun to see new conversations every couple of hours! If you read the About Page you’ll see that our goal all along was to make a forum where Sevilla fans could convene in English, share our stories, get all tactical, and generally build a community of far-flung fandom of our particular team. That community thing feels great! But also, our previous hits record for a single day, which stood since the CdR final of 2011, has been broken three times in the last three weeks! We’re glad to share this place with all of you and hope, if you feel so inclined, that you would feel free to contribute a column of your own in the future. “Somos de todos” might as well be the slogan of our blog as well as our team!

As far as the former, Sevilla are trending up. Look at this!

That’s Sevilla tied for fourth! Whoa. “Did I miss several weeks of matches?” you may be asking yourself. “No!” I tell you! It’s the second half of the season table brought to us by our friend MoR.

The Last Bastion of Optimism

OK guys.  This season has been….  rough.  Jeremy served up the sobering reminder of who we are as Sevilla fans and what expectations are reasonable.  And then, with some help from the officiating, Real Madrid helped to reinforce that reminder.

And yet, this week actually went better than we could have possibly expected.  We never realistically could have expected more than a loss away at RM.  And yet every team above us with whom we are competing for a Europa spot, dropped points.  Forget about Levante, Malaga, and Valencia.  What we need is to finish in the top 7 (or ideally 6).

To finish seventh, we have to pass two of the following 3 teams: Bilbao, Atletico, or Osasuna.  That is still very possible.

Look at the remaining games for each team (home games in caps):

• Atletico (49 pts): SOCIEDAD, MALAGA, Villareal
• Bilbao (48 pts): REAL MADRID, GETAFE, Levante
• Osasuna (48 pts): Valencia, SOCIEDAD, Santander
• Sevilla (46 pts): BETIS, RAYO, Espanyol

Of all these teams, we probably have the easiest schedule.  Additionally, Bilbao and Atletico are playing each other in the Europa final AND Bilbao is in the Copa del Rey final.

I’m also curious on what happens if Atletico wins Europa, but Bilbao wins CdR.  Does anyone know exactly how all these scenarios could play out?  Is it possible to finish 8th and get a Europa spot?

Anyway, the bottom line is that the critical week is actually next weekend while Osasuna goes up against Valencia who are fighting hard for 3rd, and Bilbao host Real Madrid who have nothing else left to focus on (hahaha).  If they both lose and we win, then we’d at least be in 7th.

This season isn’t over yet.  We still have a LOT to play for and I truly believe that we could still pull this off.

Put your guesses for the top 9 spots in the comments.

Keep the faith.  Vamos mi Sevilla!

Subject Change: Hey! There’s a Match Tomorrow!

As I wrote elsewhere, I don’t in fact know enough swear words to properly capture my true sentiments about EuropaFailure-Gate.  But It makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it, so lets think about something else.

We’re playing Malaga tomorrow!  Yes we have dinged up strikers and no one appropriately suited to replace them.  But believe it or not, our lack of fit players doesn’t, in fact, affect whether or not the match will be played!  I know, this is unsettling.

But putting sarcasm aside, this is actually a VERY big match.  Its hard to know what kind of a season Malaga is going to have, but they have dropped A LOT of money on A LOT of GOOD players over the last 6 months  Cazorla, Joaquin, Toulalan, and van Nistelrooy to name just a few.  I’m not sure what kind of form they are in as a team, and maybe its a good thing then that we’re playing them so early and that we’ve played a few competitive matches already (even if we didn’t get the result we wanted).  Because, it is not outside the realm of possibility that towards the end of the season we are battling out with these guys for one of the last Champions League (or possibly Europa) spots.  It would be great to put three points between us up front on day 1.

I’m hoping that this Europa ordeal might be a blessing in disguise and that with a more singular focus on La Liga we can find more consistency and have a Valencia-esque season.  (For those who forget, Valencia totally dominated the teams they should have dominated and as a result finished comfortably third).  Or maybe we can even hang around with the big two for a while while they gallivant across Europe and worry about preen and pose for the cameras.

Anyone have any guesses on the lineup we’ll be using?  Medel starting again?  Caceres?  Strikers?  Has anyone seen/heard much more about Malaga’s play during preseason?  Any predictions for the outcome?

Let’s turn the page guys.  There isn’t really any other option.  A win (even better if it can be convincing) would go a long way in lifting the team’s morale right now.

Sevilla – Hannover: Shit Storm?

¡Viva el Sevillismo! Sevilla fought hard and long against a fairly equally matched opponent (the comments will disagree). Marcelino deployed all of his options in a desperate attempt to find that golden, tying goal that would send us into extra time, giving us a great chance to go through. Among the many opportunities that were there for the taking, Negredo and Escudé come away the most culpable for failing to convert: Escudé on two golden-opportunity headers at the top of the 6′ and Negredo on two beautiful through balls that he (1) failed to control, and (2) failed to control.

Kanouté was a beast for most of the night, setting up back-to-goal and pulling down clearances, crosses and other punts, and steering them to his left = Navas. The “campeón mundial” (as SFC TV continually referred to him) sent in any number of crosses. Some met Sevilla heads. Some met the GK. Some met German heads. Other players chipped in a strong showing: Perotti was very active – beating his man several times down the left or cutting in, Trochowski was mostly engaged, feeding the strikers and creating danger on his own, and Coke, once again, found plenty to do behind Navas in creating danger. Negredo did his best up top, but I have to agree with the commentators on one point: he makes the impossible seem simple, and the simple seem impossible. I love the man, but he didn’t deliver on two clear-cut opportunities. It must be acknowledged that were his hitting the post a goal, it would completely change the previous sentence. He played all out, as is his tendency.

Sevilla – Hannover Europa League Qualifying Match

 

Sevilla once again finds itself fighting an uphill battle on the last stop to Europe. Today we must overturn a 2-1 loss to Hannover. But this is our house. This is our tournament. This is our LEGACY. We cannot, must not, allow any result other than advancing to the next round today.

I am again without the time I’d like to write the preview I’d like, and it’s once again doubtful I’ll be able to actually watch this game. But come by and give your play-by-play, share your thoughts, and generally WILL OUR TEAM TO VICTORY!!!

Europa League Playoff: Hannover – Sevilla

After all the strikes, debates about TV revenue, sponsorship fiascos, transfer rumors, and so on, we finally have come to today: our first competitive match of the 2011-12 season. And boy, are we starting with a doozy. For the stakes, the quality of the opponent, and the time of year, it’s hard to imagine a more crucial and difficult first match than today’s visit to Bundesliga co-leaders Hannover 96, with a spot in Europe on the line.

It’s almost exactly the one-year anniversary of last year’s early failure to qualify for the Champions League, when Braga knocked us out over two legs and started our season about as ingloriously as any of us could have imagined. And once again this year we find ourselves taking on a strong opponent in great form while we ourselves are yet to play a competitive match (although the “friendly” against Naples was maybe more intense than a few Liga games will be this year). And to top it off, this year we’ve got a new coach overseeing HIS first competitive match in rojiblanco and first in Europe if I’m not mistaken.

I’d like to dig into exactly how and why this season is different, and why I feel confident that we’ll get a result over these two legs (respectfully, FEARFULLY confident, mind you), but I’ve got an early start this morning (I woke up at 4:45 this morning just so I’d have time to write this), and I can’t write the Homerian epic I’d like to about our heroes and the enormous task ahead of them. Suffice it to say, then, that I think if this team played last year’s pre-season team, this team would win (even if Rakitic is currently injured), and I believe (although this is maybe more hopes than facts) that we’re stronger and deeper basically everywhere (even goalie, where I expect Varas to start today). I’ll also add that while pre-season games don’t mean anything (until they do), you may recall that last year we were less than convincing, and this year we went undefeated against even a few good teams–I think that’s more than a good omen.

So you guys, take over–what will be the challenges? Our advantages? How are we going to do? And will you be here to comment? There is a small possibility that I’ll get out of clinic early and will be able to see the game, but most likely I’ll miss out. If anyone is definitely going to be around and wants to run a Liveblog, say so and maybe we can set it up. But if that doesn’t happen, shout and scream your support below. PUNCH THOSE KEYS so they hear you all the way in Germany!!!

Crystal Ball Flash Poll!!!

OK quick!  The season is about to start!

Answer the following:

1) Order of the top 7

2) Champs League winner

3) Europa League winner

4) Copa del Rey Winner

Did we do this elsewhere?  I forget?  We could add more Sevilla things to this, like goal scorer etc blah blah blah.  but I just wanted to toss this quick overview out first.  Anyone who wants to write a longer one, feel free.

Write your answers in the comments!

for the sake of a new post heading and no longer thinking about that g-d game we should have won any more

i dont really have much to say.  im just sick of seeing the match preview, filled with false optimism and our last whisps of CL optimism.

that was yesterday’s news.  and yesterday’s subject line.

so lets look ahead!

lets give villareal hell!  they dont have a whole lot to play for since they have locked up 4th and arent close to 3rd.  additionally they have a big mid-week Europa match, so we’ll likely be getting their B squad.

we seriously DO need these points.  its a bit tough to stomach since none of us wanted to settle for Europa, but hopefully the team isn’t losing sight just how big a catastrophe failing on that lowest of targets would be.  if we’re bracing ourself for a few departures this offseason, failure to get into europa would be a veritable exodus.

and, as ive said elsewhere, i think that while 5th=6th in terms of qualification, i still believe that there is more prestige the higher your are in the table, and it becomes an easier sell to new recruits the higher up in the table.  if you’re not offering them CL competition, you can at least say “we were 5th.  ONE spot off CL.  we’ll be back.  mark my words.”  a little more convincingly than if we’re in 6th…

just trying to motivate myself to stay engaged…  well… i’ll be engaged regardless.  but its more fun when you think the games have some significance.

wont be able to watch it typical.  so i’ll be looking forward to your comments.  next season i’ll be back in the US, so maybe i’ll finally be able to actually see our beloved sevilla play more than 4-5 games per season.

all the best everyone.

SRH/Rene

El Día después: Choose your headline

Welp, that’s that, then. Lots of ways to see this, so you can pick your favorite headline:

–Sevilla are not going to win any silverware this year, only the second time in five years that’s happened.

–Sevilla are eliminated from the Europa League, but they leave with their heads held high. (This is by far the most commonly used angle in stories I’ve seen).

–Sevilla beat a very solid side, the runaway champions of Portugal, in their house.

–Varas and the defense managed to get their second straight clean sheet after allowing more scores than Paris Hilton (oh man 2005 is going to PISSED when they find out I stole their joke). Varas is a beast. Varas should replace Palop.

–The season is going down in flames! PANIC! CRISIS!!! FIRE EVERYONE!!!!

–With just a little bit more sharpness in front of goal yesterday (or without a stupid giveaway in the 86′ last week), Sevilla would be advancing in a tournament they practically own.

I’m not necessarily endorsing any of these headlines, rather just pointing out that there a lot of different ways to see this game, some of them very negative, some of them actually quite positive. And that’s as it should be–victories that lead to elimination are always necessarily a mixed bag.

There’s no time for sitting around and mourning missed chances, though, because this weekend we start a pretty brutal stretch: at Atleti, vs. Gijón (giant slayers), at Bilbao, vs. Barcelona, at Valencia. Yeesh. Are you ready? In one month we could have ourselves positioned very well for Europe next year, or we could all be getting very nervous about how far you have to go to touch bottom this year.

 

What do you think? What headline do you like best? Where do you think we’ll go from here?