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!

Match Summary: Sevilla 0- Real Madrid 1

Fine. I’ll do the post-game…

In Varas we trust?

Bad news and bad timing.  Palop gonna miss the next 10-12 days.

Not too stressed about Real Union Irun or whatever their name is… I was hoping he’d start that game anyway.  But for that little jaunt over to the Camp Nou would’ve been nice to have Palop between the pipes.

Who here can read Spanish?

http://elsevilla.com/actualidad/64145-palop-baja-para-los-proximos-10-dias

Early Reflections

Well, that season certainly ended on a positive note.  Just in case you forgot how it ended I decided to toss this video in in lieu of a recap.  PS. as a special bonus somehow the guys got a hold of an inflatable doll during their celebrations if you watch til the end….  ridiculous.

Honestly, within the span of four day we were about 15 seconds from the season being an abject failure, and then by the time Navas sealed our win, it was an unmitigated success.  I’m still in partial shock, just shaking my head and unable to believe that this bizarre, rhythmless, enigmatic season ended in such glory.

Champs League qualification AND some Copa del Rey hardware to put in our trophy cabinet.  Incredible.

I had been terrified that we would see a fire sale on our players without qualifying for the CL, but qualification along with the Copa win re-establishes our claim as the third best team in Spain and one of Europe’s best.  Diego Capel was so enthused that he signed an extension until 2014 which is great news.  I think that Perotti being hurt for a stretch allowed Capel more consistency in playing time and really helped him.  He was CRUCIAL in our final few games and really, for the first time in a while, was realizing his potential and sustaining it for entire games (OK maybe not entire games cus he’d consistently get subbed by the 65th minute, but thats a whole lot better than just 15 minutes at the end).

In other news, Sergio Sanchez apparently had his surgery and it went well.  I have no clue what kind of recovery time/prospects he is facing, but regardless of whether he ever takes the pitch again (which I sincerely hope he does because he’s a great player), I just hope he has a complete recovery with no residual health issues.  Terrifying.

And thats about it.  This will be a facinating offseason.  Apparently we already have Mamadou Dabo from St. Etienne.  Anyone know who is out of contract?  I think I’ll probably try and do position by position posts later… but just wanted to toss this up here for now.

Still thrilled about this season.

Copa del Rey Final

Here it is, everyone!  The Copa del Rey final.  Sevilla has won the fourth place and a place in our hearts, but we are looking for some glory now, for something to put behind the glass this year in the trophy room.

The BIG BIG NEWS coming from the Spanish press today: Negredo’s red from the weekend has been reduced to a yellow by Spain’s official governing body of sport because the straight red does not follow the “disciplinary code and as a consequence the appropriate penalty is a yellow.”  So he WILL be able to play in the Copa del Rey final.  WOOO!  I know we’d all like to see Rodri get another chance to make us wear out our lungs yelling with joy, but maybe it’s best that the two big men we were counting on up front get the chance to play in our only final of the season.  You tell me!  In any event, let’s kick some ass tomorrow!

Now here’s a stroll down Past Cup Glory Lane:

UEFA Cup 2006

UEFA Supercup 2006

UEFA Cup 2007

Copa del Rey 2007

I’ll be watching and commenting here tomorrow.  Anyone else?  ROLL CALL!!

Champions League Qualifier (please don’t #&*$% this up!)

Here we are folks.  Its our first qualifier for the 2011 Champions League.

Yes, we’ll have another qualifier if we win sometime toward the end of the summer or whenever it is.  But if we lose, we’ll just be playing in the NIT, see an exodus of our great players in the offseason, be unable to attract a world class coach, and have taken a gigantic step backwards.

Though the Copa del Rey is certainly huge as well.  I think this is HUGER.  We NEED to get into the Champs League and this is our chance.  The entire season can either be a success or a gigantic waste of my personal anxiety and attention.

LETS GO SEVILLA!  Get ‘er done today!!