Sporting Gijón 1-0 Sevilla; “Time to Panic” February 1st, 2009

It definitely is, what an embarrassment. For the second time in as many weeks we’ve been up a man for the majority of the game and not only lost, but failed to score a single goal. There’s a serious crisis in Nervión now, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens but one thing I know for sure is this is unacceptable.
For a team that started the year so promising and was regarded as one of the only teams that would probably challenge for the title we’ve quickly fallen way off the pace.
Now after that defeat to minnows Sporting Gijón we still sit in third place, luckily Villarreal got hammered by Depor so we have a “comfortable” position in the Champions League spots. Although, the way we’ve been playing lately, nothing with us can be considered “comfortable”. This is the most erratic Sevilla side I’ve ever seen and although I was quick to jump to Jiménez’ defense before, there’s no way I can anymore, his tactics are so conservative and strange that he’s stripped Sevilla of the quality attacking football we were known and renowned for.
Like my buddy Aaron pointed out, at the beginning of the season our goal was to qualify for Champions League which we’re currently in line to do so Jiménez can’t be criticized like he is being right now, he’s also taken us to the Copa del Rey semis which we will play this Wednesday against Bilbao who have been in stunning form of late. If we don’t get our act together we’ll go crashing out of the Copa just like in UEFA.
I think it’s that the expectations surrounding our team have been heightened ever since having that extremely successful spell in which we won a record 5 trophies in 15 months. It should be obvious though that any team to lose after being up a man for over 65 minutes is extremely embarrassing and considering it’s now happened twice in as many games, there’s an obvious problem.
There were a few positive points today though, they were hard to come by but I managed to recall a few. Palop once again like he’s done so many times in his career saved a bullet of a penalty from Mate Bilic which gave us hope in the first half, unfortunately, about 5 minutes after this Sporting scored. Also in the second half Lautaro Acosta made his official return from a rather lengthy injury when he substituted on for the inefficient Chevantón who just hasn’t been the same ever since he’s come back from injury. Acosta almost found the back of the net on a couple occasions and I’m looking really forward to him playing a lot more in the near future as he’s a really promising young talent. Also Fazio returned from his lengthy spell on the injury table and even though he wasn’t a standout performer today, he made very few mistakes and was a solid defensive midfielder.
The starting lineup today was:PalopCrespo - David Prieto - Escudé - DragoDuscher - FazioJesús Navas - Romaric - Diego CapelChevantón
Once again a very defensive lineup away from home to a team that has a very erratically high goals for ratio. Jiménez obviously didn’t do his homework and we were punished for it today. I don’t understand the need for two defensive midfielders when Duscher can play the role by himself in a diamond midfield formation. Also Chevantón cannot play as a single striker because he’s small and quick, he needs a target man to play alongside or at least another guy to play off of, Acosta and him should have started since both Kanouté an Luis Fabiano are nursing slight knocks. Big Fredi did come on in the second half but appeared to be playing a more creative, play-making role, mind boggling stuff, I was so lost. It appeared to be too late, and he didn’t affect the game in any dramatical way. Diego Capel and Jesús Navas both looked lively as always and of course that’s a good sign.
All in all we played very poor football and couldn’t even penetrate one of the weakest defenses in the league, also factor in that they were a man down and it’s even worse on our part. This is seriously becoming annoying considering the ability I know we have in this squad and how we can perform when we really want to.
We now travel back home to Nervión to train and prepare for our Wednesday encounter with Athletic Club de Bilbao in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals. I’ve said it a million times this year but this is an absolute must win game, if we lose then Jiménez can kiss his ass goodbye and we should be expecting a new manager in Sevilla really soon, some rumours suggest Michael Laudrup who is currently at Spartak Moscow. We will need to win by a significant margin because going into San Mames and expecting a result is risky because this is like a sanctuary to Athletic and very few teams can go in there and come out with anything to show for.

Sporting Gijón v Sevilla Preview - Sunday 3pm GolTV

After our last-minute winner at Valencia during the week, we now put the Copa del Rey to the side for a bit and focus on our struggles - in the league.
With out loss last week at home to Racing, we sit a significant number of points behind Barça, obviously no one is catching them this season.
We travel to El Molinon in Gijón to take on a Sporting side that has also been struggling of late. Last weekend they got smashed by Getafe 5-1 and midweek they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey, not exactly the best week for them.
The original fixture against Sporting which was played in Sevilla was a goal fest with us just edging them out 4-3 with many nervous moments to say the least. Mate Bilic was their star performer in that game with a hat-trick to his name and he’ll definitely be one of their key players, especially when they’re at home. But despite the Croatian’s heroics once again Kanouté came out on top like so many times this season already, with the winning goal.
Because of our slip-up last week against the boys from Santander we now sit 6 points back of Real with one game in hand and a win tomorrow would see us narrow that margin by three points.
We’ve only allowed 18 goals this season, the second best defensive record in the league, and although the results of late have been questionable, our defense hasn’t, which is always a good sign.
Of course for tomorrow both Acosta and Fazio are still out with their long-term injuries and Luis Fabiano is out with the injury he picked up against Valencia leaving us pretty short up front. Konko and Mosquera have resumed full training but are unlikely to play tomorrow as they have still not fully recovered. Kanouté picked up a slight knock in training and will be a game time decision to whether he plays or not.
Due to all these injuries both Cordero and new boy José Carlos have been called up from Sevilla Atlético to fill the gaps in defense and midfield and although they are not likely to start, they may get a run out depending on the score.
Sporting are averaging almost 4 goals against per every match this season, a La Liga worst, and hopefully we can exploit that when we look to get our season back on track.
Knowing us, we’ll manage to make this match, one we should absolutely dominate, probably too close for comfort and just scrape out the victory. I predict 2-0 with goals from Chevantón who may be our only striker and Romaric who has been settling into the lineup nicely of late

La Liga Preview: Sporting Gijon - Sevilla

Whatever happens in Sunday's encounter at El Molinon, you can bet your house on the fact that it will not be a draw...

Win Or Bust

It is hard to find a more appealing team for the neutral than Sporting Gijon. Having been promoted to the top flight after finishing third in the Segunda Division last season, the Asturians apparently decided to go for broke every weekend, come what may. The result is a team that, after 20 rounds, is yet to share the points on a single occasion.

They go into this weekend, however, in damp spirits.They have lost their last two league games (including a 5-1 hammering at Getafe last weekend), and, to make matters worse, were dumped out of the Copa del Rey in midweek. Unfortunately for the club, clear signs are starting to emerge that their hustle and bustle style may be catching up with them.

Sporting score a lot of goals (27), but they also concede an enormous amount; 44 so far, to be precise. That's an average of 3.55 goals scored in every match they play, making them one of La Liga's most entertaining teams. Indeed, they could teach their opponents a thing or two about pleasing the crowd.

On The Rise

Until recently, Sevilla were a source of guaranteed entertainment. This season, however, Manolo Jimenez has focused more on functionality rather than style, leading to a fair amount of disgruntled fans. The results, however, have been impressive.

The fact that nine of Sevilla's wins have been by a one-goal margin embodies their approach to this season. With just 18 goals conceded, their defensive record towers over all their opponents, except for Barcelona. They may be boring at times, but with 38 points, they are firm favourites to finish in the top four, and perhaps even challenge Real Madrid in second.

They were brought back down to earth last weekend, however, when they suffered a shock 2-0 loss at home to Racing Santander. Spirits were then buoyed with a last minute win against Valencia in the Copa del Rey, which saw Sevilla into the last four, unlike Sporting. They will need to feed of that energy in what will surely be a frantic encounter at El Molinon.

FORM GUIDE

Sporting Gijon

LOST 2-1 (H) Athletic Bilbao (Copa del Rey Quarter-Finals Second Leg, January 28)

LOST 5-1 (A) Getafe (Primera Division Matchday 20, January 25)

DREW 0-0 (A) Athletic Bilbao (Copa del Rey Quarter-Finals First Leg, January 22)

LOST 2-0 (A) Recreativo de Huelva (Primera Division Matchday 19, January 18)

LOST 2-1 (A) Real Valladolid (Copa del Rey Round of 16 Second Leg, January 14)

Sevilla

WON 2-1 (H) Valencia (Copa del Rey Quarter-Finals Second Leg, January 29)

LOST 2-0 (H) Racing Santander (Primera Division Matchday 20, January 25)

LOST 3-2 (A) Valencia (Copa del Rey Quarter-Finals First Leg, January 21)

WON 1-0 (H) Numancia (Primera Division Matchday 19, January 17)

WON 3-0 (A) Deportivo La Coruna (Copa del Rey Round of 16, January 14)

TEAM NEWS

Sporting Gijon

Rafael Sastre is definitely out, while Gerard remains a doubt.

Probable Starting XI: Lafuente - Canella, Neru, Jorge, Camara - Pedro, Camacho, Matabuena, Kike Mateo - Carmelo, David Barral

Sevilla

Lautaro Acosta and Federico Fazio are both out with long-term injuries, while Abdoulay Konko is doubtful.

Probable Starting XI: Palop - Squillaci, Escude, Mosquera, Navarro - Jesus Navas, Duscher, Romaric, Adriano - Luis Fabiano, Kanoute

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sporting Gijon - Five goals is an impressive haul for a midfielder, and Diego Camacho will need to continue scoring if Sporting are to avoid dropping further down the table. One of their brightest attackers, Camacho is a guaranteed source of entertainment.

Sevilla - After a slow start to the season, Koffi Romaric has settled into life at Sevilla. Charged with the large responsibility of replacing Christian Poulsen and Seydou Keita, the Ivorian is an essential cog in the Sevilla machine, stamping out the opposition's attacks, while arguing his own forwards to bomb up the pitch.

PREDICTION

This match will certainly not be a draw, which, unfortunately for Sporting, means it will be a win for Sevilla. The Andalucians have been in top form of late, and should have enough to get past the home side's disastrous defence.

Sporting Gijon 2-4 Sevilla

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Sevilla: Prieto ve cansados a algunos jugadores

La lesión de Luis Fabiano se une a la larga lista de infortunios que está sufriendo la plantilla del Sevilla desde que comenzó la temporada. El calendario es muy exigente y David Prieto reconoció que hay jugadores sevillistas que necesitan descanso para recuperarse del esfuerzo realizado.

"Algunos compañeros necesitan descanso para recuperar porque son muchos partidos seguidos pero el equipo que salga lo hará convencido de sacar un buen resultado", señaló el defensa del Sevilla.

Prieto recordó que podrán "jugar de domingo a domingo durante un mes a partir de la semana que viene" y esto "va a venir bien para que se recuperen jugadores".

Sevilla 2-1 Valencia; “Better late than Never”

First off I just wanna thank all the Valencianistas for dropping by in the first half for some heated discussion, it was fun. No hard feelings either way, it was all in the spirit of the beautiful game, I think everyone needs to drop their hostility.

But honestly what can I say? My boys never gave up and proved me as well as a lot of people wrong (just like I said they would!!).

Before the match the eerie feeling of Fenerbahçe was haunting me, we got our away goals in Istanbul but then came home, had it all set up for an easy victory, and choked. I was praying that today wouldn’t be the same as Valencia could and would punish us.

The day started off as bad as it could have with Marchena getting the opening goal in the 8th minute off some poor defending by us. I thought we were definitely in for a long night because we came out absolutely flat with no intensity at all, the Racing match was beginning to re-appear all over again.

Valencia at this point basically had one foot in the door of the semi’s, we would have needed 2 goals and right then it didn’t look possible with the way we were playing.

After their goal though Jiménez introduced Capel for Adriano who had looked a bit off the pace due to a slight injury he was carrying and hoping that Diego would inject some speed into our nonchalant side.

It took a while, but it ended up working out. On the 36th minute, Capel was fouled near the half way line, so Romaric took the inswinging freekick and found the head of Kanouté who placed it perfectly past César. The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán erupted and we were all square again.

Literally just two minutes later Fabiano was sent in by Kanouté perfectly but could only find César with his finessed shot

Sevilla 0-2 Racing; “The worst one yet”

yeah, needless to say the performance of my boys was a total joke overall. You know your team sucks when the biggest highlight of the match was an 18 year old Finnish kid coming on for his debut. But yes folks, thats about as exciting as it got for us Sevillistas last night.

Good news though, my exams are all over so my attention will be solely on this blog (seeing as I don’t have a life) and you’ll be hearing more from me from now on.

Anyway, back to the match, or lack of one.

We did start with Kanouté up front with Luis Fabiano and both Capel and Adriano on the wings because Navas was out injured. Romaric set up as the defensive midfielder and Renato sitting just behind the strikers. Fernando Navarro, Squillaci, Escudé, and Drago made up the back four which had a bad day at the office to say the least.

We started strong, applying the pressure on Racing right from the get-go, but this all changed when we gave away a stupid freekick just outside our box. Munitis swung it in onto the head of Zigic who got it on target but in stead of pushing it over the bar fumbled it in front of goal and César Navas was there to tap it in.

So just as things were looking promising and that this was going to be an easy victory for us, of course we go and complicate things by conceding such an early goal. Zigic is obviously their huge target man and Kanouté didn’t exactly mark him well, he got away much too easily.

A few minutes later Palop gathered a simple cross at Racing were attacking and threw it out to Adriano on the flank to start the counter attack, as the Brazilian was chasing it he was brought down from behind by Oscar Serrano which resulted in a questionable straight red card for the Racing midfielder. Let’s be honest here, Adriano did exaggerate that a hell of a lot and looking at the replay is should have probably on been a yellow.

With about 10 minutes left in the half we couldn’t do anything against a 10 men Racing side so we went into the break down a goal.

At the re-start Jiménez took off Escudé for Chevantón in hopes that we would exploit their weakened lineup with 3 strikers now on the pitch. Apparently it wasn’t too successful as 5 minutes later we gave away another freekick in a similar spot and of course who got on the end of it? Zigic. Now it’s hard to ask a striker to play defensively but it’s not rocket science really. Just stand in front of him so he can’t get the open header or flick on, which is exactly what he did, touched it with ease past Palop.

Fabiano had numerous chances to score, but it definitely was not his day, he couldn’t hit a barn door if it was right in front of him.

Shortly after Pukki was brought on for Drago and the crowd went crazy. I don’t know what it is about this kid but we’ve been waiting for so long for him to finally get his Sevilla debut. It’s a shame really that he got a perfect opportunity to score but hit the keeper, none the less, this was definitely the moment of the match from my perspective. I think it’s just something special when you know you have a player who loves the club and wants to be there. When he first arrived to Sevilla Atlético from FC KooTeePee (I’m not making this shit up) in his home country of Finland he was so ecstatic to be here and it’s not often that you sign players like that, let’s face it, more times that not, people are in it for the money, Teemu on the other hand, saw it was a real opportunity.

He really did have the best opportunity of the match but like I said, hit it straight at the keeper. He couldn’t believe it as he bit the fringe of his jersey and looked to the heavens in shock. Poor kid.

That’s about as close as we came though because the final whistle blew shortly after leaving us empty handed and rightfully so. We played awful, there’s no excuses for the way we performed, the players just simply didn’t want it.

We have some serious problems to address because there’s no excuses for not being able to score a single goal after being up by one man for over 55 minutes.

Jiménez’ tactics are horrible, I don’t know what it is but I think the players and fans have all lost faith in him, we’ve dropped far too many points, much too often this year. It will be interesting to see what happens at the end of the season because right now I can’t see him being sacked as it would have too much of an emotional impact on the team to change him at this point in the season.

It’s clear that we need some new faces in the team because right now we definitely do not have what it takes to push higher in the table and compete, we’re stagnating at that 2/3 league spot.

What kills me the most is that Real Mierda is now ahead of us, I can’t express my hate for them enough. They play shit, and still manage to beat Depor. Whatever, thats luck, surely the “honeymoon period” under Juande Ramos can’t last much longer and we can expect to see their typical Schuster-esq form soon.

The good news is that Villarreal drew a stubborn Osasuna and Valencia lost to a resilient Mallorca which leaves us quite comfortably in third place.

We now look ahead to Thursday when we play Valencia at home in the second leg of the Copa del Rey. It’s a simple situation really, we’re down 3-2 but got those 2 crucial away goals, we need to go all out for it and try and get a couple early goals because I don’t want to see us holding on and playing a defensive setup, we’ve seen what happens when we try to do that, we allow the pressure to mount on us and eventually concede. Although we know Valencia is some tough opposition, there’s no reason that us, a team ahead of them in the table, shouldn’t be able to beat them.

you tube Sevilla

Valencia v Sevilla Preview; With the Kids?

So today we take a trip to the ever-historic Mastalla, probably the nicest fútbol stadium in all of Spain (in my opinion anyway). We take on a Valencia side that is having a decent season but of late has been pretty inconsistent, of course this is no reason to take them lightly though.

This clash is going to be probably the most exciting out of the four quarter final matches. I mean just look at it, the winners of the Copa over the past two years are going head-to-head. Valencia of course with their victory last year and ours two seasons ago, in which both of us coincidentally enough, beat Getafe.

I really can’t call this one, its a tricky fixture and I don’t think it’s going to be high scoring, thats for sure. When we played them in the league earlier this year it was an extremely tight match and our defenses took centre stage in a thrilling 0-0 draw. I think there will definitely be some goals to show for tomorrow however and whoever gets the first one will probably win.

So as the title says, tomorrow we will have quite a few new faces in the squad as we’ve called up some of our “kids” from Sevilla Atlético for this encounter. Finnish striking sensation Pukki, Argentinean forward Armenteros and Spanish midfielder Cordero were all called up into the squad for the match because Drago and Duscher are back in Nervión, one with a slight knock, and one with a fever. Good news though as Palop is back after serving his one match ban and will get the start between the sticks meaning Vargas will be sent back down to Sevilla Atlético.

I don’t know about our kids playing a part in this match because in reality I can’t see us taking a significant lead, although with us, who knows, we’ve become so unpredictable this season I never know what’s going to happen. I’d love to see Pukki as he’s the top scorer on Sevilla Atlético and we could really use some goals this year but now that Chevantón is back I don’t think we will see him.

There is some bad news though as Freddie Kanouté is still nursing that slight injury he picked up against Numancia where he went off in agony holding his shoulder. He’s included in the squad that traveled to Valencia but is doubtful to start meaning it will be Fabiano and Chevantón - no complaints from me there.

Our defense has been second best to only Barça this year and I’m certain that if we can contain David Villa, David Silva, and Mata or Joaquín we will have a much better chance to win.

I predict a 1-0 or 2-1 either way, whoever gets that first goal will win it. Personally I would be satisfied with a draw going back home, but if we can take a lead, no matter by how many goals back, I would be more than happy. Either way, don’t expect anything less than an amazing match

you tube Sevilla

SEVILLA 1 - 0 Numancia; “Quality not quantity”

So my prediction was a bit off to say the least. I really thought we were going to go mental and absolutely crush Numancia. I mean, our form, our strikers, our defense, our midfield, everything about us over the past week has been second to none. I really thought it was due for us to blow someone out. Then again, we have really struggled against the 2 other newly promoted sides we played this year losing 1-0 at home to Málaga and just about edging Sporting Gijón 4-3. Today was no different, we didn’t struggle per sé, but anyone that just saw the scoreline and not the game would think otherwise. I knew the match wasn’t going to be easy, remember - This is the same team, the only team, to beat Barça this year in the league.

We basically completely dominated the whole match, from start to finish we were not going to be outdone by the visitors from Castilla y León. We’ve learned from our mistakes, never take these newly promoted sides lightly, they want the victory more than we do, they have more to prove after all, their hopes of staying alive in the Primera División are relying upon it.

Today’s lineup for us was a bit different. Luisfa and Freddie started up top, Navas and Capel on their wings, Renato as the attacking midfielder, Duscher - the opposite. Young David Prieto and Escudé held down the back line while Serbian international Dragutinovic was at left back and Colombian international Mosquera (who we all thought was going to be sold) started at right back. Between the sticks was up and comer Javi Varas who replaced the suspended Andrés Palop.
We started the game with loads of energy, with Navas and Capel bursting down the wings and putting in their dangerous crosses as usual. Nothing came out of it but we were the better team by miles. Numancia had a couple chances but Varas, who was absolutely solid throughout the match kept the score level at 0-0.

The first half was like Christmas Eve - cards being given out everywhere. It did however, end scoreless. Before the second half began Romaric was brought in for Duscher who had a relatively quiet night seeing as there wasn’t much to do, and Squillaci was brought in for David Prieto who made a couple little mistakes that lead to some harmless Numancia breaks.

The second half though is when the drama really unfolded. 5 minutes after the re-start, Cisma was given his second yellow card and Numancia was now down to 10 men. After this both sides were going at each other with everything, tensions were high, and 2 minutes later Juanra went in with the highest two-footed tackle (on Capel) I’ve ever seen in my life, how he escaped without even getting a yellow card at least is way beyond me… Capel went off to the sideline in what appeared to be a bad injury but then again I realized that Diego does over-dramatize everything. He wasn’t okay, but he did play on. What added insult to injury was the Numancia player that went over to Capel while he was laying on the floor holding his leg (like he so often does!!) and slapped his face a few times. Now I’m not talking full out assault, but it was a bitch slap let’s just say. Shocking stuff.

On the 60 minute mark I was scared as Kanouté had to be substituted because of a shoulder injury he picked up on the previous play. My boy Chevantón (yeahyeah!) replaced him and made an instant impact when he just missed the end of Navas’ cross by mere milimetres. 15 minutes after this Fabiano showed us exactly why he had all of Europe’s biggest clubs lining up for his signature. He threw himself at a Navas cross and did a “bicycleta” missing the net by no more than a priest misses Sunday mass.
It didn’t matter though as in the 81st minute Navas once again (as always) put in a perfect cross on which Fabiano, Cheva, Capel and Renato were waiting to pounce on, and the latter of them actually doing so and scoring. It was the Brazilian’s eighth goal this season - a team best, and he picked a perfect time to get it too. Just as it looked like the team was going to get booed off the pitch again at the end of the match, Renato got the goal that put the pain aside. The Sánchez Pizjuán exploded as all the Sevillistas knew the match was over. When the final whistle was blown, that was the re-assurance.

After this somewhat unconvincing victory at home we are second (pending Real’s result tomorrow anyway) and in that vital direct Champions League spot. We also now look ahead to Wednesday’s clash with Valencia when we take a trip down to the ever-historic Mastalla for the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. This is the tricky part, both of us are playing some pretty decent football and it will be a highly entertaining fixture, no doubt about that one

you tube Sevilla

BREAKING TRANSFER NEWS and Team News/Updates

So over the past few weeks there have been some transfer rumours floating around Nervión about a few players possibly leaving The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and even a couple linked in joining us in Andalucía.

It’s actually been relatively quiet, at least more so than previous seasons when many of our big name players were being linked with some of Europe’s giants (Alves to Barça, Fabiano to ManU, etc..). This year however besides the rumours in Italy about Kanouté and Fabiano being linked to Inter Milan (which was obviously all false) not many things have been said.

BREAKING NEWS:

Tom de Mul has obviously had some difficulties settling into Sevilla, not because of the city, or the language, or any personal problem, its merely because he’s not playing as much as he’d like to. Personally, I really like this kid, he plays his heart out when he gets the chance but when you have Navas on the team, it’s not exactly an easy thing to get ahead of him in the starting XI. This season Navas has been the most consistent performer and this hasn’t helped De Mul’s cause at all. Because of this there’s been rumours about loaning De Mul back to his old club, Ajax Amsterdam, but since these rumours have been put to rest. However, today it was announced that Racing Genk of the Belgium Jupiler League has signed De Mul on 6 month loan keeping him until the end of the season. Tom recently in an interview said that he doesn’t want to leave El Capital but rather fight for his place show his qualities. I’d like to see him stay in Nervión but I understand he’s not getting first team football and a player of his potential should be able to in a lower league. Now that he is loaned out to Racing Genk, hopefully he’ll come back with a bit more confidence and be a solid backup to Navas.

RUMOURS - OUT:
A couple weeks ago Mosquera was involved with a serious bust up with a reporter that saw the Colombian get violent during a press conference. Ever since this incident, Mosquera hasn’t played or even been in the squad, he’s apologized but apparently to no avail. Personally I never liked Mosquera, he’s clumsy, slow, and not even a solid defender to solve our right-back problems. Over the past week he’s been linked to River Plate of Argentina. It would be a loan deal because apparently the Argentinean club are suffering of huge financial problems. This would also be beneficial to us at Sevilla because like De Mul, maybe a lack of playing time is hurting Mosquera’s confidence and we’re not really seeing his best form. The River Plate management has acknowledged the deal is possible, but said he’s waiting to hear from Jiménez and Monchi for updates on the Colombian’s situation. Earlier this week too, reports in France have suggested that Paris Saint Germain better known as PSG are interested in securing Mosquera’s services, but in an interview, Del Nido rejected these claims and said the only club they’re in contact with is River Plate.

Sevilla's Luis Fabiano Out For Three Weeks

Luis Fabiano will miss the Sevilla derby next month after he was ruled out for three weeks today.AS reports that the Brazilian suffered the injury in the Valencia game last night, when he collided with Emiliano Moretti.Fabiano was taken off in the dying moments of the match, and Sevilla have confirmed he has an injury to his left knee and will be out for three weeks.Aside from the big clash with Real Betis, he will also miss games against Sporting Gijón, Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey, and a Brazil friendly, which he was called up for.The news will be a blow to Manolo Jiménez, who has rarely had a full squad to choose from this season, and will now, more than likely, have to play with just Freddy Kanouté up front.Whilst Fabiano is out, his fellow countryman, Adriano, should be able to play against Sporting this weekend, despite having to be taken off in the game last night.The Brazilian winger was substituted with heavy legs in the Copa Del Rey clash, but he should train normally today.Sevilla need to win this weekend as they continue to chase down Real Madrid and Barcelona, the latter of whom they are now 15 points behind

Sevilla v Valencia Copa del Rey Preview; “Do or Die”

Tomorrow is the most important match of the season, hands down. This isn’t any championship match, nor is it one to stay in the Primera División, it’s just one of those make or break games.
Let’s face it, our run of form was pretty damn good until we took a bit of a stumble at the Mastalla which was perfectly okay, I mean we were always going to come back home and smash them anyway, but the game on the weekend against Racing, oh God… Horrible, absolutely horrible, I can’t describe in any other words what was probably our worst game ever.
No player playing the way our boys did against Racing should ever be able to wear the rojiblanco, they were a complete disgrace to Sevilla Fútbol Club.
The Copa del Rey is the only thing we have left and if we don’t win it our season is considered a failure. We aren’t going to win the league, Barça’s already done that, this is our only shot at silverware, and to show that we’re a big club, we need silverware, plain and simple.
Jiménez has been hard done by critics in recent weeks, but maybe rightfully so, we’re a top four club, anything less than a win against Osasuna, Mallorca, and Racing Santander are definitely unacceptable. It was rumoured that now Spartak Moscow coach, Michael Laudrup was in Nervión and that he would replace Manolo. That was right before we won those three matches against Deportivo la Coruña in a matter of 1 week and everything suddenly seemed back to normal. I probably wouldn’t advise sacking Señor Jiménez now anyway, but if we don’t get the result tomorrow, he better know it’s coming to him.
Knowing all of this, Jiménez has selected a strange squad to face Valencia at home.
Palop, Javi Varas, Mosquera, Squillaci, Fernando Navarro, Escudé, Adriano, Dragutinovic, Duscher, Romaric, Renato, Cordero, Jesús Navas, Capel, Perotti, Kanoute and Luis Fabiano were selected by Jiménez. Not included in the squad are Chevantón, Maresca (probably due to his comments earlier this week), David Prieto, and Crespo.
Good to see a couple Sevilla Atlético boys in there although I’m not exactly sure this is the time to play them. What surprises me most is no Cheva, I mean you would think that Manolo would have taken his experience instead of Perotti who hasn’t played for the first team before. This is exactly what I mean though, his tactics are so strange, no one ever knows what he’s going to do next. Also strange to see Pukki wasn’t included after his pretty solid debut, would have definitely loved to see him get another run out.
Some good news for us obviously as both Jesús Navas and Konko have been declared match-fit but the latter will not play. However, this will still give us a huge boost as Navas always does down the right flank.
In all honestly I expect my boys to go out and prove everyone (including myself) wrong, we’ll come out on top, I can feel it. The scoreline won’t be as high as in the first leg but I think it is clearly evident that the players will have been shook up from that absolute garbage display at home to Racing on the weekend and will want to prove their worth tomorrow.
It’s all or nothing really, this is all we have left, we lose, that’s our season right there. Sure we will still qualify for Champions League, but what is that compared to winning a major trophy?
The season starts or ends tomorrow, simple as.
¡¡Vamos mi SevillaVamos Campeón!!