Sevilla FC

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Sevilla

Full name

Sevilla Fútbol Club

Nickname(s)

Sevillistas
Rojiblancos (Red-Whites)
Palanganas (Washbowl)

Founded

October 15, 1905

Ground

Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán,
Seville, Andalusia, Spain
(Capacity 45,500)

Chairman

Head Coach

League

La Liga, 3rd





Home colours





Away colours

Sevilla Fútbol Club is a Spanish professional football club that plays in the top-flight Spanish La Liga championship. The club was established on October 14, 1905, making it the oldest football club from Seville, and the second oldest from Andalusia. The club is the reigning holder of three major trophies: the UEFA Cup, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup.

On October 15, 1905, the Civil Governor of Seville officially announced the creation of Sevilla F.C. The first president of the club was D. José Luis Gallegos. In 1908, the team played its first official game, against Recreativo Huelva. In 1914, the team won its first Copa de Sevilla (Seville Cup). In 1935, Seville won the first of its Copa del Rey trophies, beating CE Sabadell 3-0. After the Spanish Civil War, Sevilla won the first Copa del Generalísimo (the second Spanish Cup win of the club), beating Racing de Ferrol by a score of 6-2.

The 1939-40 season also brought Sevilla very close to its first La Liga championship. The league had just returned to action after the Spanish Civil War, and Sevilla had some astounding games, beating FC Barcelona 11-1, Valencia CF 10-3 and Hércules CF 8-3. However, in the last game of the season, Sevilla could only manage to tie Hércules 3-3, thus giving the title to Atlético Aviación. In 1942-1943, Sevilla took second place in the league again but fell to third the next year. After a transitional year, in 1945-1946, Sevilla won its first and only La Liga title, due mainly to the mercurial talent (striker) Oliver Ward, who managed to notch up an impressive 29 goal tally. In 1948, Sevilla captured its last Copa del Rey for the next 59 years, defeating Celta Vigo 4-1 at Chamartin Stadium.

Sevilla opened up its new Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in 1958 with a loss to its eternal rival (Real Betis, see below). ^[1] In the sixties, Sevilla started a decline to mid-table and after the 1967/68 season, Sevilla was sent down to the Spanish second division but returned to the top flight a year later. ^[2] ^[3] After another a brief drop and return in the early seventies, Sevilla remained firmly in the middle of the table until the 1997/98, when the club was sent down again. ^[4] Another return to La Liga was followed immediately by a last place finish in 1999/2000, in which Sevilla managed to scrape together only 28 points on the season. ^[5]

Under new coach Joaquín Caparrós, Sevilla won the second division title in 2000/01. ^[6] New team president José María del Nido brought fiscal order to Seville, selling its homegrown superstar José Antonio Reyes to Arsenal FC in January 2004 for a £10.5m fee. ^[7] In that season (03/04), not only did Sevilla reach the semifinals of the Copa del Rey after more than 20 years (where it fell 2-1 to Real Madrid), but the team managed to qualify for Europe by placing sixth in the league and earning a ticket for the 2004/2005 UEFA Cup. ^[8]

Having finished 6th in the 2004-2005 season, Sevilla secured a place in the first round of the 2005-2006 UEFA Cup. After advancing through the first round and the group stage of competition, Seville beat Russian side FC Lokomotiv Moscow ^[9] to advance to the round of 16. On March 9, Sevilla FC lost 1-0 to French club Lille OSC in the first leg of their home-and-away match, ^[10] but on March 15, at home in Seville's 50th game in European competition, Sevilla won 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. ^[11] In these matches, which took place against FC Zenit on March 30, 2006 and April 6, 2006, Sevilla beat Zenit 5-2 on aggregate and advanced to the semifinals. ^[12] In the semis, Seville knocked out the strong German side Schalke 04 after 180 goalless minutes, with Antonio Puerta scoring the decisive goal in the extra time of the return leg. ^[13]

On May 10, 2006, in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, Sevilla FC broke a 58 year drought on trophies and became the first Andalusian team to win a European final. Sevilla defeated Middlesbrough F.C. 4-0 in Eindhoven to win the their first UEFA Cup, in the largest UEFA cup victory in history. One goal came from Luis Fabiano, two from Enzo Maresca, and one by Frédéric Kanouté ^[14]. At that time, Sevilla was the only European team which had played in the three major competitions (the European Cup, Cup Winner's Cup and UEFA Cup) and had never lost any game (out of 27) when playing on their home stadium.

Having convincingly won the 2005-2006 UEFA Cup, Sevilla booked a place in 2006 UEFA Super Cup, a one-off game which pits the UEFA Cup winners and the Champions League winners of the previous year against one another. At the Stade Louis II in Monaco on August 25, 2006, Sevilla beat the Champions League title-holders, and La Liga Champions FC Barcelona 3-0 -- thanks an early goal by the Brazilian Renato, a goal just before the half by Kanouté, and a penalty converted by Maresca in the second half stoppage time -- to pick up its second European trophy (their second in three months).^[15]

Sevilla FC finished 5th in La Liga in the 2005-2006 season, and by virtue of this (and also by having won the competition the previous year), Sevilla qualified for the first round of the 2006-2007 UEFA Cup. Seville won that matchup against the Greek side Atromitos and proceeded into the group stage of the competition, where the Andalusian side finished second in the group of five. In the knockout stage that followed this, Sevilla emerged victorious against Steaua Bucharest, Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham Hotspur, and Osasuna to qualify for its second consecutive UEFA Cup Final. Sevilla almost didn't survive the last 16 clash with Shaktar Donetsk, in which Sevilla's keeper Andrés Palop scored off a header in injury time to force extra-time against the Ukrainian side. Sevilla ended up winning the game, beating Shaktar 5-4 on aggregate.^[16]

On May 16, 2007, in the 2007 UEFA Cup Final held in Glasgow, Scotland, Sevilla FC defeated fellow Spanish side RCD Espanyol on penalties for its second consecutive UEFA Cup title. Sevilla became only the second team to defend the UEFA Cup title, following Real Madrid, who achieved this feat in 1985 and 1986.

After almost sixty years without having raised a Spanish trophy, Sevilla won the 2006-2007 Copa Del Rey, beating Getafe 1-0 in the final. A goal by Frederic Kanoute in the 12th minute was enough to end Getafe's surprising run in the Copa del Rey.^[17]

Victory in the Copa del Rey qualified Sevilla for the 2007 Supercopa de España (Spanish Super Cup), a two-legged (home and away) final in which the winners of La Liga play the winners of the Copa del Rey. In August 2007, Sevilla played La Liga champions Real Madrid. Sevilla took a 1-0^[18] lead from the home leg, played on August 12, 2007, and the teams played the return leg in Madrid the next week. Seville won this match 5-3^[19], giving them a 6-3 aggregate victory over Real Madrid, and the Supercopa de España^[20] -- the team's fifth trophy in 15 months.^[21]

On the first day of the Spanish League 2007/2008 season, Sevilla were playing Getafe CF when Antonio Puerta began walking towards his goal area, fell to the ground, placed his hands on his knees,and collapsed onto his back. His teammates and Sevilla medical staff came to aid him to make sure of him not swallowing his tongue. He was revived and substituted. In the dressing room afterwards, he collapsed again. He was hospitalized and after 3 days in hospital (in which he was in a 'critical condition' and his health was 'unfavourable') reports came from the Spanish media that Puerta had died. These reports were later confirmed. As a mark of respect for his passing, players from Seville and AC Milan printed "Puerta" on their shirts during the European Super Cup match on 31st August 2007. Furthermore, as Milan went on to win the match 3-1, no jubilation was done as a sign of respect for the grief sustained by Sevilla, as the win was dedicated to Puerta.Around the 16th minute of every match, Sevilla fans raise the noise levels rise as they are determined not to allow Puerta to be forgotten.^[22]^[23]

On October 26, 2007, Juande Ramos the manager of Sevilla resigned from his duties in order to join the North London outfit Tottenham Hotspur, the English press claimed that Ramos has already agreed to a four-year deal with the English club worth €36m (£25 million) which could a prove a record deal, Marcos Alvarez the Fitness coach of the Andalusian club has also resigned from his job, and Manolo Jimenez the head coach of Sevilla Atlético became the caretaker manager of Sevilla.^[24]

In 1909, disagreement among some majority of the board of directors led to a split from which the Betis team was born; later in 1914 Real Betis Balompié was founded from the union of Betis FC and Sevilla Balompié. The board had wanted to hire professional players, but in Sevilla none were paid, so it was decided to create a new team.

On October 8, 1915, the first Sevilla-Betis derby took place, ending with a 4-3 Sevilla victory. The cross-town rivalry is considered one of the most violent derbies in Spain. As of the 2006/2007 season, 77 Sevilla derbies have been played in La Liga, of which Sevilla FC won 35, Real Betis won 26, and 16 ended in a draw.

During a quarterfinal match of the Copa del Rey on February 28, 2007 at Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, the game had to be suspended in the 60th minute due to a Betis aficionado throwing an object at former Sevilla manager Juande Ramos' head, subsequently knocking him out. Ramos had to be removed from the pitch on a stretcher and the Sevilla footballers abandoned the pitch in protest. Betis were condemned to their next 3 home matches being played away from the Manuel Ruz de Lopera stadium in Seville by the Spanish Football Federation.

Sevilla is an unusual football club. The club is owned by the fans, with the stocks distributed across a few major holders and a large base of fans. The club supports one of the most renowned training academies in the country, which has produced many famous players.

Sevilla FC has also promoted innovations such as a school of sport psychologists, who provide support for the younger as well as the professional players, and also more recently sports nutrition and medicine. Another recent success for Sevilla FC has been the establishment of its own radio station, "Sevilla FC Radio" (the first of its kind in Spain), their own local tv channel, "SFC TV", as well as other official media.

Sánchez Pizjuán stadium

Sevilla FC's stadium is named after its former president Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and has a spectator capacity of 45,500. The stadium is located in the neighborhood of Nervión. Sevilla's performance in La Liga in the last few seasons has led to an increase in the number of season ticket holders, making it necessary to create a waiting list for tickets.

The team wears white, with red-striped sleeves and black socks, for home games and red, with white-striped sleeves,for away games.

The most loyal fans of the team (those who stand in of the north end of the stadium) call themselves Biris. They got their name from Alhaji Momodo Nije, who was nicknamed Biri-Biri. Alhaji, a Gambian player known for his intensity and mercurial nature, was so popular with the Sevilla fans that the most loyal fans named their cheering section (and thus, themselves) after him.

Before the Spanish national competitions started, Sevilla also won 17 Andalusian Championships, and were crowned twice as Champions of Sevilla.

La Liga (1): 1946

Copa del Rey (4): 1935, 1939, 1948, 2007

Spanish Super Cup (1): 2007

UEFA Cup (2): 2005-06, 2006-07

UEFA Super Cup (1): 2006

As of 19 October 2007. Members of the first team squad are numbered 1-25, with reserve team players playing for the first team numbered 26 and onwards.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Andrés Palop
2	DF	Javi Navarro (captain)
3	DF	Ivica Dragutinović
4	DF	Daniel Alves
5	MF	Duda
6	DF	Adriano
7	MF	Jesús Navas
8	MF	Christian Poulsen
9	FW	Aleksandr Kerzhakov
10	FW	Luís Fabiano
11	MF	Renato
12	FW	Frédéric Kanouté

No.	Position	Player
13	GK	Morgan de Sanctis
14	DF	Julien Escudé
15	DF	Aquivaldo Mosquera
17	MF	Diego Capel
18	MF	José Luis Martí
19	FW	Javier Chevantón
20	MF	Tom De Mul
21	MF	Seydou Keita
22	FW	Arouna Koné
23	DF	Khalid Boulahrouz
24	DF	Andreas Hinkel
25	MF	Enzo Maresca

see also: Sevilla Atlético

No.	Position	Player
26	DF	José Angel Crespo
27	MF	Alejandro Alfaro
28	DF	Federico Fazio
29	GK	Pablo Vargas
30	DF	David Prieto
31	DF	Lolo
32	DF	Manuel Redondo
33	MF	Antonio Vera

No.		Position	Player
-		MF	Jesuli
-		MF	Fernando Sales

Main article: Retired numbers in football (soccer)

16 – Antonio Puerta, Left Midfielder, Wing Back (2004–2007).^[25]

In the Spanish league only three non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team. Those with European ancestry can claim a passport from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim a Spanish passport by playing in Spain for 3 years.

Players from the ACP countries—countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement—are not counted against non-EU quotas, due to the Kolpak ruling.

Final statistics for the La Liga season 2006/2007.

Top Scores:
- Kanoute - 21 goals
- Luis Fabiano - 10 goals
- Kerzhakov - 5 goals
- Chevanton - 4 goals
- Renato - 4 goals
Top Goalkeepers
- Palop - 32 goals conceded In 34 Matches
- Cobeño - 3 goals conceded In 5 Matches

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Notes
1999-00	1D	20	38	5	13	20	42	67	28				relegated
1 season at lower level
2001-02	1D	8	38	14	11	13	51	40	53	last 64
2002-03	1D	10	38	13	11	14	38	39	50	quarter-final
2003-04	1D	6	38	15	10	13	56	45	55	semifinal
2004-05	1D	6	38	17	9	12	44	41	60	quarter-final	UC	last 16
2005-06	1D	5	38	20	8	10	54	39	68	last 16	UC	winner
2006-07	1D	3	38	21	8	9	64	35	71	winner	UC	winner