When esteemed Sporting Director Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo told RadioMarca that his club had changed the profile of player they were looking for, it was meant to be a sign of progress. It was supposed to cement the idea that Sevilla as a club had changed course and become a different beast – something altogether bigger and scarier. Sevilla were seeking to make the big three a four. Within that, was the strategic error committed ahead of this season by Julen Lopetegui and, whisper it, Monchi.
The problem for fans and pundits is that Sevilla have been incredibly hard to measure this season. With nine games to go, they sit nine points off the league leaders – exactly the gap last season. Yet this season Sevilla have been the closest challengers to league leaders and they’re also two places higher than where they finished last time. A title challenge seemed a realistic possibility this year rather than a fleeting hope.
That hasn’t stopped them being booed off at the end of their latest draw with Real Sociedad. As it stands, they are earning fewer points per match than last season and if you dare consider something as nebulous as perceptions – they look worse than last season.
A large part of the problem and the reason for never converting their possible title challenge into a reality has been injuries. There’s no doubt that they’ve been hit with key long-term absences in Youssef En-Nesyri, Fernando Reges, Jesus Navas, Suso and Erik Lamela. Luck has not been on their side by any means.
The problem is, Monchi and Lopetegui should have seen this coming. To call it purely bad luck is a disservice to their significant intelligence. Sevilla have by far their oldest squad in the last ten years, with an average age of 28.12 – the closest to that being 26.52. That was the only other occasion they exceeded the 26 barrier in the last decade. Four of their starting eleven – Ivan Rakitic, Papu Gomez, Navas and Fernando – are aged 34 and above. It’s no surprise they weren’t able to be pushed to the limit for a second consecutive season.
The style that Sevilla play has got them to this point. It’s based on a maturity and total physical sacrifice for the unit. Yet the constant necessity of playing 100 minutes in every match, straining the sinews to deliver a single-goal victory weighs heavy both physically and mentally. Tension and intensity are desirable, but Lopetegui has demanded both to the point of exhaustion for his squad.
Prioritising more mature players like Lamela and Suso over Bryan Gil had some merits but it also ages an already experienced squad. It negates the value of youth and the competition it brings within a squad. With a younger, hungrier squad, Sevilla might have fought through the fatigue – they would have suffered injuries but perhaps not been handicapped to this extent. As it is, they’ll probably meet expectations. But that’s not what football, or Sevilla for that matter, are about.