Sevilla are facing an intriguing season ahead, following a disastrous campaign that ended with them winning the Europa League. Now under Jose Luis Mendilibar, they will be in the Champions League for a fourth season in a row.
It was an ageing side that won the competition, defeating Roma in the final, with the likes of Jesus Navas winning another Europa League 16 years after his first. In Ivan Rakitic, they have another veteran that was told during the first half of their season that he was no longer good enough. Yet the 35-year-old was once again imperious come the latter stages of the competition.
Rakitic is absolutely at home at the club, where he met his wife.
“If someone had told me when I arrived in Seville that all this would have happened to me I would have said “no way, not even in a film”. I have felt an incredible connection from the start; I met my wife on my first day here and have been able to bond with the fans and connect with the traditions. I love walking around the city with my girls and even got married in the cathedral,” he told UEFA.com.
“I can’t claim that I was born Sevillano or a Sevilla fan, but I’ll die one. I have found my place here, and everything happens for a reason.”
Rakitic and Sevilla, will at least in theory, be trying to avoid the Europa League this season, setting their goal at qualification from the group stage this year. He points out that their route to the final was far from easy last year (Fenerbahce, Manchester United, Juventus, Roma).
“With the teams we had to play, it could have easily been a Champions League knockout round. Then in the final we came up against one of the best coaches in the world and in the history of football [Jose Mourinho]. But the team has an incredible desire to compete and win this title. Ultimately we deserved to be champions.”
However there is little doubt that something changes when Sevilla get into the knockout stages of the Europa League. Every time they have reached the Round of 16, they have won it.
“There is a special kind of atmosphere when Sevilla play in the Europa League. We say it is ‘our’ competition and there are some who say there is a special connection. It’s a beautiful thing.”
Mendilibar and Sevilla already have plenty of work to do this season, as they come into it needing to trim down the size of their squad.
