SEVILLA: OPPOSITION VIEW

Ahead of our first pre-season friendly in Portugal on Saturday evening against Sevilla we spoke with Sevilla fan, Chris Lail, to see how things are going for the Sevillistas.

Last season, Sevilla narrowly avoided relegation, surviving by only one point. Was this a shock?

Man, I was hoping I never had to think of the 2024/2025 season again and here you are out of the gate opening up those old wounds! I don’t think anyone was really shocked. Our team is a mess right now due to a lot of years of mismanagement. Financially, we are in such a dire situation so decisions were made to shed as much salary as possible and sell our top goal scorer in Youssef En-Neysri. Sevilla also lost a lot of veteran leadership on the team in Sergio Ramos, Marcos Acuña, Lucas Ocampos, Oliver Torres in the summer of 2024 and then club legend Jesus Navas in December. The FO also failed to address what we all knew was a shaky defence. They tried to address some of the attacking issues in the January window, but injuries limited the impact of the new signees. Most of the signees had very limited impact and resulted in another sacked manager. Until we fix our debt and front office issues, I don’t think anything will shock this fanbase anymore unless it’s on the winning side.

How’s your transfer window been so far and what positions are still in need of strengthening?

It’s been a slow start. The team replaced both the sporting director and manager in the offseason in hopes of creating a new direction. It’s so desperate at the club that the new sporting director use to work at our hated rivals, Betis. The new manager, Matías Almeyda, a former Sevilla player, comes over from AEK Athens with little fanfare. All the new arrivals this summer are on a free and the club has to sell in order to afford to register the new folks so it’s going to be an interesting offseason. I am a bit excited about the left back we signed on a free from Toulouse, Chilean, Gabriel Suazo. He’s a national teamer and looks to be a provider. In some ways, we have other transfers too from last season that didn’t get many matches because of injuries. The hope is that Akor Adams can provide some much needed firepower up front.

What are the ambitions for this season?

This clubs’ ambitions are always to find a way into the European spots; however, is that realistic considering the last two mediocre seasons? Probably not, so finishing mid table, solidly safe from the drop zone is goal #1.

Who’s your best player?

For now, it is our right winger and top scorer, Dodi Lukébakio. I say for now, because there is a good chance that he leaves the club before August if the right deal comes along. Another shout is centre back, Loïc Badé, who is always rumoured for an exit.

What are your thoughts on the new head coach, Matías Almeyda?

Although he’s a former Sevilla player, I think he’s a bit of an unknown to most fans as far as his coaching style and abilities go. It’s hard to think he’s going to be great considering our recent history of having a manager carousel.

How has former Sunderland loanee Adnan Janzaj performed in Spain? He was poor for us but it looks like he might have turned his career around.

I don't know if I would say he has turned his career around. He's only played a little over 433 minutes for Sevilla over two seasons. He was on loan last season to Las Palmas in La Liga and had a decent spell scoring 2 goals and 1 assist in over 600 minutes of action. He continues to struggle with injuries and his work ethic sometimes gets questioned. I'm sure we will be looking to move him again this season, his transfer in was a really strange one to be honest.

With that said, if you are asking for him back, scratch everything above as he is the best player ever and you should give us 2 million for his immediate transfer!

What do you think of Sunderland’s transfer window so far?

Just took a peek over on Transfermarkt because I really don’t follow clubs other than Sevilla. I will say this, I wish our club had the ability to drop cash like that. One hundred million spent is more than Sevilla have spent in every season added up since 21/22.

How do you think Sunderland will fare in the Premier League?

First of all, congratulations on the promotion back. Like I said, outside of Sevilla and La Liga, I really couldn’t talk about other teams or leagues. Historically, it looks like you have finished around 14th or 15th, so I will say 15th. Hopefully, you have a good spell of staying up.

Score prediction for the game?

I’m really hoping Sevilla will start to appear like a football squad this friendly. The last match out against Birmingham was a mash up of B squad players and first teamers. I hope to see more of our internationals back in the lineup. If that happens, I think we still lose 2-3.

Thanks for having me and best of luck in the season. If anyone wishes to learn more about Sevilla FC’s English Speaking fanbase, come on over to Monchismen.com