Anyone looking at the La Liga standings immediately sees an anomaly: Sevilla is closer to relegation than to the European cups, and the title is out of the question. How and why? How the multiple Europa League winners ended up struggling in mid-table mediocrity, even dreading relegation? What happened?
Sevilla is what bettors call a falling knife. A team that’s falling apart, but if you don’t get it right, you’ll cut yourself, you’ll lose. Last result: a 1-1 draw with Vallecano after leading from the 30th minute. No use. Sevilla had an absolutely disastrous first half of the season, and the explanations lie in the wrong sportive decisions and the positive balance sheet. Last season, Sevilla had the best defence in Spain, with two exceptional central defenders, Kounde and Diego Carlos. Monchi, the manager who is the architect of Sevilla’s great teams of the last decade, sold them both. The club made a lot of money, but the team found itself with an impossible-to-fill hole in defence. Sevilla has been shaking all season to opponents’ attacks (as they did on Sunday against Rayo, who are not exactly an attacking force). It has become vulnerable and capable of conceding goals from anyone, anywhere.
A grey area
However, the whole Rayo match heralded it, the dark period is coming to an end. A grey period is beginning. Sevilla is recovering, it has still found a rhythm, mistakes have been understood, the defence has been strengthened. The season is compromised, and the knife is no longer in free fall. Whoever bets against Sevilla from now on is going the wrong highway. As I said: the Andalusians have entered a rather grey area.
Instead, Valencia continues its poor run. They’ve been without a compass for years and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if we’ll see them in a year or two in the Segunda Division.
Valencia parted ways with Gattuso, bringing in a coach who’s a specialist in extreme relegation-savings, but that’s the short term. Valencia has no horizon, no prospects, the club lacks confidence that the team can be formidable again. Before losing on the pitch, all the teams in the world lose first in the imagination and then in the dressing room. Valencia needs the confidence that it can bounce back. The squad is better than a Segunda team, but a team without morale is a team without a head. If Valencia could get their confidence back, they’ll get their energy back, and if they get their energy back, they’ll get results. If not, whoever bets against Valencia will make good money.
