Sevilla all at sea as Montella sees the door

Club struggling to adjust to life in the post-Monchi era

Joseph Sexton @josephsbcn

If Barcelona securing a 25th La Liga title in A Coruña ranked as the weekend’s least surprising news, then events a day before and 1,000 kilometres to the south must have run it a close second. Following Friday’s limp 2-1 defeat at 17th-placed Levante, Sevilla parted company with Vincenzo Montella.

The former Milan and Fiorentina boss had been in the job for less than four months. Yet despite taking them to a first Champions League quarter-final in 60 years — at the expense of Manchester United, no less — the question remains as to why he was ever appointed in the first place.

To say this season has been a rollercoaster ride for the club would be an understatement, but with no wins in their last nine matches, the simple fact is that Montella took a side who were in fifth position — two points behind Real Madrid in fourth — on his arrival to eighth, and outside the European places.

Remarkably, they have shipped five goals on six occasions already this season — most recently in last week’s Copa del Rey final against Barcelona — with their goals against column in La Liga a whopping 54; three more than bottom-placed Málaga.

Vincenzo Montella struggled and was shown the door by Sevilla at the weekend

“If Sevilla outran Barça like Montella said,” local daily Estadio Deportivo's editor Joaquin Adorna wrote witheringly last week, “Then it must have been some pretty brainless and pointless running.”

All of this off the back of their highest-ever single season playing budget, their record transfer total outlay, and their most expensive individual signing.

To analyse how we got here, one needs to look back to a couple of key departures last summer.

First of all, rockstar sporting director Monchi — the man who unearthed the likes Dani Alves, Júlio Baptista, Seydou Keita, and José Antonio Reyes, as well as bringing in the likes of Ivan Rakitic for peanuts — left the club after 17 stellar years in his post.

The current Roma recruiter set up a network of over 700 scouts worldwide, and netted the club an incredible €200 million net transfer profit during his tenure. It also represented the most successful period in the club’s history, with nine trophies; including five Europa Leagues.

Secondly, manager Jorge Sampaoli left to take charge of the Argentina national team. That left the club scrambling to find a like-for-like replacement for the Marcelo Bielsa disciple, and the obvious choice was Bielsa’s former assistant Eduardo Berizzo following his excellent three year run as head honcho at Celta Vigo.

The performances didn’t always convince under Berizzo, but the results were for the most part sound. However, having fallen out with the midfield lynchpin Steven N’Zonzi and been left fuming at the recruitment work of Monchi’s successor Óscar Arias, there was palpable tension in the air.

Arias in turn paid with his job last Thursday. In another piece entitled ‘Arias’s mortal deadly sins’, Estadio Deportivo laid a litany of failures firmly on his doorstep. 

With their record defensive signing Simon Kjaer enduring an injury-wracked campaign, they had only two fit centre backs for most of the season, and he was castigated for failing to secure the likes of Michy Batshuayi or Daniel Sturridge on loan in the winter, opting instead for Everton flop Sandro Ramírez.

Above all, the piece concluded, “he failed to recognise or learn from his mistakes.”

Into the breach steps their former manager Joaquín Caparrós, thirteen years down the road. Having spoken — but given little away — on the radio over the weekend, he was a little more generous at his official presentation on Monday.

“I’ve looked at the players,” he began. “And they’re in good physical shape, not as tired as they look from the outside.

“Now we need to work on the mental side, and break this cycle of poor results. I know the talent and quality of these players, now let’s see if we can achieve what we need to.”

What they need do is to overhaul seventh-placed Getafe to make it back into Europe. What will hurt more than anything is to see crosstown rivals Real Betis staring down at them from the lofty heights of fifth.

When Berizzo was sacked, somewhat heartlessly, a week after a successful operation on a cancerous tumour on December 22nd, Betis were languishing in 14th. 

The time between then and now has seen a stunning 16 point swing in favour of the side who won for the first time in over a decade by 5-3 at Sevilla in Montella’s first league game in charge.

They will contest the return fixture on Saturday 12 May in Caparrós’s second game in charge, the penultimate round of the season. But he refused to be drawn on the derby on Monday.

“We’re not going to think too far ahead. A few fine details will change, but nothing more. We need to take it step by step and not think beyond next Friday’s game [against Real Sociedad]. We have to be ready.”

Turks against the Portuguese? Welcome to the Galician Derby

Joseph Sexton

My column for Back Page Football

Celta's Nolito in action against Depor last season

Peruse the international media, or the partisan locally based Marca and Mundo Deportivo and you’d be forgiven for thinking that there was only one game taking place on the planet this weekend. Reams of paper and 17 scrolls down the page and you might find snugly hidden away something different. The 500 millionth (or so it feels) clásico this decade isn’t the only biggie today. Indeed, it’s arguable that it might not even be most interesting game of matchday 12 in La Liga.

No, Sir. That clash has been moved to an 18.15 local time kick-off to avoid the ridiculous situation we’ve had in recent years of UK viewers missing the opening quarter hour of that heavyweight duel. But skip further ahead in the day and there’s a real treat in store- the Galician derby, as Deportivo La Coruña host their fiercest rivals Celta Vigo. The turcos against the portugueses, as their respective slurs go, with the hosts in 6th and their opponents in 4th. Having endured stints in the second division and a few too many relegation battles for comfort in recent times, there’s no hyperbole when Celta’s left-back Jonny Castro describes it as “the biggest derby in years”.

It’s a particularly vicious derby, so much so that your correspondent has been dissuaded from making the hour and a half train journey north from Vigo-Guixar. Plenty will make the trip deep into enemy territory, however, with the allocation sold out. Normally the head of the supporters’ groups’ federation distributes tickets individually to the various fan groups in order to account for those making away trips but, with the Faro de Vigo reporting the security situation to be of the highest alert, they’ve washed their hands of the situation and left it to the club to dole them out. Things may  get hairy. Though, one hopes, not as hairy as these deplorable scenes when the clubs met in a promotion play-off back in the 1980s in Balaídos.

There’s history to this rivalry. Depor are the older of the two teams, but having spent several years more in the top flight, Celta have liked to see themselves as traditionally the bigger club. They made the step up first in the 1940s, reaching and losing a cup final. Depor have been as far down as the third tier, and only really began to establish themselves as a force upon being promoted in the 1990s. After coming close on several occasions, they finally won the La Liga title in 2000. Added to their Copa del Rey success in 1995, and spoiling Real Madrid’s centenary by winning that competition again the following decade, they remain the only Galician club to have won a national title.

It’s a curious quirk of history that both sides enjoyed arguably their most successful eras during that same period. Everyone remembers that Super Depor side, that which won at Old Trafford and Highbury and only fell to then not-yet Special One’s FC Porto in 2004's Champions League semi-finals. Having overturned a three goal deficit against PSG in 2001, they only went and did it again in that run, turning around a 4-1 first leg reverse against holders Milan in the quarter-finals. That’s arguably when the decline set in.

Down south, Celta boasted their finest ever side, including names such as Michel Salgado, Valery Karpin, Alexander Mostovoi, and the Brazilian World Cup winner Mazinho, father of Thiago and Rafinha Alcántara. Nicknamed ‘Euro Celta’, they twice made it to the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup, and then the Champions League in 2003/4. But - and this is why many Celtistas fear a return to Europe - they were also relegated during that maiden campaign. They bounced back the following season, but within two years were down again, where they remained until three years ago.

Deportivo’s decline was slower but no less painful in its conclusion. Having been a regular fixture in the top six, and runners up on several occasions, they began to drift in the latter half of the last decade before going down to much sadness - well, outside of Vigo anyway - in 2011. They returned after a season, but couldn’t maintain their status, ironically being pipped to survival by Celta. Back up they came, surviving - barely - last season, to ensure another Galician derby for the current campaign.

Celta have been the revelation of the season so far. The building blocks were put in place by Luis Enrique two seasons ago. Though it’s hard to imagine now, the former Spanish international was considered damaged goods when chosen by chairman Carlos Mouriño to take the side forward following a fairly disastrous season in charge at Roma. It took them three months to win a game at home, but even early on the Asturian’s faith in his methods was unshakeable. Following a disappointing 1-1 draw with Granada in their first home outing, he opined “if we keep playing like this, we’ll win more than we lose”. Time proved him right.

Therefore he left big shoes to fill as he departed for the Camp Nou along with Rafinha, a key figure during that season. Once again, Mouriño showed a willingness to think outside the box in appointing the Argentine Eduardo Berizzo, who made his name in Chilean football, first as assistant to the man who launched a thousand coaching careers, Marcelo Bielsa and then later as a manager in his own right. 

As you would expect from one who learned from the charismatic former Argentina and Chile boss, high pressing and rapid attacks are central to Toto’s philosophy. But there’s also a pragmatic streak, something Bielsa lacks but others who’ve been inspired by him - chief amongst those Chile’s Copa América winning boss Jorge Sampaoli - have added to the armoury. Whereas Bielsa’s sides tend to flag, both in games and in campaigns, Berizzo isn’t as relentlessly one-dimensional and indeed, late goals have become something of a hallmark of this Celta side.

Last year, they finished a respectable 8th, but this year they’ve been on top and never outside the top four. They were brutal in dismantling Barcelona 4-1 in September, have won away to Sevilla (where only Real Madrid triumphed last term), won at the Madrigal against then leaders Villarreal, and after leaving that late they also pounced at the death to claim three points away to Real Sociedad having been behind twice to David Moyes’ side. No team in La Liga can boast a better away record this year.

Deportivo, on the other hand, have a fairly poor home record to date, registering just one win. Whereas Celta have spread the goals, with recently-capped Nolito on seven and the rejuvenated Liverpool reject Iago Aspas on six, the Coruña club have leaned heavily upon the shoulders of Lucas Pérez, who has chipped in with seven of his side’s goals. 

Celta’s defence is leaky, Depor’s mean. The former is only partially falsely inflated by their shocking 5-1 home defeat last time round to Valencia - a quite bizarre game where the visitors scored with every shot on target while the hosts spurned several clear openings - and have the fourth poorest rearguard in the division as a result.

Celta travel with a full complement of players available, whereas Depor are severely hindered by the absence of the Costa Rican Celso Borges in the middle of the park. One of the leading interceptors in the league, he was plying his trade in Sweden before starring in his side’s surprise run to the quarter-finals in Brazil. Deportivo took the plunge during the winter break and he’s been a mainstay of this side ever since.

It all points to goals. Recently, Luis Enrique described his former club as the most exciting team to watch in Europe this season and it wasn’t a mere platitude. Some weeks before, following that Balaídos humbling, Javier Mascherano chimed “it’s painful to lose like that, to be outplayed”. Depor too have been far from circumspect. 

Given the turgid nature of their football in the last five years, many an eyebrow was arched when, upon being appointed as manager, Victor Sánchez promised a more attacking style. They’ve delivered upon that, and if Celta’s current lofty status may appear something of a surprise, Depor’s is even more so. A sensible bet would be for both teams to score and a total of three goals or more, according to tipster Jonathan Cordingley. Everyone’s eyes will be on Madrid earlier in the day, but you could do worse with the rest of your Saturday than stay tuned in for La Liga’s late kick-off.

Probable teams

Deportivo: Germán Lux; Laure, Alejandro Arribas, Sidnei, Fernando Navarro; Fayçal Fajr, Pedro Mosquera; Federico Cartabia, Jonás Gutiérrez, Juanfran; Lucas Pérez

Celta: Sergio Álvarez; Hugo Mallo, Sergi Gómez, Andreu Fontás, Jonny; Daniel Wass, Augusto Fernández, Pablo Hernández; Fabián Orellana, Iago Aspas, Nolito