At the end of last season many would have thought that this is finally the season that La Liga could compare up to the Premiership after losing out in the past few years. Only for the sheikh from Abu Dhabi to go on a massive spending spree and ruin everything. What La Liga needs is for clubs like Sevilla and Valencia to shine in champions league just like Liverpool and Arsenal have done, and stop people assuming La Liga being a 2 horse race.
Spain probably has 3 clubs this season who probably are better than any other club in Europe except maybe Chelsea. Sevilla started the season with a loss at Valencia, but then went on an amazing run and it did look like La Liga would be a 3 horse race until mid December  when they lost some of their momentum. Still Sevilla are capable of winning La Liga or at least breaking into the top 2. This could be confirmed with their thrashing of Real Madrid at the Ramon Sanches Pizjuan, where they could easily have had 5 - 6 goals. The only question remains though is whether they can do this week in and out and they definitely have not shown it. They definitely have the quality, a beautiful stadium with a capacity of 45,000 and die hard fans. Their attack is very potent but then again their defence is not comparable to the top teams. In wingers they possess 4 wingers who most would chose over 4 wingers of other clubs. Jesus Navas is unbelievable on the right wing and Diego Perotti has been doing a phenomenal job on the left. And then they have Diego Capel and Adriano as back-ups for these wingers. They have strong and powerful strikers like Freddie Kanoute and Luis Fabiano ( injured at the moment ) and made an excellent purchase in the summer in the form of Alvaro Negredo, but may soon find Real Madrid excercising their buy-back clause. Renato has been playing well in attacking midfield and Didier Zokora seems to have become 5 times as good as he was when in Tottenham. Squillaci and Escude are good defenders but their cover is not reliable and their wing back position is fragile with Abdoulay Konko and Navarro not looking world class. 
Even with these frailties, this could be the year Sevilla gets noticed world over. They got a fairly favorable draw against CSKA Moscow in the UCL, who they should overpower without much sweat. And if they were to meet a giant like Inter, Bayern, Manchester or Milan in the next round, I would consider Sevilla as slight favorites over any of these. A few days ago they produced the shock of the season by becoming the first team in Spain this season to beat Barcelona at the Camp Nou. 
It might not be long before opposing teams fear coming to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, just as they do going to the Camp Nou, Bernabeu, San Siro or Old Trafford. 

3  Comentários
Por  SCroyance
10.01.2010 03:04
Their sporting director must be praised, he has been able to buy players who have added more to their team, and they have also sold for big profits. Long may it continue!
01.02.2010 22:03
Ab agree Akhil, spot on comments and Stanleys comments very valid and very true also. It could indeed be a breakthrough year if they can take a scalp of a european giant in quarters, but again this is of course pending they pass the 'mental test' of CSKA, as while Sevilla have taken Barca and Deportivo La Coruna out of the Kings Cup, they have struggled as favourites in various game of late e.g Getafe and Racing Santander at home. They have a great balance to their team, which has been the case for more or less the whole of the noughties, it is up to them to make it at the highest level now, where ultimately they will be judged as the real deal or also-rans!!
02.02.2010 03:41
Indeed they have struggled when placed with the favourites tag, and thus have not been able to dispose off the lesser teams even at home. But they usually have risen to the the occasion against the bigger teams like Real Madrid and Valencia. Big season for them and a big summer coming up, because the giants are going to try and snatch away their prized assets. Diego Perotti has been linked with many clubs, and it cannot be much longer before the anxiety-prone whiz kid Jesus Navas starts attracting glances of Europe's biggest clubs. Imagine if they still had the likes of Daniel Alves and Seydou Keita playing with the current bunch.
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