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KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Christoper Bean
Well it is almost upon us; the biggest match in Middlesbrough FC's 130 year history will be commencing very soon. The Uefa Cup final in Eindhoven. But not many people know anything about Sevilla at all. Well here is a short guide to the biggest city in Southern Spain and FC Sevilla.
Sevilla is located in south west Spain and is very close to the border of Portugal. Origins of Sevilla date back as 800 BC with the legend of Heracles using the town as a resting place when he was on his travels. In later years it became a trading colony between the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, before the town was subsequently destroyed in around 200BC.
Sevilla came back into prominence in the 8th Century when The Moors built some beautiful architecture around the city. These are the same people who later created a promising, yet turned out to be a disappointing left winger for Middlesbrough FC.
Despite being several miles inland Sevilla was an important port along with Cadiz during the Spanish Armada, the exploration of the Americas and Africa. Much of the treasure haul from the "new world" was dropped off in Sevilla.
Sevilla in recent years has grown to be the 4th biggest city in mainland Spain, with a current estimated population of 750,000 people. The main sources of income for the region are tourism, oranges, and confectionery. The city is linked with two American cities; Kansas City and Columbus, who both beat Sunderland on their recent USA tour.
FC Sevilla was established in 1905, but did not make any strides of success until 1935 they won their first Copa Del Rey. The Spanish Civil War took place for the following four years but it did not stop their success as they regained the same trophy in 1939. In 1946 they won La Liga for the first time, and so far it has proven to be the last time they have won the Spanish League. The last time Sevilla won a trophy was back in 1948 when they won their third Copa Del Rey. So my assessment is they are the Spanish equivalent of Newcastle United.
Sevilla have not actually made any cup final appearances since 1962 when they were beaten 2-1 by Real Madrid. They have had several jaunts into Europe however, making their first appearance in the European Cup in the 1957-1958 season; they were knocked out by Real Madrid 10-2 on aggregate. Since then they have had eight European adventures. Previous to this season their best run in the cup was last season making it into the final 16, the same round that Middlesbrough reached.
In recent times Sevilla have been a production line for good young talent, with them being shipped on for extortionate fees. Examples of some of these players are Julio Baptistia, Sergio Ramos and Jose Antonio Reyes; the man who guaranteed Middlesbrough's passage to the Carling Cup Final in 2004.
Sevilla have a few key players they are relying on to turn up the heat on Wednesday night. Javier Saviola is a young Argentinean who was touted as the next Diego Maradona when he joined Barcelona in 2001, but he found it difficult to settle in. After a loan spell at Monaco, he moved on to Sevilla and is now nearing the end of his season long loan, so he will be looking to impress Frank Rijkaard or some prospective new buyers. The 24 year old has only hit the net seven times this season however.
Freddie Kanoute is a face we are familiar with, as he has had spells with Tottenham and West Ham. He joined Sevilla this year and has scored six goals in twenty-nine appearances. It is touch and go if he can make the final as he is carrying a knock.
Andres Palop is hailed as one of the safest pairs of hands in La Liga. Signed from Valencia last summer he has lived up to his reputation by conceding only 32 goals from 33 games. Not that it matters as Steaua Bucharest had never conceded four goals in Europe until they played Middlesbrough.
Javi Navarro has a reputation as been the hard-man of Spanish football. The Sevilla captain rose to notoriety last year when he nearly killed Juan Arango when challenging for a 50/50 ball and subsequently gave the Venezuelan a forearm smash Big Daddy would have been proud of. He also made a name for himself by sticking his finger up an opponents arse. Hopefully some dyke will avert his attention and will put his finger up there.
Well that's Sevilla in a nutshell, and from my research I have come to the conclusion that they are the Newcastle of Spanish football. Won fuck all for ages but claim to be a powerhouse. Well the only powerhouse Newcastle can claim of is the gay club in their city centre and apparently Javi Navarro is more than welcome. Until after the match I bid you goodbye.
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