Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Sevilla FC Greatest All-Time Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram


2014 Europa Cup
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.


Real MadridBarcelonaValencia,
Atletico MadridSevillaAtletic Bilbao, 
Deportivo La Coruna  Real Sociedad, Villarreal
Real BetisReal ZaragozaEspanyol
Andalusia 
Sevilla All-Time Team for Spanish Players
Sevilla All-Time Team for Foreign Players

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for Sevilla FC.  The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.

Sevilla was duly formed on 25 January 1890 while a group of young British, mainly Scots, along with other young men of Spanish origin, celebrated Burns Night in Seville.  It is Spain's oldest sporting club solely devoted to football and the most successful in Andalusia.  The club's home ground is the 43,883-seat Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. It is located in the neighborhood of Nervión, Seville, and owes its name to Ramón Sánchez Pizjuan, who was Sevilla FC's president for 17 years.

Historically, Sevilla FC has its up and down.  They won the league title in 1945-1946, but they were mainly a mid-table team throughout the the 20th Century.  Then, the millennium came.  From 2005 to 2020, Sevilla won 6 of the 15 UEFA Cups/Europa Cups.  They won back-to-back UEFA Cups in 2006 and 2007, and then, three straight Europa Cups in 2014, 2015 and 2016.  In 2020, they won another Europa Cup. They own the record of the most successful team in the tournament. Prior to their first UEFA Cup, they have never reached the Final of any European major tournament.

2006 UEFA Cup

Team
GK: Andreas Palop (Spain)
Andreas Palop played with Valencia and Villarreal before going Sevilla.  As a backup keeper, he won the UEFA Cup with Valencia. As a starter, he won it twice with Sevilla in 2006 and 2007.  He moved aborad to play for Bayer Leverkusen at the end of his career in 2013. Despite being called up by Spain numerous times, he never took the field for the national team, but he was a part of the team that won European Championshp in 2008 as the third goalkeeper.
Andreas Palop
GK: José María Busto (Spain)
José María Busto started his career with the youth rank of Athlete Bilbao, but he spent 16 seasons with Sevilla. He won the league title in 1946.  He retired in 1958.  His career with the national team was limited due to Ignacio Eizaguirre, Antonio Ramallets and Carmelo Cedrún playing at the same era.

GK: Guillermo Eizaguirre (Spain)
Guillermo Eizaguirre was born in Seville and played his entire career with Sevilla FC. He made his ebut with the club before he turned 16. He represented Spain 3 times from 1935 to 1936. His chance with the team was limited because he was playing at the same time as Ricardo Zamora.  He was injured before the World Cup Finals in 1934, where he was ruled of consideration.

RB: Dani Alves (Brazil)
Dani Alves spent 6 years with Sevilla, winning two UEFA Cup's before joining Barcelona.  He only played 109 times for Brazil at the time of writing, largely because Maicon was the regular starter during his early career.  In 2016, he joined Juventus, where he played a single season.   He appeared in his fourth Champions League final as Juventus were defeated 4–1 by Real Madrid. In 2017, he joined PSG.

CB: Marcelo Campanal (Spain) 
Marcelo Campanal was known as "Campanal II" because his uncle Guillermo Campanal was better known as "Campanal I", who was the manager of Sevilla. He played for sixteen seasons at Sevilla FC between 1950 and 1966.  He later played two seasons with Deportivo La Coruna , CD Iliturgi and his final season as a professional in the Real Aviles CF.  He earned 11 caps with the national team between 1952 and 1957.
Known as Campanula II

CB: Antonio Álvarez Giráldez (Spain)
Antonio Álvarez Giráldez played with Sevilla in 1974 to 1988. He played nearly 350 matches for them. He was one of the club's most committed players.  He ranked 9th in all-time appearance record. He later played with Malaga and Granada at the end of his career. He represented Spain B team twice in 1981.

CB: Javi Navarro (Spain) 
Javi Navarro played with Valencia and Elche before joining Sevilla in 2001.  He was a part of the side that won 5 major titles, including back-to-back UEFA Cups in 2006 and 2007.  He was the undisputed starter. For Spain, he made his debut at age of 32 years old in 2006 against Romania, the third oldest debutante for Spain. He was capped 4 times between 2006 and 2007. He retired in 2009 after a lengthy injury.
Javi Navarro at UEFA Cup Final
CB: Pablo Blanco (Spain)
Born in 1951, Pablo Blanco was a native of Sevilla, He played 13 seasons with Sevilla FC, including spells in Segunda Division when Sevilla gained promotion.  He made his debut in the 1971-1972 season. He retired in 1984 after playing over 400 games for the club. He helped to qualify for UEFA Cup twice in the 1980's.  He was considered one of Sevilla's greatest ever and most loyal defenders.

LB: Manolo Jiménez (Spain) 
Manolo Jiménez played his entire career with Sevilla FC between 1984 and 1997.  He played over 400 games.  He retired in June 1998 at the age of 34, after one year with neighbours Real Jaén in the second division.  He had a total of 15 caps for Spain between 1988 and 1990.  He represented Spain at the World Cup Finals in 1990, playing two matches in the Finals.

LB: Antonio Puerta (Spain)
Antonio Puerta was a highly talented left-sided player for Sevilla. He came from their academy playing with his friend Sergio Ramos. He spent 3 years with Sevilla's first team and was a key player for their victories at the UEFA Cup.  Sadly, he died in 2007 at the age of 22 after collaping in a match against Getafe.  He earned a single cap for Spain in 2006. His number 16 has been retired by the club, but the number was used under controversial circumtance.
Antonio Puerta
CM: Enrique Lora Millan (Spain)
Enrique Lora Millan was born in 1945.  He played 11 seasons with Sevilla, debuting in 1966 and retiring in 1978.  He was at one point the team's captain.  He played a single season with Recreativo de Huelva. He was capped 14 times for Spain, including while he was playing in the second division. he scored a goal against Cyprus in 1972.

CM: Enrique Montero (Spain)
At tye club level, Enrique Montero Rodríguez played more 19 years in La Liga. He mainly played for Sevilla and Cadiz in Spain from 1973 to 1992.  He started in 1973 playing for Sevilla in the second division.  He joined Cadiz in 1986, where he played until 1990.  He earned 3 caps for Spain.

CM: Francisco López Alfaro (Spain)
Better known as Francisco, he first played with his hometown club Sevilla FC for 9 seasons between 1981 and 1990, and another 6 seasons with Espanyol between 1990 and 1997.  Espanyol went down to the second division for a single season during his time there. For Spain, he had 20 caps between 1982 and 1986. He went to the European Championship in 1984 and the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico for Spain. He scored his only international goal against Greece in September, 1986.
Francisco
CM: Pedro Alconero  (Spain)
Pedro Alconero was an renowned player for Sevilla FC in the late 1940's and early 1950's.  He only missed 3 games in 9 seasons with Sevilla.  He won one league title in 1946, and came second twice.  At the time of his retirement, he held the record of the most appearance for Sevilla FC.  He also played for Baracaldo CF, Guadix CF and Lasesarre, He earned 3 caps.

CM: Ivan Rakitic (Croatia)
Born in Switzerland of Croatian background, Rakitic started his career with FC Basel. He played with Schalke 04 from 2007 and 2011.  Then, he moved to Sevilla in 2011.  At Sevilla, he won the Europa Cup in 2014.  He moved to Barcelona.  For Croatia, he earned 100 caps at the time of writing. He played in the midfield with Luka Modric as Croatia reached the Final of the 2018 World Cup Finals.

RW: Jesus Navas (Spain)

Jesus Navas played from 2003 to 2013 for his mother club, Sevilla FC. He won two UEFA Cup.  In 2013, he moved to Manchester City.  He returned to Seville in 2017, helping them to win the 2020 Europa League. He earned 35 caps for Spain at the time of writing.  He was used as a sub during the World Cup Finals in 2010 and the European Champions in 2012, where Spain won both tournaments. Early in his career, he suffered from homesickness that limited his career playing outside of his hometown.
Jesus Navas
RM: Rafa Paz (Spain)
From 1984 to 1997, Rafa Paz played for Sevilla.  He went to play inn Mexico at the end of his career where he played for Club Celaya, teaming up with ex-La Liga stars Michel, Emilio Butragueno and Hugo Sanchez.  For the Spanish national team, he had 7 caps all in 1990. He went to the 1990 World Cup Finals held in Italy, appearing in two matches.

LW: Jose Antonio Reyes (Spain)
Jose Antonio Reyes graduated from Sevilla's academy, where he made his professional debut in 2000.  He also played for Arsenal, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Espanyol and Cordoba.  He won two UEFA Europa Cup with Atletico Madrid.  He returned to Sevilla in 2012 and won three straight Europa Cup with them between 2013 and 2016.  Reyes earned 21 caps for Spain between 2003 and 2006, and represented the nation at the 2006 World Cup Finals.
Jose Antonio Reyes

AM/CM: Ever Banega (Argentina)
Ever Banega started his career with Boca Juniors, and signed with Valencia in 2008 where he remained for several years, appearing in 162 official games and winning the 2008 Copa del Rey. After joining Sevilla in 2014, he conquered consecutive Europa League trophies and then, a third title in 2020.  He was an Argentine international since 2008, but only went to his first World Cup Finals in 2018.

FW: Juan Arza (Spain)
Juan Arza Started with Alvas and Malaga before joining Sevilla in 1943.  He spent 16 seasons with Sevilla and became their all-time leading scoring with 207 goals.  He won the league in 1946, and a cup in 1948.  He was also the league's top scorer in the 1954-53 season with 29 goals.  He ended his career with Almeria. He earned 2 caps for Spain.

ST: Frederic Kanoute (Mali)
Frederic Kanoute's longest domestic club spell was with Sevilla in Spain, where he played from 2005 to 2012.  He won two UEFA Cups with them.  He was the African Player of the Year in 2007.  He was born in France.  He was capped by French youth team, but he did not received any senior callup from France. He represented Mali internationally in the senior level.  At the club level, he also played in France for Lyon, in England for West Ham and Tottenham, and in China for Beijing Guoan.
Frederic Kanoute
ST: Guillermo Campanal I (Spain)
Campanal I was considered one of the greatest player fors Sevilla FC.  He started his career with Sporting de Gijon in 1929, but joined Sevilla soon after.  With Sevilla, he started on a line called "Stuka". He played with the club from 1929 to 1946.  It was briefly interrupted by the Spanish Civil War.  He represented Spain at the World Cup Finals in 1934.  His nephew was known as "Campanal II".

ST: Luis Fabiano (Brazil)
Luis Fabiano started his career with Ponte Preta in Brazil.  He was disappointed in his first European adventure with Rennes.  He returned to Sao Paulo in Brazil and then another disappointing stint with Porto FC.  Finally, he joined Sevilla FC in 2005.  He established himself as a star and won two UEFA Cups.  He also played in China. Internationally, he played for Brazil 45 times, and he was a starter at the World Cup Finals in 2010.  

ST: Juan Araujo (Spain)
Born in 1920, Juan Araujo was a club legend with Sevilla.  He wasa youth product of Sevilla FC, but he began his career with Xerez in 1943, where he was a top scorer in the second divsion.  He retunred to Sevilla FC in 1946, where he won the league in the 1945-1946 season and the Cup in 1948(then known as the Copa del Generalisimo).  He layd over 200 games and scored over a 100 goals for Sevilla. He left Sevilla after 11 seasons and joined Cordoba in 1956. He played a single season with Xerez before retiring.
Juan Araujo
ST: Davor Suker  (Croatia)
Davoe Suker was a part of Yugoslavia's Golden Generation in the 1990's.  He was capped twice for Yugoslavia.  He later played for Croatia, where he earned 69 caps.  He is their all-time leading scorer.  He is best remembered for finishing as the top scorer at the World Cup Finals in 1998, where Croatia reached the semifinal.  He also played with Sevilla, Real Madrid, Arsenal, West Ham and 1860 Munich.  He was a top scorer in La Liga while playing for both Seville and Real Madrid.
Davor Suker


Honorable Mention
Renato (Brazil), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Poland), David Castedo, Ivica Dragutinovic (Serbia), Christian Poulsen (Denmark),Vassilis Tsartas (Greece), Ivan Zamorano (Chile), Anton Polster (Austria), Pintinho (Brazil), Hector Scotta (Argentina), Alvaro Negredo (Spain), Daniel Bertoni (Argentina), Bernardo Acosta Miranda (Paraguay), Diego Simeone (Argentina), Ignacio Achucarro (Paraguay), Julien Escude (France), Pablo Alfaro (Spain), Gallego (Spain), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Stéphane Mbia (Cameroon), Carlos Bacca (Colombia), Vitolo (Spain), Francisco Sanjosé (Spain), Bri Bri (Gambia), Diego Capel (Spain), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Enzo Maresca (Italy).

Squad Explantion
-- Jesus Navas, Jose Antonio Reyes, Frederic Kanouté, Juan Arza and Guillermo Campanal were widely considered to be Sevilla's greatest players.  Andreas Palop and José María Busto were also mentioned frequently as their greatest.  
-- Andreas Palop won two UEFA Cups. Guillermo Eizaguirre was born in Sevilla and played his entire career .  José María Busto also spent his entire career here.  He played over 400 games here.  Rinat Dasayev is Sevilla's most famous goalkeeper, but his prime was played elsewhere as compared the other keepers selected.  He came at the end of his career.
-- I honored Antonio Puerta here.  His career was very short, but he contributed to Sevilla's victory at the UEFA Cup.  He is among the best in Sevilla's history.   Meanwhile, his teammate at the youth level was Sergio Ramos.  Ramos only spent a short time here before he joined Real Madrid.
-- Dani Alves was one of the best fullbacks in the world when he played for Sevilla.  
-- Marcelo Campanal sometimes is considered the club's greatest defender. He spent 16 seasons with the club. Javi Navarro won 5 major titles as their key players. (two UEFA Cups, one UEFA Super Cup and one Spanish Cup), 
-- Centerback Ivica Dragutinovic probably deserved a place on the team too.  He was a hero of the UEFA Cup winning campaigns of 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.  he only made honorable mention.
-- Gallego and Carlos Marchena played their best football elsewhere.  Julien Escude and Pablo Alfaro also missed the boat.  They were all centerbacks.
-- Carlos Bacca, Diego Simeone, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Christian Poulsen only played a handful of years at Sevilla.  They only made Honorable Mention.   I don't think Víctor Espárrago played enough in Sevilla too.  He played there from 1973 to 1975.
- Right midfielder Rafa Paz was the last player selected.  The team lacked players who could play on the side.  He also played many years for the club.  He deserved it for his contributions.
-- The team under Unai Emery that won three straight Europa Cups (2014, 2015, 2016) is under represented. They were actually three different teams with different players because Sevilla was unable to hold onto their players after each victory.
-- Ever Banega is fundamental in two of Sevilla's victories, but he has been inconsistent in his career.  His status with Sevilla is also harmed by his transfer to Inter Milan.  However, the team lacked great playmakers.  Julio Baptista was probably better than Benega, but he did not win any major trophy with Sevilla. In end, I felt that Benega's contributions were too great.  Vassilis Tsartas was also considered. In my opinion, he was underrated.
-- Grzegorz Krychowiak also contributed to two of those victories, but his stay is very short. So he only earned honourable mention.  Ivan Rakitic also played a short time here, but I probably took him over Krychowiak because he was simply more famous.  I admitted that it was not a good reason.
-- Julio Baptista arrived as a defensive midfielder. However, Joaquín Caparrós' turned him as playmaker.  He scored 49 goals in 74 games during his two seasons, but his stint was too short.  I left him on honorable mention.
-- Jose Antonio Reyes was selected because of his three straight Europa League titles.  Moreover, he was a product of the Academy.  
-- Jesus Navas won two UEFA Cups and then, the Europa League titles.  He captained the team that won 2020 title. He is probably Sevilla's greatest ever player.
-- Bri Bri was the first Black player for the club.  He earned a cult status with the club.  The largest support group "Biris Norte 1905" are named in his honour. However, he only earned honourable mention.
-- I have five strikers on the team.  The five strikers were absolute legends in the past and a few current one who contributed to their European trophies.  So I cannot find space for Vassilis Tsartas, Ivan Zamorano, Anton Polster, Pintinho, Hector Scotta, Alvaro Negredo, Daniel Bertoni and Bernardo Acosta Miranda.
-- Striker Juan Arza is one of the greatest ever players for the club.  He is their all-time leading appearance holder.  He scored 29 goals in 29 games in the 1954/1955 season.  Guillermo Campanal I was their all-time leading scorer.  Juan Araujo was Sevilla's best player from the 1940s 
-- Carlos Bacca was a hero of their Europa League successes, but he is behind Frederic Kanoute, Guillermo Campanal I, Luis Fabiano and Juan Araujo.  Davor Suker was La Liga top scorer while playing here.
-- Frederic Kanoute's partnership with Luis Fabiano was considered the greatest duo in their history.   Kanouté won two King’s Cups, two UEFA Cups, a European Super Cup and a Spanish Super Cup.  So I took both.  At the time of writing, Kanoute is Sevilla's highest scoring foreign player and Fabiano was second.  Negredo came at the end of  the partnership of Luís Fabiano and Frédéric Kanouté.  He sent one of them to the bench.  He scored over 70 goals for the club.
Frederic Kanoute and Luis Fabiano 
Formation

The squad is a mixture of old and new.  Jose Antonio Reyes represented an era of winning three straight Europa Cups.  








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