With Sevilla FC winning the Europa League for the second time in as many years, and for the fourth time in a decade, it has become clear Sevilla FC aren’t simply just another “also ran” in La Liga. This largely comes down to how extremely well the club is run. While much of the credit will, and should, go to the coaching staff, a look at the recent history of the club reveals much about the success of Sevilla FC.
Monchi
A lot of Sevilla FC’s success and stability must be attributed to Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo, or Monchi. After representing Sevilla FC for 9 years, Monchi took over the club at it’s lowest point. After Sevilla FC was relegated, the owners of the club brought Monchi in to lead the club forward. Right away, he changed the focus of the club to bringing youth players from the academy and highly intuitive scouting. This lead to an investment in both, which has largely paid off. Since Monchi has taken over, Sevilla FC have averaged spending 24.1 million Euros per season. Over the same period of time, they have recouped an average of 33.83 million Euros. While operating transfer with a profit is usually a good thing, it is the consistency of play that they maintain that is good. Over the last decade, Sevilla FC have only finished below 5th place in the league twice. They have finished above 5th three times, twice coming in 3rd. During this period, they have also won 8 trophies. They are two Copa Del Reys, one Supercopa de Espana, four Europa League championships, and 1 UEFA Super Cup. Definitely an impressive for a team with a reported revenue of only 99.93 million Euros a year. In an increasingly expensive game, Sevilla have found a way to compete.
Sevilla FC’s Academy
Sevilla Atletico, Sevilla FC’s reserve team, and its academy has been one of the key focuses for the club since Monchi took over. Since Monchi took over in 2000, the academy has produced almost 30 players that have gone on to represent the senior team. Most notably amongst these is Jose Antonio Reyes, Sergio Ramos, Jesus Navas, Albeto Moreno, and Diego Perotti. That’s not to mention the many squad players that they have developed in that time. It reflects an investment in youth that has clearly paid off.
Sevilla FC’s Transfer Dealings
While much can be said about the youth academy at Sevilla, their scouting program is second to none. The program allows Sevilla FC to identify incredible bargains other clubs ignore. Often, these players will be sold on for large profits, which is a big reason for their transfer profits. Players such as Alvaro Negredo, Dani Alves, Julio Baptista, and Ivan Rakitic (to only name a few) not only earned the club lots of money for their eventual transfers, but helped the club maintain a top half of the league status.
The Future of Sevilla FC
With Champions League secured and a possible equal share of the La Liga television money in their future, things look very bright for the club in Seville. Dark clouds could loom in their future, however, with Real Madrid looking to swoop in for Monchi. Barcelona have already tried to lure him to the Nou Camp last season.
