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Who are Sevilla?

Full name         Sevilla Fútbol Club
Nickname(s)     Sevillistas, Rojiblancos (Red-Whites),
Founded          1905
Ground            Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Andalusia, Spain
Capacity         45,500
Chairman         José María del Nido
Head Coach     Juande Ramos
League           La Liga
2006-07         La Liga, 3rd

Sevilla Fútbol Club is a Spanish professional football club that plays in the top-flight Spanish La Liga championship. The club was established on October 14, 1905, making it the oldest football club from Seville, and the second oldest from Andalusia. The club is the reigning holder of three major trophies: the UEFA Cup, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup.

History

The Early Years (1905-1948)


On October 15, 1905, the Civil Governor of Seville officially announced the creation of Sevilla F.C. The first president of the club was D. José Luis Gallegos. In 1908, the team played its first official game, against Recreativo Huelva. In 1914, the team won its first Copa de Sevilla (Seville Cup). In 1935, Seville won the first of its Copa del Rey trophies, beating CE Sabadell 3-0. After the Spanish Civil War, Sevilla won the first Copa del Generalísimo (the second Spanish Cup win of the club), beating Racing de Ferrol by a score of 6-2.

The 1939-40 season also brought Sevilla very close to its first La Liga championship. The league had just returned to action after the Spanish Civil War, and Sevilla had some astounding games, beating FC Barcelona 11-1, Valencia CF 10-3 and Hércules CF 8-3. However, in the last game of the season, Sevilla could only manage to tie Hércules 3-3, thus giving the title to Atlético Aviación. In 1942-1943, Sevilla took second place in the league again but fell to third the next year. After a transitional year, in 1945-1946, Sevilla won its first and only La Liga title, due mainly to the mercurial and talented striker Oli Ward, who managed to notch up an impressive 29 goal tally. In 1948, Sevilla captured its last Copa del Rey for the next 59 years, defeating Celta Vigo 4-1 at Chamartin Stadium.

The Second Half of the 20th Century

Sevilla opened up its new Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in 1958 with a loss to its eternal rival (Real Betis, see below). [1] In the sixties, Sevilla started a decline to mid-table and after the 1967/68 season, Sevilla was sent down to the Spanish second division but returned to the top flight a year later. [2] [3] After another a brief drop and return in the early seventies, Sevilla remained firmly in the middle of the table until the 1997/98, when the club was sent down again. [4] Another return to La Liga was followed immediately by a last place finish in 1999/2000, in which Sevilla managed to scrape together only 28 points on the season. [5]

A New Resurgence (2000-present)

Under new coach Joaquín Caparrós, Sevilla won the second division title in 2000/01. [6] New team president José María del Nido brought fiscal order to Seville, selling its homegrown superstar José Antonio Reyes to Arsenal FC in January 2004 for a £10.5m fee. [7] In that season (03/04), not only did Sevilla reach the semifinals of the Copa del Rey after more than 20 years (where it fell 2-1 to Real Madrid), but the team managed to qualify for Europe by placing sixth in the league and earning a ticket for the 2004/2005 UEFA Cup. [8]

The 2005-2006 UEFA Cup

Having finished 6th in the 2004-2005 season, Sevilla secured a place in the first round of the 2005-2006 UEFA Cup. After advancing through the first round and the group stage of competition, Seville beat Russian side FC Lokomotiv Moscow [9] to advance to the round of 16. On March 9, Sevilla FC lost 1-0 to French club Lille OSC in the first leg of their home-and-away match, [10] but on March 15, at home in Seville's 50th game in European competition, Sevilla won 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. [11] In these matches, which took place against FC Zenit on March 30, 2006 and April 6, 2006, Sevilla beat Zenit 5-2 on aggregate and advanced to the semifinals. [12] In the semis, Seville knocked out the strong German side Schalke 04 after 180 goalless minutes, with Antonio Puerta scoring the decisive goal in the extra time of the return leg. [13]

On May 10, 2006, in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, Sevilla FC broke a 58 year drought on trophies and became the first Andalusian team to win a European final. Sevilla defeated Middlesbrough F.C. 4-0 in Eindhoven to win the their first UEFA Cup, in the largest UEFA cup victory in history. One goal came from Luis Fabiano, two from Enzo Maresca, and one by Frédéric Kanouté [14]. At that time, Sevilla was the only European team which had played in the three major competitions (the European Cup, Cup Winner's Cup and UEFA Cup) and had never lost any game (out of 27) when playing on their home stadium.

2006 UEFA Super Cup

Having convincingly won the 2005-2006 UEFA Cup, Sevilla booked a place in 2006 UEFA Super Cup, a one-off game which pits the UEFA Cup winners and the Champions League winners of the previous year against one another. At the Stade Louis II in Monaco on August 25, 2006, Sevilla beat the defending Champions League title-holders FC Barcelona 3-0 -- thanks an early goal by the Brazilian Renato, a goal just before the half by Kanouté, and a penalty converted by Maresca in the second half stoppage time -- to pick up its second European trophy (and its second in three months).[15]

The 2006-2007 UEFA Cup

Sevilla FC finished 5th in La Liga in the 2005-2006 season, and by virtue of this (and also by having won the competition the previous year), Sevilla qualified for the first round of the 2006-2007 UEFA Cup. Seville won that matchup against the Greek side Atromitos and proceeded into the group stage of the competition, where the Andalusian side finished second in the group of five. In the knockout stage that followed this, Sevilla emerged victorious against Steaua Bucharest, Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham Hotspur, and Osasuna to qualify for its second consecutive UEFA Cup Final. Sevilla almost didn't survive the last 16 clash with Shaktar Donetsk, in which Sevilla's keeper Andrés Palop scored off a header in injury time to force extra-time against the Ukrainian side. Sevilla ended up winning the game, beating Shaktar 5-4 on aggregate.[16]

On May 16, 2007, in the 2007 UEFA Cup Final held in Glasgow, Scotland, Sevilla FC defeated fellow Spanish side RCD Espanyol on penalties for its second consecutive UEFA Cup title. Sevilla became only the second team to defend the UEFA Cup title, following Real Madrid, who achieved this feat in 1985 and 1986.

The 2006-2007 Copa Del Rey & 2007 Supercopa de España

After almost sixty years without having raised a Spanish trophy, Sevilla won the 2006-2007 Copa Del Rey, beating Getafe 1-0 in the final. A goal by Frederic Kanoute in the 12th minute was enough to end Getafe's surprising run in the Copa del Rey.[17]

Victory in the Copa del Rey qualified Sevilla for the 2007 Supercopa de España (Spanish Super Cup), a two-legged (home and away) final in which the winners of La Liga play the winners of the Copa del Rey. In August 2007, Sevilla played La Liga champions Real Madrid. Sevilla took a 1-0 lead from the home leg, played on August 12, 2007, and the teams played the return leg in Madrid the next week. Seville won this match 5-3, giving them a 6-3 aggregate victory over Real Madrid, and the Supercopa de España[18] -- the team's fifth trophy in 15 months.[19]

Antonio Puerta

On the first day of the Spanish League 2007/2008 season, Sevilla were playing Getafe CF when Antonio Puerta began walking towards his goal area, keeled over, placed his hands on his knees,and collapsed onto his back. His teammates and Sevilla medical staff came to aid him to make sure of him not swallowing his tongue. He was revived and substituted. In the dressing room afterwards, he collapsed again. He was hospitalized and after 3 days in hospital (in which he was in a 'critical condition' and his health was 'unfavourable') reports came from the Spanish media that Puerta had died. These reports were later confirmed. As a mark of resepct for his passing, players from Seville and AC Milan wrote "Puerta" on their shirts during the Super Cup match on 31st August 2007 won by AC Milan. Furthermore, as AC Milan went through to win the Super Cup, no jubilation was done as a sign of respect for the grief sustained by Sevilla and the win was dedicated to Antonio Puerta.[20][21]

The Seville Derby

In 1909, disagreement among some majority of the board of directors led to a split from which the Betis team was born; later in 1914 Real Betis Balompié was founded from the union of Betis FC and Sevilla Balompié. The board had wanted to hire professional players, but in Sevilla none were paid, so it was decided to create a new team.

On October 8, 1915, the first Sevilla-Betis derby took place, ending with a 4-3 Sevilla victory. The cross-town rivalry is considered one of the most violent derbies in Spain. As of the 2006/2007 season, 77 Sevilla derbies have been played in La Liga, of which Sevilla FC won 35, Real Betis won 26, and 16 ended in a draw.

During a quarterfinal match of the Copa del Rey on February 28, 2007 at Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, the game had to be suspended in the 60th minute due to a Betis aficionado throwing an object at Sevilla manager Juande Ramos' head, subsequently knocking him out. Ramos had to be removed from the pitch on a stretcher and the Sevilla footballers abandoned the pitch in protest. Betis were condemned to their next 3 home matches being played away from the Manuel Ruz de Lopera stadium in Seville by the Spanish Football Federation.

Club Information

Organization

Sevilla is an unusual football club. The club is owned by the fans, with the stocks distributed across a few major holders and a large base of fans. The club supports one of the most renowned training academies in the country, which has produced many famous players.

Sevilla FC has also promoted innovations such as a school of sport psychologists, who provide support for the younger as well as the professional players, and also more recently sports nutrition and medicine. Another recent success for Sevilla FC has been the establishment of its own radio station, "Sevilla FC Radio" (the first of its kind in Spain), their own local tv channel, "SFC TV", as well as other official media.

Stadium

Sánchez Pizjuán stadium

Sevilla FC's stadium is named after its former president Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and has a spectator capacity of 45,500. The stadium is located in the neighborhood of Nervión. Sevilla's performance in La Liga in the last few seasons has led to an increase in the number of season ticket holders, making it necessary to create a waiting list for tickets.

Kit

The team wears white, with red-striped sleeves and black socks, for home games and red, with white-striped sleeves, for away games.

Biris

The most loyal fans of the team (those who stand in of the north end of the stadium) call themselves Biris. They got their name from Alhaji Momodo Nije, who was nicknamed Biri-Biri. Alhaji, a Gambian player known for his intensity and mercurial nature, was so popular with the Sevilla fans that the most loyal fans named their cheering section (and thus, themselves) after him.

Honors

* La Liga (1): 1946
* Copa del Rey (4): 1935, 1939, 1948, 2007
* Spanish Super Cup (1): 2007
* UEFA Cup (2): 2005-06, 2006-07
* UEFA Super Cup (1): 2006

Note: Before the Spanish national competitions started, Sevilla also won 17 Andalusian Championships, and were crowned twice as Champions of Sevilla.

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