Team Focus: Sevilla Set to Build on Success Despite Key Departures

May 27, 2015 - Sevilla won their second consecutive Europa League title, spearheaded by Carlos Bacca. The Colombian, a key member of the starting XI, provided the assist for Grzegorz Krychowiak’s equaliser, before turning goalscorer as the La Liga side secured a 3-2 win at the expense of plucky underdogs Dnipro. Unsurprisingly, Bacca was awarded the WhoScored man of the match award, with a rating 8.80. 

Fast forward to the present day, however, and Bacca is now a Milan player. As is the case with any player who performs well for a team not considered a European heavyweight, the chances of them moving on to pastures new are high. Sevilla, despite their relative success in Europe’s second competition, are no different. 12 months ago, despite having overcome Benfica at the Juventus stadium on penalties, Sevilla cashed in on key duo Ivan Rakitic and Federico Fazio. 

Rakitic was snapped up by Barcelona and enjoyed great success, highlighted in that the Bluagrana secured the treble in his debut campaign, the Croat netting the opener in last season’s Champions League final win over Juventus. Fazio, meanwhile, moved to Tottenham. The gargantuan Argentine may not have reaped the rewards after moving to England, but his departure was still a blow to Sevilla. The pairing were Sevilla’s highest rated players - 7.61 and 7.41, respectively - in the 2013/14 La Liga season. 

With Aleix Vidal also leaving for Barcelona this summer, despite their transfer ban, Sevilla have lost two of their key players from the previous campaign. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (48), Lionel Messi (43), Antoine Griezmann and Neymar (both 22) scored more league goals than Bacca (20) in Spain’s top tier last term. 28.2% of Sevilla’s 71 league goals last season were scored by the Colombian, the 7th best individual goal contribution in La Liga. It’s no wonder the club were reluctant to sell unless his minimum fee release clause was met. 

Vidal’s move to Barcelona is another hammer blow in their attempts to progress, but manager Unai Emery is attempting to act fast to cover for the absences. The 43-year-old has been at the Sevilla helm for two-and-a-half years now and despite something of a mass turnover in personnel - enough to make even the staunchest of managers throw their toys out of the pram - Emery has made do, and thrived with the players at his disposal. 

A quick glance at their dealings this summer suggests the Spaniard has what it takes to continue Sevilla’s upwards curve of success next season. "We have grown, we have made steps [forward] year by year and even though the stakes become higher every year, that is also a challenge." In the face of adversity, Emery simply rolled up his sleeves and got on with his job. That Sevilla’s WhoScored rating has remained relatively unchanged over the last two seasons - 7.10 and 7.09, respectively - speaks volumes for Emery’s managerial ability. 

Despite losing two key players once more this summer, the core of the squad remains intact. The defence has been strengthened by the arrival of Adil Rami, Stephane Mbia’s move to Trabzonspor is set to be covered by the Steven N’Zonzi's arrival, while the captures of Martin Krohn-Dehli and Yevhen Konoplyanka add quality to the midfield and attack. Konoplyanka in particular makes for an astute acquisition. The Ukraine international completed more successful dribbles (35) than any other player in the Europa League last season and must have impressed Emery in Dnipro’s defeat to Sevilla back in May. 

His directness on the ball will add another dimension to Emery’s side in the final third and credit of course goes to sporting director Monchi for pulling the deal off, despite interest from England and Atletico Madrid. His arrival makes up for the departure of Gerard Deulofeu, who recently secured a permanent switch to Everton following his season-long loan at the Seville side. Despite something of an underwhelming season at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, the Spaniard still registered 5 league assists. Of players to match or better that figure, only Luis Suarez (every 155.6 mins) picked up an assist more frequently than Deulofeu (156.4) in Spain’s top tier last term. 

Once his loan deal expired, a player of similar or better ability was required and Monchi - as one has come to expect - came up with the goods in Konoplyanka. As an Mbia replacement, N’Zonzi also represents good business by the club. The Frenchman averaged more passes per game (56.6) than the player he is replacing (29.6) and mustered a better pass success rate (85% to 81.5%). Alongside the powerhouse Krychowiak - who was not only Sevilla’s highest rated player (7.33), but also made more tackles (3.3) and interceptions (3) per game than any teammate - N’Zonzi will provide ample competition in midfield with the likes of Ibarra and Banega. 

There is still work to be done this summer, however, with a Bacca replacement something of a necessity. In Kevin Gameiro, Sevilla do have a solid stand in for the Colombian - of players to score 5 or more goals in La Liga last season, only Ronaldo (39.3) and Bacca (43.8) required fewer touches per goal than Gameiro (48.2) - but they'll want to reinvest in a new first choice front man. The players at Emery’s disposal are more than capable of creating the chances for any striker, though there are concerns as to whether Gameiro is capable of following in Bacca’s footsteps. 

Of the 8 league goals Gameiro netted last season, only 2 came from his 7 starts. Better suited, perhaps, as an impact sub, one would not bet against Emery requesting Monchi dip into the market once more to strengthen the attack, given the calibre of striker Sevilla can attract due to their participation in next season’s Champions League. As such, Wissam Ben Yedder, Ciro Immobile, Jonathas and John Guidetti have each been linked with a move to Sevilla, with Ben Yedder tipped to join sooner rather than later. After Iago Aspas returned to Celta Vigo, the Toulouse striker is expected to be the first of two new striking arrivals at the club. 

Sevilla continue to astutely go about their business and despite key departures, are tipped to maintain their good form. That they bettered their 2013/14 points tally (63) last season (74), despite Rakitic’s departure last summer, shows that the Spanish side is more than capable of pulling together as a team and pushing forward. With Emery in the hotseat, expect them to do so again in the upcoming campaign.

Do you think Sevilla can build on their impressive season, despite losing Bacca and Vidal this summer? Let us know in the comments below