Too little too late for Míchel and Sevilla?

In a season full of uncertainty and intrigue, Sevilla, for the most part, have failed to take advantage of the inconsistent playing field thrown out before them. If anything, they have been one of the most erratic sides of the campaign so far.

Since ascending to the top flight in 2001, the club has made a home for itself among the upper echelons of La Liga, finishing in the top half of the table every year and even managing to pick up some domestic and European silverware along the way (two Copa del Reys, two UEFA Cups, one Spanish Super Cup and one European Super Cup). This season however, the Andalucians have been nudged out of the limelight somewhat as other teams have made their presences felt: Levante seem to be reading from some kind of Disney penned feel-good movie script, Rayo have proved to the world that paying your squad is overrated and Malaga crept into a Champions League position when no one was looking.

During the past decade, José María del Nido’s club made a name for itself as one of la liga’s most entertaining sides, due to its exciting brand of “attack now, defend later” football, but for the most part it has struggled to find that form this year.

Up until recently Sevilla’s season had been remarkably unremarkable. In terms of not living up to expectations, the club was only being outclassed by Villarreal - 2011/12’s sacrificial lamb. But much to the relief of the fans, the team seems to have turned a corner in recent weeks and finally looks like it has a point to prove. Before losing to a single goal in San Mamés on the weekend, the team had found the net three times in each of its previous three matches, all of which were victories – a winning streak the likes of which the club hadn’t experienced since November 2009. Nine points from twelve is not bad reading, but whether or not this change in form is just a blip in an otherwise lacklustre season or something sustainable remains to be seen.

Starting the year with Marcelino at the helm, the club languished in the doldrums of mediocrity. Sure the traditionally leaky defence was shorn up but it came at the expense of goals at the other end. The aptly named nervionenses (which actually refers to the River Nervion, not a state of anxiety) looked on bewilderingly as their team, stripped of its identity and collective spirit, started to slide down the table. The fact that Koné - who had only managed to score a solitary goal in his previous four seasons at the club – had suddenly blossomed into the club’s most lethal finisher upon moving on loan to Levante (14 goals and counting in all competitions), compounded just how impotent the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán strike force had become.

In fairness, missing Álvaro Negredo for part of the campaign through injury was always going to affect the goals tally, but Pitor Trochowski’s signing didn’t help matters much either. Assurances that the former Hamburg player would bed in quickly were wide off the mark, much like the midfielder’s shooting. The German, while looking far more assured now, failed to adapt to the expansive, free flowing game quickly enough and as a result distribution through the middle of the park suffered. Players like Jesús Navas and Diego Perotti became increasingly isolated out wide and creative play stagnated.

Eventually Marcelino got the chop. Sacking the under performing manager came as no surprise to anyone, but the fact that Míchel was chosen to replace him raised more than a few eyebrows. While no one in their right mind (so that leaves out Javier Clemente) could ever question Míchel’s legacy as one of Real Madrid and Spain’s all time great players, the Quinta del Buitre legend has so far struggled to garner the same level of respect as a manager.

His career on the bench kicked off at Rayo Vallecano in 2005, where he failed to lift the left-leaning club out of the Segunda B ‘well’ – so-called because of the difficulty clubs tend to have in bouncing back from Spanish football’s third tier. After that, a spell as the Real Madrid cantera director ended when his relationship with the then club president, Ramón Calderón, soured to irreparable levels. Staying in the Spanish capital, he took up a position in Getafe’s technical area near the end of the 2008/2009 season. There he managed to steer the club away from relegation and made history the following year by finishing in sixth place while also reaching the Copa del Rey semi-finals. But it all came undone the next year as the ever-fickle president Ángel Torres unceremoniously handed him his P-45 after a nervy final day draw against Real Sociedad was required to avoid the drop.

Míchel didn't exactly get off to the flying start Sevilla fans were hoping for. He resumed his managerial career the same place he finished his last job, Anoeta. Unfortunately for him this time round, his debut was overshadowed by Rubén Pardo's standout performance for the home side. A 2-0 defeat to begin proceedings didn't do much to lift spirits, nevertheless since then Sevilla has climbed from thirteenth to eighth and is still in with a fighting chance of qualifying for Europe next season.

On signing him for Getafe, Torres described Míchel as “the type of manager players like. Not a ball-breaker”. The recent wins against Racing, Granada and Mallorca (admittedly not the most robust sides in the league) certainly substantiate this statement, as the team looked like a real force again and was all smiles while it was doing it. The notoriously troublesome Reyes and Navas caused havoc on the wings and in more central areas, while in front of goal Álvaro Negredo and Manu del Moral seemed to be trying to make up for lost time in their hunt for the Pichichi. Although not everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet – namely Ivan Rakitic – the team is showing far more character in this final part of the season than it had at the beginning. Even Trochowski is playing well.

The test for the manager and the team is whether they can salvage a European spot for next season. That is doable considering their upcoming fixture list - apart from a difficult trip to the Bernabéu, all the remaining league matches are winnable.

Against Athletic on the weekend Freddy Kanouté picked up an injury which effectively put and end to his Sevilla career, given that the Mali striker’s contract runs out in May. The anti-climatic nature of his exit seems strangely fitting given Sevilla’s season: a former figure of huge standing reduced to a hobbling version of itself.

For the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán faithful hopefully Míchel can awaken the sleeping giant.

Preview: Hannover 96 vs Atlético Madrid

Last week’s encounter in the Calderón saw the Spaniards draw first blood, but by no means did the Germans drop their heads after Falcao opened up the scoring. Mame Diouf responded to the Colombian’s early goal, and although Salvio had the final say in the match, which ended 2-1 in the home side’s favour, Simeone’s men have plenty to be fearful about heading into this Thursday’s return leg.

The AWD-Arena is not an ideal place to travel to with a slim lead and an away goal conceded. Die Roten are yet to record a single home defeat in either the Bundesliga or the Europa League this season, and extended their impressive run even further last weekend by defeated Bundesliga fourth spot dwellers Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1. In the European competition they have scored an average of 2.16 goals and conceded just 0.83 per game.

As Atleti witnessed first hand during last week’s match (especially in the second half), Mirko Slomka’s side is a well-equipped and well-drilled outfit, fast on the break and capable of making the most of its opportunities. In recent years Atleti’s exploits in Germany haven’t been that bountiful: drawing 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen in 2010 and losing 1-0 to Schalke back in 2008, through a Christian Pander goal, the now Hannover left full back.

Mirko Slomka’s side is dangerous from all over the park, and unlike Atleti who depend massively on Salvio (4), Adrian (5) and Falcao (7) to score their goals, the list of goal scores is far more evenly spread out among the Hannover squad. Only Diouf has found the net on three occasions so far in the competition but seven other players have managed to score twice. 

Going in the colchoneros’ favour however is the fact that, despite the up-and-down nature of their domestic campaign, an impressive record on the continental road has seen them clock up a decent scoring average of two goals per game away from the Spanish capital, while only conceding 0.57.

As well as that, Diego’s back to full fitness. With his display against Getafe on Sunday, the Brazilian showed all the signs of a player on top of his game and his goal will have no doubt struck fear into the hearts of the Hannover faithful: during his spells with Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg the number 22 netted four times in seven matches against Robert Enke’s former side. His inclusion into the Atleti starting line up is also significant for the manner in which he brings his attacking teammates into the game, with Adrián in particular looking far more threatening and creative alongside him.

Simeone almost had a full squad to choose from going into last week’s match but thanks to Gabi, Juanfran and Arda all picking up suspensions in that fixture, the Atleti boss is slightly more hamstrung in terms of his options for Thursday’s encounter. In all likelihood he will replace them with the recently returning Tiago, Perea and Adrián, respectively. Silvio and Antonio Lopez are still injured, and Fran Merida is cup-tied having already togged out for Braga earlier on in the competition. Salvio’s resurgence in recent weeks (four goals in three Europa League games) should earn him a start and I’d imagine it will come at Koke’s expense.

Manzano’s successor has been feeling the wrath of some disgruntled fans recently, with some (quite rightfully) questioning how much more effective of a coach the former player is. With the team’s la liga form toeing the typically inconsistent Atleti line (DLDWLWLW), keeping it’s European dreams alive is a top priority for Simeone, who will be wanting to shut his critics up.

Prediction: Given that Atleti have looked remarkably sure-footed defensively in Europe so far this season (for Atleti standards), I’d expect the Argentine to keep things tight at the back at the expense of playing overly expansively. Hannover are at their most devastating when on the counter so Cholo will be trying to ensure their chances of doing so are limited, with the likes of Stindl, Rausch and Konan Ya not being given space to run into. The idea will be to beat the Germans at their own game by inviting them to push on and catching them on the break, with Adrián and Salvio’s pace on the wings opening up the home side.

2-2

Possible line-ups:

Hannover 96: Zieler, Pander, Haggul, Pogatetz, Cherundolo, Sergio Pinto, Schmiedebach, Schlaudraff, Rausch, Konan Ya, Diouf

Atlético Madrid: Courtois, Felipe Luis, Miranda, Godín, Perea, Mario Suarez, Tiago, Salvio, Diego, Adrian, Falcao