I was thinking about it this morning and of course Montella is the easiest target, but ruling him out, is there something more?
I was thinking possibly leadership. There is no Iborra or Coke on the team this year. No true vocal leader in my opinion. Escudero has been put in that position, but he does not seem like the vocal leader that this team is used to.
Poor/Injured/Old Center-backs. Flawed strikers. Overreliance on Banega and Nzonzi. Mediocre keepers.
I actually did a write up for La Liga UK about this and other things, have a read:
Reports have escalated over the past few days that ex-Sevilla coach & Andalucian Joaquin Caparros could replace current coach Vincenzo Montella at Sevilla this summer.
Sevilla have not been happy with the Italian coach & the vibes coming out of the Nervion are that they are looking to make a number of changes in the summer, with Montella & Ăscar Arias set to leave the club after the current campaign has finished.
Montella has taken Sevilla to a Champions League Âź finals & Copa del Rey final but there is concern within the club due to failure to claim a Champions League place. Poor team performances have pushed them down to 7th, behind city rivals Betis who sit in 5th after 3 successive wins in La Liga.
The next few games will define the season for Sevilla & coach Montella, with the 2nd leg of the Champions League on Wednesday, followed by a must win at home to Villareal on Saturday, the pressure on Montella has intensified after a poor showing and 4-0 loss at the weekend against Celta. Now with the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona in just 12 days it could decide the fate and direction for Sevillaâs journey into Europe next season, with or without current backroom staff.
I am not sure Joaquin Caparros is the right man to take the club forward although he was at the club 2000-2005 when some of the youth starlets of Sevilla were coming through (Marchena, Antonio Reyes, Sergio Ramos & Jesuli to name a few) he never got the chance as he was replaced by Juande Ramos in June 2005, over the 5 seasons in charge he had a win rate of 45.13% winning 102 of the 226 games he was in charge, drawing 55 and losing 69 during his tenure at the helm. If I was looking to bring balance of football & creativity then my attention would turn towards Luis Enrique, or maybe Marco Silva, not saying other coachâs arenât up for the job, Unai Emery will probably become available in June so there are many options open, but the club need to get the next appointment right to appease the fans who deserve better than they have seen on many occasions this season.
Another thing to look at is what has gone wrong this season in La Liga. Berizzo took over and liked to rotate the squad to keep them all fighting for a start but it didnât matter how they performed as they could be Man Of The Match one week and be left out of the squad the following week! Then Montella arrives and decides he wants to play the same XI unless injuries or suspension put a halt to it, but if you look at the players & balance of the team that Sampaoli had compared to now, and even under Berizzo you will see a few things different this season, namely a striker with an eye for goal, a worker who could shield, pass and header the ball. Then we donât have a commander at the back to organise & talk his team mates back into position, many times when we concede due to ball watching or basic awareness mistakes you can see the players looking around as if to say âwhat happened there, why was he given that much freedomâ and from the stands itâs probably more noticeable than watching from your TV.
Now in midfield we have Nâzonzi with Banega who have both been superb together but I canât help but feel Banega could do more damage a little further forward.
Something is missing, a piece of the jigsaw has been lost, as much as Mudo is a decent player at times his work rate or lack of it cost the team possession and it infuriates me that he does not track back enough when we arenât in possession, in many other teams he would be a luxury player but when you are fighting for your lifeâs to secure a top 6 finish he is sadly a player we cannot afford to carry in certain games.
The vibe I get is that there is a lack of energy, possibly a winning mentality spirit or a fighter that others look up to and raise their game knowing the repercussions would be like a cyclone in their ear drums. They are cruising around without taking responsibilities for their actions and itâs very disturbing
Wednesday is a game most Sevillistas will feel slightly out of their grasp but that was said before the 2nd leg against Man Utd in the last round where they showed character & resilience to grab 2 goals at Old Trafford, but Bayern Munich is a much different entity, they will be strong at home, will not give much away (as they did in the 1st leg) and will absorb pressure & then hit teams on the counter. Sevilla need to be strong and focused if they are to get anything from the game, but it was 2 deflected goals in the RSP that helped Bayern secure a 1st leg 1-2 win, maybe Sevilla can return the favour and go 1 better, not the impossible dream, but if anyone can do it then it will be the team that never surrenders!
Dicen Que Nunca Se Rinde
[This is the un-edited version]
Good question Chris, I think itâs the curse of the Champions. Lots of pretenders that aspire to that elite group suffer in the same way when trying to step up a level. And consider that some players are not thinking about ânext seasonâ because they donât envisage being around, so the Champions is where they can make a name for themselves and up their profile.
Nzonzi might 
be amongst those, after seeing his recent performances in Champions league.
If you had asked âWhatâs wrong with Sevilla?â that would be a tougher question, but with a simple summary âAlmost everythingâ.