The Sevilla board sacked José Luis Mendilibar this Sunday. The existing doubts about the Basque coach’s performance were expressed in a meeting on Sunday after the draw against Rayo Vallecano. In it, the league leaders decided to do without the coach as Sevilla were in 14th place and had eight of the 24 points at stake. In the Champions League, the Andalusian team drew the two games against Lens (1:1) and PSV (2:2) and is therefore in third place. Mendilibar was given a season extension at the end of last season after winning the Europa League, an unexpected success in a rather turbulent season.
Sevilla saved a point against Rayo in the final half of the game with a goal from En-Nesyri, but the team showed very bad feelings. The Sevilla leaders are clear that the Basque is not performing adequately from a squad that has been greatly improved by his criteria. They also didn’t understand Mendilibar’s decisions, which left heavyweights like Sergio Ramos, Navas, Rakitic and Ocampos on the bench. He also replaced Fernando in the 37th minute and the Brazilian, one of the dressing room leaders, publicly blamed him for the substitution. “The team is not playing,” is the sentence that is heard most often in the posh Sánchez Pizjuán district. The coach also hasn’t forgiven some of the comments that the managers didn’t like at all. “Sevilla is not obliged to win,” he said before the clash against Almería. After the defeat against Alavés (4:3), Mendilibar also emphasized that his players did not run enough.
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Mendilibar arrived in Sevilla last March and of the first twelve games, the Andalusian team won eight, drew three and lost just one. However, Sevilla have only won two of their last 16 games, drawing eight and losing six. Mendilibar’s dismissal comes a year after Julen Lopetegui’s. This year Sevilla already had three coaches: Lopetegui, Jorge Sampaoli and Mendilibar. The Andalusian team has not found stability on the bench since the departure of Lopetegui, who was on the bench from 2019 to 2022.
Sevilla has already activated the protocol to hire a new coach, a mission of the sports director Víctor Orta. The idea is to hire a respected coach who can withstand the pressure of a club like Sevilla and surpass Mendilibar, who was hired to solve a critical situation. The coach’s figure must be strong in a unit where Monchi, who acted as Sevilla’s big screen, is no longer there.
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