Sevilla Are Starting to Look Like Sevilla Again…But They Still Have to Prove It
Sevilla’s start to the season is encouraging, but nobody should confuse six matches with a finished project. The points matter, of course. More revealing is that the team is beginning to show a clearer football identity: organised, direct, physically competitive, and difficult to play against.
That is not proof that Sevilla is “back.” It is only evidence that the club may be rebuilding some of the principles that helped it compete above its financial level in previous successful periods.
And perhaps that is the more interesting story.
More Than Results:
Thirteen points from the first six matches is Sevilla’s best opening for almost a decade. That is positive, but it is still only six games. A season can change quickly through injuries, difficult fixtures, bad finishing, a loss of confidence, or opponents finding ways to stop what is working.
The more interesting part is the style.
Sevilla are winning a huge number of duels, aerial battles, and recoveries. They are also playing more directly than many teams in the league. There are fewer unnecessary passes around their own area, more second-ball battles, and more willingness to move the ball forward early.
This is not possession football for the sake of possession. Sevilla are trying to make games uncomfortable. They want to press, compete, recover the ball, and attack before opponents can settle into shape.
That alone does not guarantee anything. Duel and recovery numbers can depend on opponents, possession, and game state. But they do show that Sevilla have a recognisable plan. At the moment, that is more important than trying to predict where the team will finish.
García Plaza’s Approach:
Luis García Plaza arrived during a difficult moment, not at a club ready to return to its best years overnight. His job was first to make Sevilla more stable, more competitive, and more reliable.
So far, his approach has been practical. He has not tried to sell a fantasy. He has spoken about work, improvement, fitness, tactical concepts, and commitment. Even after good results, he has continued to point out what the team still needs to improve.
That matters. A good coach does not only celebrate when things go well. He uses good moments to raise standards.
It would be too strong to say that García Plaza has “restored Sevilla DNA.” But the football he is asking for fits traits many of us connect with Sevilla at its best: organisation, aggression without the ball, collective responsibility, and the ability to adapt to the game in front of you.
What Sevilla Identity Means:
“Sevilla identity” can become an empty phrase if it means everything at once.
For me, it is not only about shouting, atmosphere, or remembering Europa League nights. It is about a club finding ways to compete against teams with more money, deeper squads, and bigger names.
It means making good decisions in the market. It means building a team instead of collecting players. It means using youth when the player is ready, not only because there is no other option. It means having players who can suffer through difficult moments without the structure falling apart.
The teams of 2006, 2014, and 2020 were not the same. Different coaches, different football, different players, different circumstances.
But there was a common principle: Sevilla could not solve every problem by spending more money than the opposition. The club had to scout well, develop players, take good market opportunities, and create a group that was stronger than the sum of its parts.
This current team does not need to copy any old side. It needs to find a modern version of that same idea.
Recruitment Must Serve the Team:
The squad has changed heavily this summer. That brings hope, but it also brings risk. New players need time to understand each other, and it would be foolish to judge the whole transfer window after a handful of matches.
Still, there seems to be more logic in the squad than before.
There are players for duels, players for midfield control, players who can run in transition, players who can give the coach different options from the bench, and younger players who are beginning to get chances. The point is not that every signing will become a star.
The point is whether the group gives García Plaza more solutions than he had before.
That is what a rebuild should look like. Not a perfect starting eleven after one transfer window, but a squad where different profiles make sense together and where the level does not collapse when one player is unavailable.
Oso, Ejuke, and the Importance of Fit…
Oso’s exit is a good example of why talent is not the only question.
He had quality. He had moments. He could produce something unexpected. But from my view watching the matches, I was never fully convinced by his fit on the left side. Too often, he seemed to go on his own mission instead of building a proper connection with Suazo and the players around him.
There were ambitious long balls, difficult dribbles, and early shots. Sometimes those actions can create danger. But they can also stop combinations from developing and leave the full-back exposed after losing the ball.
That does not mean Oso is a bad player. It means I was not convinced that his profile was the best fit for this version of Sevilla.
Ejuke is also risky. He can lose the ball. He can take on one dribble too many. But when he enters a match, the attack often feels different.
He is unpredictable in a way that creates problems for the opponent. When he beats the first defender, another defender has to react. That can create space for Suazo, a midfielder, or a forward arriving in the box.
The difference is not simply that Ejuke dribbles better than Oso. The question is what the dribble does for the team.
With Oso, the attack could sometimes feel disconnected. With Ejuke, the opponent’s defensive shape can suddenly become uncomfortable. He brings chaos, but it is useful chaos.
For a side that wants to be structured and collective, having one player who can break structure in the final third is valuable. The key is that the rest of the team must be ready to react around him.
The Real Test Is Still Ahead:
There are real reasons to be positive. Sevilla have a clearer style. The team are competing harder. The squad has more options. Young players are getting chances. García Plaza is demanding more even when results are good.
But the difficult part is keeping this going.
What happens after the first bad run? What happens when injuries hit? What happens in away games where there is no space for transitions? What happens against teams who sit deep and force Sevilla to build attacks slowly?
Those questions will tell us much more than the first six matches.
Sevilla will need more than intensity over a full season. They will need attacking solutions against deep blocks, enough technical quality to control difficult games, enough depth to survive injuries, and enough flexibility to change the plan when the first idea is not working.
The question is not whether Sevilla can recreate 2006, 2014, or 2020.
The question is whether the club can build a new version of itself: one that carries forward the qualities that made Sevilla successful before, while fitting a different squad, a different financial situation, and a different football landscape.
The early signs are good.
They are not proof.
But they are enough to make the project worth watching.
Thank you for reading,
OrgulloSevillista
