In the wake of Celta Vigo’s incredible run in last season’s edition of the Europa League, a competition in which La Celeste battled their way to within an inch of a historic final berth, Eduardo Berizzo was riding high. The Argentine’s resumé was glistening, boasting a smooth transition from South American to Spanish football over the course of four successful years in Galicia.
In leaving Celta behind, he knew the task ahead was far greater and that expectations would take another step up accordingly. Sevilla was the destination, with somehow bettering the fourth-place finish of Jorge Sampaoli his objective. While his compatriot strode in and took the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan by force, quickly winning the hearts and minds of the fans in a breathless campaign, Berizzo is a cooler customer; a more trustworthy and balanced pair of long-term hands for a club whose upward trajectory in recent years needs to be carefully managed.
On paper, the first few weeks were excellent, with the points Los Nervionenses managed to put on the board in La Liga helping Berizzo break club records. But while his new squad resided between second and third place in the table, it was merely a mask for their embryonic failings; one that has since slipped to reveal no substance beneath it, with the fall from grace occurring at worrying speed. Their three most recent games, consecutive defeats by Athletic Club, Spartak Moscow and Valencia have all been predictable. Cracks had been showing, but now Sevilla find themselves faced with a big challenge to overcome - and they must do so quickly.
We find ourselves nine matchdays into the 2017/2018 season, but this Sevilla squad are still playing like trialists. You could be forgiven for mistaking their league games for pre-season friendlies, such has been the volume and regularity of changes made by a coach who evidently doesn't know his best team. While his system and style have remained firm, the personnel asked to showcase the new Berizzo brand are given 90 minutes, before another assortment of players are thrown out next time. No rhythm means no progress.
There are no telling patterns of play, nor any hallmarks of a team clicking in their transitions from midfield to attack. Passes in between the lines and searching balls into the channels for the likes of Wissam Ben Yedder and Luis Muriel to collect should be their bread and butter, but instead problems in working possession out from their own half is leaving the likes of Franco Vázquez and Éver Banega far too deep to affect the game in the final third, with the presence of Gabriel Mercado at right-back limiting their overall width.
The nine points taken in La Liga meetings with Getafe, Girona and Las Palmas have all been smash and grab, against three sides who have largely been able to hold Berizzo’s men at arm’s length with ease. The lack of identity when camped in the opposition half is striking, with Banega the only player who has the vision to open up the type of low block Sevilla have regularly faced this campaign. Joaquin Correa and Pablo Sarabia, two livewires of the Sampaoli era, have found themselves benched instead of Nolito, Ganso and Franco Vázquez, who have all underwhelmed.
Against Spartak, Sevilla suffered their worst defeat in Europe since 1958, with the Russian side finding the back of the net five times in Moscow. The supposed underdogs were well organised defensively and moved with steely purpose on the break, with Quincy Promes and Luiz Adriano showing both pace and efficiency. Time and time again, Los Nervionenses found themselves carved apart by a couple of passes through their lines, with their lack of pace at centre back-underlined, highlighted and then underlined once more.
An absence of speed within the back four is just one of the negative characteristics of Berizzo’s Sevilla. The machine has not yet whirred into action, largely because of the heavy rotation between games. There is also no confidence within the ranks to help spark an improvement.
A fighting mentality has been largely non-existent so far this season; Sevilla have recently been out-thought, out-fought and out-gunned. Berizzo is no doubt a talented coach, and his star-studded squad clearly possesses the talent to aim for the top four, but a lack of consistency in team selection means the foundations still haven't been laid.
With Sevilla competing on three fronts this season, they can’t afford to waste any more time. Individuals have dug the collective out of holes for long enough, and Berizzo needs to settle on a first-choice XI and stick to his guns. Without an identity, Los Nervionenses are in danger of spluttering to a complete standstill and stunting the team's growth at the start of what looked to be a promising new era.
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