Six hundred Sevilla fans are making the trip to La Cerámica this afternoon, hoping to achieve what seemed like a miracle just days ago: avoiding relegation. After dramatic home wins against Real Sociedad and Espanyol, Luis García Plaza’s side need at least one more victory. But the schedule—and Levante, who won yesterday—have made things difficult, with Villarreal, Real Madrid, and Celta Vigo still to come.
Waiting for them is a Villarreal side that has nearly secured its objectives, led by a manager whose time at the club is all but over. Marcelino García Toral will leave at the end of the season, but he is determined to add another small feat to this year’s Champions League qualification: snatching third place from Simeone. A win today would put him within touching distance. Sevilla is one of his former clubs, and possibly the only one in Spain where the Asturian coach has failed.
Twenty-seven games during the 2011-12 season were enough to get him sacked—ironically, after a defeat against Villarreal, the very team he now manages. Monchi, who has recently made headlines with his move to Espanyol, has often admitted he was the main culprit for that dismissal at the Sánchez-Pizjuán: “I didn’t give Marcelino the right tools. He was a victim of my mistakes as sporting director,” the Cadiz-born executive has said.
If Marcelino sees white-and-red ghosts, Luis García is surely haunted by yellow nightmares. After coaching in the United Arab Emirates and China, he got his chance to take over Villarreal—an oasis among exotic adventures for the Madrid-born coach. But he lasted just six La Liga games. Four draws and two defeats sealed his dismissal at La Cerámica in January 2019, after barely 50 days in charge. That’s a thorn Luis will likely carry forever.
“I almost didn’t feel like a Villarreal manager,” García Plaza once said of his brief stint at the Castellón club. This afternoon, after building a solid career and earning his stripes with Mallorca and Alavés, he has a chance to fully revive Sevilla. He will be without Isaac Romero, whose fitness has given out—along with Marcao and Manu Bueno. Alexis Sánchez is expected to lead the attack.
Sevilla’s Luis García: “Villarreal is the toughest of the three we have left”
Villarreal’s Marcelino: “We want to keep up our form at home”
After the draw in Mallorca, which featured heavy rotation in the yellow lineup, everything suggests Marcelino will restore something close to his strongest eleven. Pape Gueye, a former Sevilla player, is expected to return after missing two matches.
