Sevilla

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Exclusive: Pasqual Not Leaving Fiorentina - Agent 
Goal.com spoke exclusively with Manuel Pasqual's agent about the current transfer window, and he revealed that his client will not be leaving the Viola.

Manuel Pasqual has been followed closely by numerous Italian sides since the beginning of the season, and it was considered certain that he would be leaving the Viola in this transfer window, but it is no longer the case.

The defender has been unsettled at the Tuscan club for quite some time and it was believed that he saw January as the right moment to make his exit from Cesare Prandelli's squad. 

Napoli and Milan have made their interest in Pasqual very obvious, and they were considered to be in pole position to acquire his services until now.

However, the defender's agent, Gastone Rizzato revealed that Fiorentina want to hold onto their talented defender.

“I have been reading about the interest of Napoli, Milan and Sevilla for months,” said the agent in an exclusive interview with Goal.com. 

He added: “Many other sides too, but the truth is the Pasqual is a Fiorentina player and the club have told me nothing. If they decide to sell him, then we will look at our options and decide from there.”

Rizzato continued: “Sometimes in a player's career a season can go wrong for various reasons, but when Pasqual has been called on he has done very well.”

Pasqual's current contract with the Viola runs until 2010, and this presents an interesting dilemma for the club. “Pasqual is happy in Florence, it is a beautiful city, Fiorentina is a great team and he has a good connection with his team mates, but he is a footballer and he is there to play.

“His contract expires in 2010, Fiorentina needs to decide whether to let him reach the end of his contract and let him leave on a free transfer, or whether they will sell him now or in June. Either way he is a Fiorentina player and the club will decide,” Rizzato told Goal.com.

The player performed well against Torino recently and that may be one of the reasons why Fiorentina refused an offer from the Azzurri and the Rossoneri for the full-back.

Palestine Embassy Thanks Kanouté For Support
After Freddy Kanouté lifted his top when he scored last night, to reveal a t-shirt with Palestine written across it, the Malian received thanks from the Palestinian embassy, and the Israeli ambassador has said it won't generate violence...

Freddy Kanouté has proved on many occasions during his career that he wants to use his footballing talent to help other causes, and last night the Malian bought off-the-field events to light again.

After scoring against Deportivo La Coruña in the Copa Del Rey, the striker lifted his top to reveal a t-shirt, with the word Palestine written across it.

The message was a simple show of support for the Palestinian cause in the Middle-East, and today, it received thanks from the Palestine embassy.

Speaking to Radio Marca, Mahmud Aluanen, counsellor for the embassy, expressed his gratitude to Kanouté, and said that he believes many back in his country will be grateful too.

"It is a very important step," he began.

"The Sevilla striker has shown himself to be very brave by supporting our region in a public act like he did.

"Sportsmen are human beings, and they cannot hide their feelings. They have all the right in the world to express their opinions in areas that question human rights. I am sure that all Palestinian children, who love Spanish football, will be moved by this gesture."

Kanouté has been a staunch follower of Islam since he turned 20 and back in 2006/2007 refused to wear a shirt sponsored by gambling website 888.com, because betting is against Islamic principles.

On this occasion it seems that he could face a fine for his actions though, but he was defended in part by the Israeli ambassador in Spain, who said he does not believe it will generate violence.

Speaking to Radio Marca, Raphael Schutz, called for everyone to come together in a bid for peace, and confirmed he did not have an opinion on the incident.

"We all have to act together so that there can be peace in the region...The mixture of politics and sport can sometimes be bad, but not when there is a very specific opinion on display. I believe that [Michael] Owen did something similar to show his support for dock workers in Liverpool, and that had a positive reaction," he mused.

"One must respect the action, but I do not have a clear opinion. I do not believe it will generate violence, I saw the game, and the shirt said nothing more than Palestine. There was no incitement against Israel and I do not believe it will start any violence."

Sevilla's Kanouté Could Be Punished For Palestine Message
Sevilla striker, Freddy Kanouté, could be fined for revealing a message of support to Palestine after scoring against Deportivo La Coruña yesterday evening...

Freddy Kanouté has never been a player to shy away from sharing his opinion, but his latest message could well earn him a punishment this week.

Following his goal against Deportivo La Coruña the Sevilla striker lifted his top to reveal a t-shirt with the word 'Palestine' written across it, as well as words in Arabic.

Now, the Competition Committee in Spain will have to decide this Friday whether or not he will be punished for the action.

At the time the Malian was shown a yellow card by the referee for 'covering his head with his shirt', but the rules are stricter regarding this subject.

They state that players are not permitted to show any political messages during a match, and this is where Kanouté could get into trouble.

The most common punishment for cases such as this is an economic fine, but due to the fact that the incident was not recorded in the minutes, he could be let off with just the booking.

Kanouté has bought religion into football in the past too, when he refused to wear a Sevilla shirt with the gambling website 888.com across the front, as betting is against the principles of Islam.

Sevilla won the match against Depor 2-1 and will face the same opponents twice in the next week, in the league this weekend, and then in the return Copa Del Rey match.

I Don't Feel Special At Sevilla - Jiménez
Amidst rumours of Manolo Jiménez being sacked at Sevilla, the coach has said he does not feel special at the club, but that maybe expectations are too high...

If Manolo Jiménez does get fired from Sevilla anytime in the near future, the Spaniard will no doubt be cursing his luck, bearing in mind the Andalucian side are currently competing to back into the Champions League.

However, it seems as though his reign his on the brink following the draw to Osasuna, and the exit from the UEFA Cup last year.

Speaking today, he admitted to Marca that he doesn't feel special at the club, but that he knows results are what matters.

"I feel taken in by the club, but I do not feel special," he mused.

"Coaches are slaves of the results, I am a very good professional and I get up each day to try and learn more.

"I want to coach a team like Sevilla, because I believe we have enough quality to compete."

Certainly Sevilla have been competing this season, at least in La Liga and the Copa Del Rey, but their exit from the UEFA Cup could be what ultimately costs Jimenez his job.

The coach acknowledged that losing in that competition was a bitter pill to swallow too.

"The UEFA Cup was a very hard blow. We wanted to get very far in Europe and to compete for the trophy at the end," he said.

That upset in Europe, and more recently the draw with Osasuna, has created unhappiness amongst the fans, which was shown as they whistled the team on the pitch. Jiménez said that when this happens he suffers a lot, and it is very difficult for him to communicate with the players.

However, the coach did also defend himself somewhat by hinting that perhaps the ambitions of some of the fans are too high.

"Sevilla cannot think that they are going to win the league losing six matches, or win the Copa Del Rey playing excellent football," he opined.

"We have gone several seasons with the best through hard work and effort. This season Barcelona have excelled and if nothing strange happens, they have a great chance to win the league."

Exclusive: Sevilla's De Mul Has Doubts About Genk Move
Sevilla winger Tom de Mul isn't sure whether Belgian side Genk are the right club for him, his agent exclusively revealed to Goal.com... 

Belgian winger Tom de Mul signed for Sevilla from Eredivisie giants Ajax in 2007. However, the attacker has failed to secure a spot in Sevilla's starting XI ever since and is reportedly ready to move on to get regular first team football.

The 22-year-old's current situation in Spain hasn't gone unnoticed in his native country and several Jupiler League outfits are interested in signing De Mul, with RC Genk reportedly sitting in pole position. 

"There are a number of Belgian teams interested in Tom [de Mul]. Standard Liege and RC Genk are both monitoring his situation, but we're not sure whether Genk are the right team for him. We've to think about this before making a decision," said Mustapha Nakhli to Goal.com.

"Sevilla aren't reluctant to let go of him, but Tom's having a great time at Sevilla and he isn't desperate to leave the club. He's a great winger, but Tom's unlucky that he's facing Jesus Navas's competition for a spot in the starting XI. Navas is Europe's best right winger after Cristiano Ronaldo."

"There are no Dutch teams among the interested outfits, so it's useless to discuss whether Ajax were once interested in re-signing him," Nakhli concluded.

Spanish Debate: Are Sevilla Over Or Under Achieving?
With rumours starting to build that Manolo Jiménez could be on his way out of Sevilla, the question has to be asked, what should the side be aiming for, and are expectations too high this year?

For any other set of fans, victories over Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Villarreal, coupled with second spot in the league at Christmas, might be considered a success, but apparently not for Sevilla.

The Andalucian supporters have been quick to get on the back of coach Manolo Jiménez this season after every defeat, every draw, and even victories, so much so that the Spaniard’s time at Sevilla appears to be coming to an end.

Surely not since the days of Real Madrid sacking Vicente Del Bosque after he had won La Liga would a dismissal be quite so outlandish, or, are Sevilla fans right in thinking their club should be achieving more?

Memory Lane

One of the problems with success is that apparently, success breeds success, meaning that once you are successful once, you should go on to be successful again. With Barcelona and Real Madrid it is taken as given that they will compete for everything now, but with other teams, success can sometimes be a problem, as has arguably been the case for Sevilla.

The Andalucian side, who had never won a European trophy before their UEFA Cup victory in 2005-06, were taken to the top by Juande Ramos, and now it appears they have ideas above their station. One only need look at the words by the now Real Madrid coach when he left Sevilla, which were to the effect of ‘I cannot take this club any further’, to see the underlying problem.

Manolo Jiménez started this season in charge of Sevilla missing arguably their three best players in Dani Alves, Seydou Keita and Christen Poulsen, and yet still fans hoped for more success. Sure, some said that the squad last September was the strongest they have had in a long time, but bearing in mind some of the players in it, that seems more like bravado each day that passes. In fact, whilst Jiménez is taking the flack as coach, there is one man behind the scenes, who seems to be escaping relatively unscathed so far, and that is Monchi, the man behind the transfers.

Trouble At The Top

The Sevilla sports director seemed to be in the right place at the right time to take credit for the success under Ramos, and now he too must be held accountable, if Jiménez is to be. One only needs to look at some of the players bought in by Sevilla, such as Tom De Mul, Arouna Koné and Ndri Romaric, to see that the coach has not exactly had gold to work with this season. In fact, it could be argued that with the players he has had at his disposal, he has done remarkably well, and has managed to churn out many impressive results.

Unfortunately, the fact that he has been ‘churning out’ results, rather than wowing the world with sublime football, is definitely part of the problem. Under Ramos, Sevilla played slick football, of that there is no doubt, but under Jiménez they have played efficient football, and that has not been greeted with open arms by the fans. Most significantly was the derby match against Real Betis, in which Sevilla lacked any real menace going forward, and almost seemed content to play for a draw, much to the disbelief and horror of their fans.

What Sevilla fans have almost overlooked though is for much of the season the coach has had his hands tied because of the huge amount of injuries to his squad. Without Freddy Kanouté, Luis Fabiano and Koné it is hardly surprising that he has used the 4-5-1 on a few occasions, but even when it has got results, it has not been liked by the support. Indeed, one gets the feeling that the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán crowd would almost prefer to see their side lose 5-4 than for them to win 1-0 with a scrappy goal from close-range.

Best Ever?

Along with Monchi, one man who has to take some credit/blame for this problem is president José Maria Del Nido, who has played a huge part in putting this team on a pedestal. Recent remarks such as ‘this Sevilla team is the best ever’ and ‘there are no players better than these’, have surely only helped to fuel belief amongst the fans that they should be doing better than just competing for fourth spot.

But in reality, should they? Before Ramos led them to third in the league, the point at which he decided to leave, they were finishing fifth and sixth for the most part, and not even qualifying for the Champions League. However, following the success in Europe there could be an argument suggesting they should have pushed on and started competing for La Liga, especially last season, when they had an impressive looking squad to choose from.

What was significant about the summer just gone though was that it demonstrated that Sevilla are still very much a selling club, rather than a buying one. Letting a star such as Alves go might be justified by saying the offer was too good to refuse, or he wanted to leave, but letting three of your best players leave, is a sign of a second-tier club. Del Nido alluded to the same thing recently when he admitted that for them to win La Liga the points tally would need to be a lot lower than what it looks like being at the moment.

That goal of winning the league certainly looks a dream now and the reality is that under Jiménez, they are well and truly establishing themselves as a top four side, and are just one point from second, but still the white handkerchiefs are out in the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, and the defining question has to be why? 

What do the fans think they will achieve by forcing Jiménez out of the club? Surely at this stage of the season, with the club in the Copa Del Rey and in a battle for the top spots, it would only serve to destabilise the club. They might not be pleased with the football on show, but they are not Real Madrid. They might not be pleased with the lack of trophies, but they are not Barcelona. At the end of the day they are Sevilla, a side who has won La Liga once, over fifty years ago, and who, less than ten years ago were in Segunda, with European football a distant dream. If Jiménez gets the sack then who knows how it will turn out with the next coach, but one gets the feeling it could be a case of you don’t know what you had until it’s gone.

Sevilla's Kanouté Fined For Palestine Message
Freddy Kanouté has today been handed a fine for revealing a message of support to Palestine after scoring against Deportivo La Coruña...

Freddy Kanouté has been handed a €3,000 fine by the Spanish Competition Committee today, for his post-goal celebration on Wednesday evening.

The Malian striker lifted his top to reveal a t-shirt with the word Palestine across the front, as well as words in Arabic, and has been found worthy of a punishment under article 120.

The rule prohibits players from revealing messages of a religious or political nature on the pitch, and hence Kanouté has been fined €3,000, according to AS.

The news comes on the same day that Miguel was handed a three-match ban for his rant at a linesman, and Vicente was given his ban for a red card, all on the same evening in the Copa Del Rey.

Kanouté did receive thanks following the message though from many fans, and also from the Palestine embassy in Spain.

Similarly, the Israeli ambassador in Spain did not see anything wrong with the message, saying that it would not 'incite violence.'

However, the Competition Committee have decided to stick to the rules and have given Kanouté a fine for his actions.

Sevilla take on Deportivo La Coruña in La Liga this weekend, and then also meet them again next week in the return leg of their Copa Del Rey tie.

La Liga Preview: Deportivo La Coruna - Sevilla
What: La Liga, Matchday 18 
Who: Deportivo La Coruna (6th, 30 points) v Sevilla (4th, 32 points) 
When: Saturday January 10, 20:00 CET 
Where: Estadio El Riazor, La Coruna

Deportivo La Coruna will be hoping to burst into the Champions League places when they host Sevilla on Saturday night. 

Defensive Depor

Unlike the famous Deportivo sides of seasons past, this version is based very much around a solid defence. Indeed, only runaway leaders Barcelona and opponents Sevilla have conceded less, a stark contrast to last season, when they leaked in goals at will. 

Of course, their miserly defence comes at a cost. With just 22 goals, Depor have scored the least among any of the top ten sides. Despite that handicap, they find themselves in sixth spot, and with the prospect of a top four place if they can win at the weekend. 

Interestingly enough, these sides last met as recently as Wednesday, albeit in the Copa del Rey. Sevilla ran out 2-1 winners on that occasion, but the game was played at the Sanchez Pizjuan. Sevilla also called upon their strongest available line-up, whereas Depor played some of their star players off the bench. That result, therefore, should have little impact on the league encounter. 

Stubborn Sevilla

Much like Deportivo, Sevilla have reigned in the attacking instincts that made them famous, preferring instead to go for a 'safety first' approach. Only Barca have conceded less than them, but by the same token, only Depor have scored less than Sevilla among the top ten sides. It hasn't been pretty, but they have maintained a steady top-four spot for most of the season. 

While the aforementioned Copa win gave Sevilla some respite, they were booed off the pitch in their last league encounter, at home to bottom club Osasuna. An uninspiring performance had given them a 1-0 lead, but the visitors snatched a last minute equaliser at the death. The home side's reluctance to press on for a second goal attracted the ire of their fans, and embodied their approach to the season so far. 

Injuries and suspensions to the likes of Luis Fabiano and Frederic Kanoute have certainly not helped, not to mention the losses of Christian Poulsen, Seydou Keita and Daniel Alves. Despite their fourth position and various assurances from the board, there is a feeling that Manolo Jimenez may be on borrowed time. Therefore, there will be no shortage of pressure on his shoulders at the Riazor. 

FORM GUIDE

Deportivo La Coruna

LOST 2-1 (A) Sevilla (Copa Del Rey Round of 16 First Leg, January 07)

WON 2-1 (A) Getafe (La Liga Matchday 17, January 04)

WON 4-1 (H) Recreativo de Huelva (La Liga Matchday 16, December 21)

WON 1-0 (H) AS Nancy-Lorraine (UEFA Cup Group Stage Matchday 5, December 17)

LOST 3-0 (A) Real Valladolid (La Liga Matchday 15, December 14)

Sevilla

WON 2-1 (H) Deportivo La Coruna (Copa Del Rey Round of 16 First Leg, January 07)

DREW 1-1 (H) Osasuna (La Liga Matchday 17, January 04)

DREW 0-0 (A) Mallorca (La Liga Matchday 16, December 21)

LOST 1-0 (A) Sampdoria (UEFA Cup Group Stage Matchday 5, December 18)

WON 1-0 (H) Villarreal (La Liga Matchday 15, December 14)

TEAM NEWS

Deportivo La Coruna

Antonio Barragan and Gustavo Munua are ruled out for the season, while Pablo Amo is sideline until February. Mista has resumed training, but will not be rushed back for this match, in which Miguel Angel Lotina is expected to make widespread changes to his Copa del Rey team. 

Probable Starting XI: Aranzubia - Manuel Pablo, Lopo, Ze Castro, Filipe - Guardado, Sergio, Juan Rodriguez, Lafita - Verdu - Bodipo

Sevilla

Manolo Jimenez has to contend with a whopping nine injuries for this game, namely Javi Varas, Javi Navarro, Abdoulay Konko, Fazio, Aquivaldo Mosquera, Lautaro Acosta, Javier Chevanton and Arouna Kone. As if that was not enough, Aldo Duscher is suspended. 

Probable Starting XI: Palop - Crespo, Escude, Squillaci, Navarro - Navas, Romaric, Maresca, Adriano - Kanoute, Fabiano

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Deportivo La Coruna - Angel Lafita has been linked to a whole host of clubs in recent weeks, and with the January transfer window hotting up, the tricky winger will be keen to impress any potential suitors, in case a big money move is in the offing. 

Sevilla - After being slapped with a fine following his show of support for Palestine in midweek, Frederic Kanoute will be keen to do his talking on the pitch this time, and help Sevilla to another win over the same opponents. 

PREDICTION

While La Liga has lived up to its reputation with some absolute blockbusters this year, these two sides have rarely been involved in any of them, with the exception of Sevilla's 4-3 win at the Bernabeu. Hopefully this prediction turns out to be wrong, but it is hard to see anything other than a stalemate between these two, in the second of three consecutive matches against each other. 

Deportivo La Coruna 0-0 Sevilla

Sevilla's Mosquera Offered To River Plate - Report
Unsettled Sevilla defender, Aquivaldo Mosquera, has apparently been offered to River Plate on a loan deal and the move has been given the okay by coach Pipo Gorosito...

Aquivaldo Mosquera looks as though he could be on his way to Argentina this winter, with the Colombian defender reportedly heading to River Plate on a loan deal.

Olé reports that the defender - who has struggled to hold down a first-team place this season, and was also involved in an 'incident' recently where he threatened a journalist - has been offered to the Argentine side by a businessman connected to Sevilla.

Who the individual is, is not yet known, but the paper reports that the move has been given the all clear by River Plate coach, Pipo Gorosito, and now the ball is in Sevilla's court.

If a deal is finalised it will have to be on a loan basis, due to the financial troubles River are in, and this may well suit Sevilla better too, with the player still only 27-years-old.

Mosquera joined the Spanish side from Pachuca back in 2007, but this season has found himself part of the rotation system at the back.

For this reason it seems likely that the Colombian would favour a move away from the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, and it will now be down to Monchi and Manolo Jiménez to decide whether or not to let him go.

The club are yet to comment on the matter.

Ten-Man Sevilla Stun Deportivo La Coruña To Move Second
Sevilla moved back into second place in La Liga as they beat Deportivo La Coruña 3-1, despite going behind and having Enzo Maresca sent off in the first-half...

Deportivo La Coruña 1-3 Sevilla

Deportivo La Coruña failed to make their numerical advantage count against Sevilla tonight as they were beaten 3-1 at home, despite taking the lead in the first-half.

In front of an expectant Riazor crowd the home side went ahead on the scoreboard when Rodolfo Bodipo beat Andrés Palop at his near post, and then went ahead numerically soon after.

Enzo Maresca was the man to see red after he elbowed Bodipo on the half-way line, but Sevilla got into the match after the break.

Freddy Kanouté, who only came on at half-time, was the provider as he found Luis Fabiano in the six-yard box to tap home on the volley.

The goal seemed to spark Sevilla into life and even though they only had ten men, they matched Depor for much of the second-half and grabbed another goal on the break with just over ten minutes left.

Again Kanouté provided the assist as he chipped into the box for Renato to head, and late on Diego Capel grabbed the third on the break after some good work by Jesus Navas on the wing.

Cagey Opening

Despite having played in the Copa Del Rey just three days ago, Sevilla stuck with a similar side to that which beat Depor, with the main change coming up front, where Luis Fabiano started alone and Freddy Kanouté only on the bench. It was a much-changed side for the hosts though, but from the off, it was the visitors who had the better of proceedings and Fabiano went close with just fifteen minutes gone, but he dragged his shot just wide of goal.

The game turned out to be a cagey affair, with both defences holding firm, and no ground being given up in midfield. Indeed, it took until nearly the half-hour mark for Depor fans to get excited, as Bodipo shot on the volley, but his effort missed the near post by a few feet. However, the striker made up for his miss just a couple of minutes later, as Andrés Palop was beaten far too easily at his near post. The striker picked up the ball on the right touchline, and cut inside onto his right foot, looking as though he would shoot across goal, but instead went near post, and left Palop standing.

The experienced 'keeper will have been fuming with the goal, but things were to get worse for Sevilla just five minutes before half-time. With Depor coming forward on the break the play was halted by the referee on the half-way line, brandishing a red card for Enzo Maresca for use of the elbow. Bodipo was the Depor man hit but it did not appear to be deliberate from the Italian, and the Sevilla players protested long and hard about the decision.

The referee was standing right next to the pair as the incident happened though, and he did not change his mind, leaving Sevilla to bemoan their luck as the half-time whistle blew. 

Brave Boss

Jiménez made a brave move at the break though, with Kanouté coming on to replace defender José Ángel Crespo, giving Sevilla more of a target man up front. It paid dividends almost instantly too, with Kanouté linking up with Fabiano to pull Sevilla level just five minutes into the half. The Malian was the supplier as he tricked past Ze Castro on the right and crossed in, leaving Fabiano to place a volley past Daniel Aranzubia from six yards out.

The goal raised plenty of questions as to why Kanouté wasn't starting, but it also seemed to raise Sevilla, and they looked revitalised after going level. Neither side were able to really muster any efforts on goal though and Jiménez decided to throw on Diego Capel for Fabiano in a bid to add some more pace down the wing.

The Riazor crowd were beginning to get frustrated by the lack of chances for their side, and it was actually Sevilla who looked more dangerous on the break. Jesus Navas very nearly fed in Kanouté, and Adriano was close to chipping a ball over the top, but the home defence just about held firm.

However, Sevilla did go ahead with just over ten minutes left as they hit Depor on the counter-attack with devastating effect. Kanouté yet again supplied the assist as he got the ball on the right touchline and chipped into the middle of the box for Renato to meet with a diving header. The goal completed a remarkable comeback for Sevilla but they were indebted to their goalkeeper just minutes later.

First Palop made a great flying save to deny Sergio from distance, and then he made a superb reflex save to keep out a shot from Albert Lopo from inside the six-yard box. Depor were finally beginning to show some urgency but they couldn't muster an equaliser and Sevilla grabbed a third late on to rub salt in the wound. With the home side all out in attack, Navas broke away and skipped past Ze Castro, crossing for Diego Capel to tap home from six yards into an empty net, and send Sevilla into second.

La Liga Player Ratings: Deportivo La Coruna 1-3 Sevilla
Despite having only ten men, Sevilla ran out on top at El Riazor, defeating Deportivo La Coruna 3-1. Goal.com rated each player's performance...

Deportivo La Coruna

Daniel Aranzubia - 6 - Not to blame for any of the goals, as he had absolutely no chance in reaching any of them. Did what he had to with composure. 

Manuel Pablo - 5 - Looked solid in the first half, but ran out of legs in the second, and was punished severely. 

Alberto Lopo - 6 - Was caught out for the goals, but did provide an attacking threat from set pieces, and only a brilliant save from Palop denied him a goal. 

Ze Castro - 5 - Just like his fellow defenders, allowed Sevilla far too much space in the second half, considering they had one man less. 

Filipe - 6 - Allowed Jesus Navas far too much space in the latter stages, but 

Jimenez Praises Kanoute And Sevilla For Deportivo Win
Frederic Kanouté may have been the architect of Sevilla's win, but Manolo Jimenez has praised his entire team for their performance...

Manolo Jimenez has revealed that Frederic Kanouté was not meant to play any part in Sevilla's win over Deportivo La Coruna, but was only brought on because of his team's flagging fortunes. 

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Jimenez said, "He showed what we all knew about him, both his human and footballing qualities. He had problems with his tendon, and was only risked because the team was suffering and was a man down. We showed our ability to come back from adversity, and earned the result playing good football."

However, Jimenez admitted that his Rojiblancos will need to perform from the get-go when they face Deportivo again in the second leg of their Copa del Rey tie.

He said, "(Kanoute) performed his role, which is to make a difference as a forward. But we need all our players on form for Wednesday. We beat a great team today, one that resembled 'SuperDepor' in the first half."

Lotina Blames Deportivo's Attitude For Sevilla Loss
Deportivo La Coruna threw away a winning position against Sevilla's ten men, and Miguel Angel Lotina blamed his team's inept attitude for the capitulation...

Miguel Angel Lotina has lamented his team's poor attitude during their 3-1 loss to Sevilla, after Deportivo La Coruna somehow contrived to lose despite having an extra men and the lead. 

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Lotina said, "As soon as they equalised, we threw it away. They dominated for 40 minutes, and we should have shown more patience. We were unorganised, lost our shape and allowed them to counter-attack. 

"We played poorly after they equalised and gifted the match to them, even more so after they went ahead. We allowed them to counter-attack, and they did not look like a team with ten men."

Finally, the Depor coach insisted that the result would have no impact on the impending meeting between the two sides in the cup in midweek.

Sevilla Ask Liverpool About Pennant
The Reds' outcast wide-man continues to court overseas interest, as he has now been linked with a move to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan...

Sevilla are the latest club to enter the race for Liverpool's want-away winger, Jermaine Pennant. 

According to the News of the World, Sevilla see the winger as the ideal man to add an attacking threat to their side, which has been unusually quiet in that regard this season. 

The problem, however, is that Pennant is thought to be keen to see out his Liverpool contract, thus enabling him to leave on a Bosman in the summer. 

Should Sevilla wish to pursue their interest in the player, they will have to ward off competition form a host of other clubs, most notably Real Madrid and AC Milan.

Guardiola Hits Out At Kanouté Fine
The Barca boss has lent his support to Sevilla's star striker, following his controversial fine...

Josep Guardiola, the Barcelona coach, has joined the growing list of people to criticise the recent fine handed out to Sevilla forward Frederic Kanouté. 

Kanouté was fined €3,000 for revealing an undershirt in support of Palestine after scoring against Deportivo La Coruna in the Copa del Rey. Among those who consider the fine to be unjust is the current Barcelona coach. 

Speaking to Sport, Guardiola said, "The fine is absolutely excessive. If they always banned these type of things, then journalists would not be able to write columns."

Pep finished by saying, "Every war is absurd, and too many innocent people have died for us to be fining people for things like this."

Kanouté Delighted With Complete Display
After coming at half-time to help Sevilla record a morale-boosting win in Riazor, Frédéric Kanouté revealed that he was delighted with the way he had played.

Frédéric Kanouté believes that he played his most complete game since joining Sevilla after coming on against Deportivo de La Coruña and changing the direction of the encounter on Saturday evening.

The Mali international replaced José Crespo at half-time and produced an impressive performance to help the Andalucian outfit record their fourth away win of the season.

Amid publicity surrounding his comments on the Middle East situation, Kanouté did not let it affect him and he admitted that he was pleased with the way he had played.

"It has been the best game that I've had in a long time," he told the club's official website.

"To come onto the pitch and contribute things is always good. It could have been my most complete performance since I have been at Sevilla."

"But we all had a great second half, but I don't think that will condition the game on Wednesday," added the former Tottenham Hotspur striker.

"Physically I'm fine, but I preferred to start on the bench as a precaution due to some pain in the Achilles tendon."

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