# 2011–12 Sevilla FC season

The 2011–12 Spanish football season is Sevilla Fútbol Club's 11th consecutive season in La Liga and eighth consecutive playing European competitions since its participation in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, despite the earlier fall in the Fourth Qualifying Round in August. The team manager in the previous season, Gregorio Manzano, did not continue in the club. During the summer of 2011, Sevilla signed Marcelino as new manager after he unilaterally severed his contract with Racing de Santander. On 6 February, after losing 1–2 at home against Villarreal and after Sevilla earned just two points in its previous seven matches, he was sacked and replaced with Míchel. Finishing in ninth, the team did not qualify for European competition for the first time since 2004.

## Trophies balance

| Category | Trophy | Started round | First match | Result | Last match |
| Friendly Trophy | 4th Antonio Puerta Trophy | Final | 4 August 2011 | Winners | 4 August 2011 |
| Friendly Trophy | 66th Teresa Herrera Trophy | Final | 14 August 2011 | Winners | 14 August 2011 |
| Competitive | Liga BBVA | — | 28 August 2011 | 9th | 13 May 2012 |
| Competitive | Copa del Rey | Round of 32 | 13 December 2011 | Round of 16 | 11 January 2012 |
| Competitive | UEFA Europa League | Fourth Qualifying Round | 18 August 2011 | Fourth Qualifying Round | 25 August 2011 |

### Competitive balance

Biggest win :
| | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Liga BBVA | 5 December 2011 | Matchday 15 | v. Getafe | 3 – 0 | 22 March 2012 | Matchday 29 | v. Racing Santander | 0 – 3 |
| Liga BBVA | 12 April 2012 | Matchday 33 | v. Real Zaragoza | 3 – 0 | 22 March 2012 | Matchday 29 | v. Racing Santander | 0 – 3 |
| Liga BBVA | 5 May 2012 | Matchday 37 | v. Rayo Vallecano | 5 – 2 | 26 March 2012 | Matchday 30 | v. Granada | 0 – 3 |
| Copa del Rey | 20 December 2011 | Round of 32, 2nd leg | v. San Roque Lepe | 2 – 1 | 14 December 2011 | Round of 32, 1st leg | v. San Roque Lepe | 0 – 1 |
| Copa del Rey | 11 January 2012 | Round of 16, 2nd leg | v. Valencia | 2 – 1 | 14 December 2011 | Round of 32, 1st leg | v. San Roque Lepe | 0 – 1 |
| UEFA Europa League | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round |
| Biggest loss |||||||||||
| | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Liga BBVA | 17 December 2011 | Matchday 17 | v. Real Madrid | 2 – 6 | 16 April 2012 | Matchday 34 | v. Getafe | 5 – 1 |
| Copa del Rey | None registered | None registered | None registered | None registered | 5 January 2012 | Round of 16, 1st leg | v. Valencia | 1 – 0 |
| UEFA Europa League | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | None due to the elimination in the Fourth Qualifying Round | 18 August 2011 | Fourth Qualifying Round | v. Hannover 96 | 2 – 1 |

## Summer transfers
### In

In (5 players) :
| Player | From | Fee |
| Martín Cáceres | Barcelona | €3M |
| Piotr Trochowski | Hamburger SV | Free |
| Manu | Getafe | €4.5M |
| Coke | Rayo Vallecano | €1.7M |
| Emir Spahić | Montpellier | €2M |

### Out

Out (10 players) :
| Player | New Team | Fee |
| Ivica Dragutinović | Retired | Retired |
| Renato | Botafogo | Free |
| Didier Zokora | Trabzonspor | €6M |
| Sergio Sánchez | Málaga | €2.8M |
| José Carlos | AEK Athens | Free |
| Diego Capel | Sporting CP | €3.5M |
| David Prieto | Córdoba | Free |
| Alejandro Alfaro | Mallorca | €0.7M |
| Rodri | Barcelona B | €1.5M |
| Mouhamadou Dabo | Lyon | €1M |

### Loan out

Loan out (5 players) :
| Player | Team |
| Cala | AEK Athens |
| Lautaro Acosta | Racing Santander |
| Arouna Koné | Levante |
| Romaric | Espanyol |
| Bernardo | Racing Santander |

### Loan return

Loan return (3 players) :
| Italics for players returning to the club but left it during pre-season ||
| Player | From |
| Antonio Luna | Almería |
| Tom De Mul | Standard Liège |
| Emiliano Armenteros | Rayo Vallecano |
| José Carlos | Cartagena |
| Cala | Cartagena |
| David Prieto | Tenerife |

### Loan end

Loan end (1 player) :
| Player | Returns to |
| Luca Cigarini | Napoli |
| Martín Cáceres | Barcelona |

## Winter transfers
### In

In (2 players) :
| Player | From | Fee |
| José Antonio Reyes | Atlético Madrid | €3.5M |
| Baba Diawara | Marítimo | €3M |
| Javi Hervás | Córdoba | €1.2M |

### Loan out

Loan out (4 players) :
| Player | Team |
| Emiliano Armenteros | Rayo Vallecano |
| Martín Cáceres | Juventus |
| Alexis | Getafe |
| Javi Hervás | Córdoba |

### Loan return

Loan return (1 player) :
| Player | From |
| Cala | AEK Athens |

## Current squad
### Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ESP | Andrés Palop (captain) |
| 2 | DF | ARG | Federico Fazio |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Fernando Navarro |
| 6 | DF | BIH | Emir Spahić |
| 7 | MF | ESP | Jesús Navas |
| 8 | MF | CHI | Gary Medel |
| 9 | FW | ESP | Álvaro Negredo |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Diego Perotti |
| 11 | MF | CRO | Ivan Rakitić |
| 12 | FW | MLI | Frédéric Kanouté |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Javi Varas |
| 14 | DF | FRA | Julien Escudé |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | GER | Piotr Trochowski |
| 16 | MF | ESP | José Campaña |
| 17 | MF | ITA | Tiberio Guarente |
| 19 | DF | ESP | Antonio Luna |
| 20 | FW | ESP | Manu |
| 21 | MF | ESP | José Antonio Reyes |
| 23 | DF | ESP | Coke |
| 24 | MF | BEL | Tom De Mul |
| 25 | FW | SEN | Baba Diawara |
| 26 | FW | ESP | Luis Alberto |
| 31 | DF | ESP | Cala |

### Youth system

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 27 | MF | ESP | Salva Rivas |
| 28 | FW | JPN | Hiroshi Ibusuki |
| 29 | GK | ESP | Dani Jiménez |
| 30 | GK | ESP | Sergio Rico |
| 32 | MF | ESP | Jozabed Sánchez |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 33 | DF | ESP | Samu de los Reyes |
| 34 | MF | ESP | Deivid Rodríguez |
| — | GK | ESP | Julián Cuesta |
| — | MF | ESP | Manuel Asencio 'Tano' |

### Long-term injuries
#### Tiberio Guarente's injured leg

    Out between: November 2010 – November 2011
On 6 November 2010, Sevilla's medical services discovered a strange injury in Tiberio Guarente's leg that required treatment. This injury caused that the Italian player was more than 6 months out of the stadiums. He officially played for first time after his injury in San Mamés, against Athletic Bilbao on 8 April 2012, 531 days after his last match.

#### Jesús Navas' left ankle

    Out between: April 2011 – July 2011
In some training season before the match against Mallorca, Jesús Navas had discomfort in his left ankle, which had been twisted in the beginning of the last session in a Europa League match against PSG. He wasn't called to that match and medical tests were made. It was discovered that he suffered from a relapse of that injury, a stress fracture in his ankle. During the summer holidays Jesus Navas could successfully finish their recovery. He was seen at the usual level in the first pre-season game against UD Roteña.

#### Arouna Koné's problem of spasms and cold

    Out between: July 2011 – August 2011
After finishing the first pre-season friendly match against UD Roteña the Ivorian player Arouna Koné had to be moved from the emergency to the hospital in Rota Naval Base and then to the Hospital de Jerez de la Frontera for suffering an abrupt spasms box with feeling intense cold and general malaise. According to the club through its website, the player will remain at Jerez de la Frontera to be diagnosed with the disease, evaluating whether or not it is transient and temporary, and replace it. He was discharged two days later but remained under observation at the Hospital in Seville for 48 hours. The player recovered earlier than expected, making it clear that it was a mild condition that could be easily retrieved. Still, the club's medical services recommended a lighter rhythm of training during the preseason to avoid repetition, returning to be one hundred percent in early August.

#### Frédéric Kanouté's injury in his biceps femoris

    Out between: April 2012 – May 2012
During the second half of the match in San Mamés against Athletic Bilbao on 8 April 2012, Frédéric Kanouté felt some discomfort in the hamstring of his right leg that prevented him from playing. He was replaced by Baba Diawara, and medical tests confirmed days later that he suffered a grade II tear in the biceps femoris of the leg, an injury that kept him away from the fields from that matchday until the end of the season. He returned against Rayo Vallecano on Matchday 37, his last match at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán as a Sevilla player, scoring a goal.

### Called up by their national football team

List of players called up by their national team :
| 2 | Federico Fazio | Argentina | v. Nigeria (1 June 2011) v. Poland (5 June 2011) |
| 4 | Martín Cáceres (Out) | Uruguay | v. Netherlands (8 June 2011) v. Plaza Colonia (11 June 2011) v. Estonia (23 June 2011) v. Uruguay U20 (29 June 2011) v. Peru (4 July 2011) v. Chile (8 July 2011) v. Mexico U22 (12 July 2011) v. Argentina (16 July 2011) v. Peru (19 July 2011) v. Paraguay (24 July 2011) v. Ukraine (2 September 2011) v. Bolivia (7 October 2011) v. Paraguay (11 October 2011) v. Chile (11 November 2011) |
| 6 | Emir Spahić | Bosnia and Herzegovina | v. Greece (10 August 2011) v. Belarus (2 September 2011) v. Belarus (6 September 2011) v. Luxembourg (7 October 2011) v. France (11 October 2011) v. Portugal (11 November 2011) v. Portugal (15 November 2011) v. Brazil (28 February 2012) v. Republic of Ireland (26 May 2012) v. Mexico (30 May 2012) |
| 7 | Jesús Navas | Spain | v. England (12 November 2011) v. Costa Rica (15 November 2011) v. Venezuela (29 February 2012) v. Serbia (26 May 2012) v. South Korea (30 May 2012) v. China (3 June 2012) v. Italy (10 June 2012) v. Republic of Ireland (14 June 2012) v. Croatia (18 June 2012) v. France (23 June 2012) v. Portugal (27 June 2012) v. Italy (1 July 2012) |
| 8 | Gary Medel | Chile | v. Estonia (19 June 2011) v. Paraguay (23 June 2011) v. Mexico U22 (4 July 2011) v. Uruguay (8 July 2011) v. Peru (12 July 2011) v. Venezuela (17 July 2011) v. France (10 August 2011) v. Spain (2 September 2011) v. Mexico (4 September 2011) v. Argentina (7 October 2011) v. Peru (11 October 2011) v. Uruguay (11 November 2011) v. Paraguay (15 November 2011) v. Ghana (29 February 2012) |
| 9 | Álvaro Negredo | Spain | v. United States (4 June 2011) v. Venezuela (7 June 2011) v. Italy (10 August 2011) v. Chile (2 September 2011) v. Liechtenstein (5 September 2011) v. Czech Republic (7 October 2011) v. Scotland (11 October 2011) v. Venezuela (29 February 2012) v. Serbia (26 May 2012) v. South Korea (30 May 2012) v. China (3 June 2012) v. Italy (10 June 2012) v. Republic of Ireland (14 June 2012) v. Croatia (18 June 2012) v. France (23 June 2012) v. Portugal (27 June 2012) v. Italy (1 July 2012) |
| 10 | Diego Perotti | Argentina | v. Nigeria (1 June 2011) v. Poland (5 June 2011) |
| 11 | Ivan Rakitić | Croatia | v. Greece (7 October 2011) v. Latvia (11 October 2011) v. Turkey (11 November 2011) v. Turkey (15 November 2011) v. Sweden (29 February 2012) v. Estonia (25 May 2012) v. Norway (2 June 2012) v. Republic of Ireland (10 June 2012) v. Italy (14 June 2012) v. Spain (18 June 2012) |
| 16 | José Campaña | Spain U19 | v. Belgium (21 July 2011) v. Serbia (23 July 2011) v. Turkey (26 July 2011) v. Republic of Ireland (29 July 2011) v. Czech Republic (1 August 2011) v. France (29 February 2012) v. Montenegro (27 March 2012) v. Montenegro (29 March 2012) v. Armenia (23 May 2012) v. Italy (25 May 2012) v. Belgium (28 May 2012) |
| 19 | Antonio Luna | Spain U20 | v. Peru (24 July 2011) v. Costa Rica (31 July 2011) v. Ecuador (3 August 2011) v. Australia (6 August 2011) v. South Korea (10 August 2011) v. Brazil (14 August 2011) |
| 20 | Manu | Spain | v. United States (4 June 2011) v. Venezuela (7 June 2011) |

## Match stats

| No. | Pos. | Player | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Liga | Cup | UEL | Liga | Cup | UEL | Liga | Cup | UEL | Liga | Cup | UEL |
| 1 | GK | Andrés Palop | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | DF | Federico Fazio | 2 | | | 8 | | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| 3 | DF | Fernando Navarro | | | | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| 4 | DF | Martín Cáceres (Out) | 1 | | | 3 | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | DF | Alexis | 1 | | | 1 | | 1 | | | | | | |
| 6 | DF | Emir Spahić | | | | 12 | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | MF | Jesús Navas | 5 | | | 5 | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | MF | Gary Medel | 2 | | | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | | 1 |
| 9 | FW | Álvaro Negredo | 14 | | | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | MF | Diego Perotti | | | | 2 | | 1 | | | | | | |
| 11 | MF | Ivan Rakitić | | 1 | | 4 | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 12 | FW | Frédéric Kanouté | 4 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | | | | 1 | | |
| 13 | GK | Javi Varas | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | DF | Julien Escudé | 1 | | | 9 | | | | | | 1 | | |
| 15 | MF | Piotr Trochowski | 1 | | | 7 | 1 | | 1 | | | | | |
| 16 | MF | José Campaña | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 17 | MF | Tiberio Guarente | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 18 | MF | Emiliano Armenteros (Out) | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 19 | DF | Antonio Luna | 1 | | | 2 | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 20 | FW | Manu | 10 | | | 5 | | 1 | | | | 1 | | |
| 21 | MF | José Antonio Reyes | 1 | | | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 23 | DF | Coke | | | | 7 | 1 | | 1 | | | | | |
| 25 | FW | Baba Diawara | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 26 | FW | Luis Alberto | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 31 | DF | Cala | 1 | | | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| 34 | MF | Deivid Rodríguez | | | | 2 | | | | | | | | |

## Competitions
### La Liga

| Matchday | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 20 | 37 | 38 |
| Against | MGA | VIL | RSO | OSA | VAL | ATM | SPG | FCB | RAC | GRA | MLL | ATH | ZAR | GET | LEV | RM | RYV | ESP | BET | MGA | VIL | RSO | OSA | VAL | ATM | SPG | FCB | RAC | GRA | MLL | ATH | ZAR | GET | LEV | RM | BET | RYV | ESP |
| Venue | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Position | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Goal Average (useful in case of tie) | Drawn | Lost | Lost | Won | Won | Drawn | Drawn | Lost | Won | Won | Won | Lost | Won | Lost | Lost | Lost | Lost | Won | Drawn |
Win Draw Lost
| | | All | All | All | All | All | All | All | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| | | Pts | W | D | L | F | A | Dif. | Pts | W | D | L | F | A | Dif. | Pts | W | D | L | F | A | Dif. |
| 9 | Sevilla | 50 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 48 | 47 | +1 | 31 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 22 | –6 |
Liga BBVA Winner (also qualified for 2012–13 UEFA Champions League Group Stage)  2012–13 UEFA Champions League Group Stage  2012–13 UEFA Champions League 4th Qualifying Round  2012–13 UEFA Europa League Group Stage  2012–13 UEFA Europa League 4th Qualifying Round
 2012–13 UEFA Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round  Relegation to Liga Adelante
* With Marcelino
* With Míchel

### UEFA Europa League
#### Fourth Qualifying Round

Hannover 96 won 3–2 on aggregate.

### Copa del Rey
#### Round of 32

Sevilla FC won 3–1 on aggregate.

#### Round of 16

Valencia 2–2 Sevilla on aggregate. Valencia won on away goals.

## Others
### AFE strike for the first two matchdays

On 11 August, the Spanish Players' Union, called AFE (Asociación de Futbolistas Españoles, in English, Association of Spanish Footballers) published by a press conference the official announcement of a strike for the first two matchdays of Liga BBVA and Liga Adelante (valid between 11 and 29 August) due to the existence of more than 50 professional footballers who do not charge, a greater number of footballers to whom there's still owed the share of wages in previous months and years and also the existence of discrepancies in the collective agreement. LFP (Liga de Fútbol Profesional), the patronal, grouping the 42 clubs in both categories of Spanish professional football did not understand at first this strike. LFP tried to resolve but it could not help that the opening matchday (to be played the weekend of 20 August) was not played. Seeing that the positions of both parties walked away, LFP began to convene several meetings to negotiate. After 7 meetings, on the morning of 25 August was announced that the strike had been called off thanks to an agreement in principle different AFE requests, among which the extension of a wage guarantee fund that would prevent, or try to avoid a strongest non-payment to the players. AFE also ceded its claims about the controversial schedules of footballers' holiday, and also said to LFP that they would be able to re-play matchday 1 matches, suspended in the beginning. AFE president, Luis Rubiales, first told to press that these matches wouldn't be played, or in August or ever, talking about a "37-matchdays-Liga BBVA" and a "41-matchdays-Liga Adelante". José Luis Astiazarán, LFP president, announced at the end the calendar reform of both competitions, placing:
* Liga BBVA matchday 1 on the dates assigned for the matchday 20; and matchday 20 between days 1, 2 and 3 May 2012.
* Liga Adelante matchday 1 on 25, 26 and 27 October 2011.

### 4th Champions for Africa

Another year, and for the fourth consecutive time, Frédéric Kanouté and his foundation, along with support from UNICEF and other agencies and corporations, have organized this solidary Christmas friendly match in order to help children in Africa, especially Somalia and surrounding nations, in areas such as health and education. This time, Valencia have loaned its stadium, Mestalla, so as to help in this cause. The game was played by two teams composed by players from Liga BBVA, Liga Adelante and some famous people such as the motorcycle road racer Héctor Faubel. One of them, "Africa United", composed mostly by African players, was led by Juan Ignacio Martínez (Levante coach) and Juan Carlos Garrido (former Villarreal coach), and the other one, called "Selección Champions" (in English, Champions Team) and not "Liga BBVA XI" as on previous editions because of the absence of players from Real Madrid and Barcelona and the inclusion of players from the Liga Adelante, which was led by Unai Emery, Valencia coach.