La Liga side Sevilla have narrowed down the list of potential successors of Eduardo Berizzo.
Los Rojiblancos sacked Berizzo a week after his surgery to treat prostate cancer and have been actively seeking for a permanent solution ahead of the second part of the season.
Sevilla are without a win in their last four matches in all competitions and headed into the Holiday season on the back of a 3-1 loss to Real Sociedad which kept them in fifth in the La Liga standings.
The club officials have ultimately decided to thank Eduardo Berizzo for his service at the club despite not choosing the most opportune moment to do that and have already begun the process of appointing a new manager who is expected to take over after the winter break.
The Candidates
The Spanish side is said to have already trimmed down the list of candidates with four names standing as favourites to sit at Sevilla helm.
Former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel is one name on the list, which also includes the previous Malaga head coach Javi Garcia. Reports from Spain claim that two Italian tacticians are also under consideration. First up is former Napoli and Watford manager Walter Mazzarri but ex AC Milan head coach Vincenzo Montella as well.
Some reports claimed that Garcia was the preferred choice for fans and players alike, but the Los Rojiblancos board is strongly considering approaching the former Fiorentina and AC Milan boss, Vincenzo Montella.
The 43-year-old has been out of work ever since leaving Rossoneri at the end of November but is still contracted to the Serie A side which is a common practice in Italy. Montella had been linked with the Italy vacancy and has most recently been considered for a shock AC Milan return with pressure piling up on his successor Gennaro Gattuso.
Montella Was Unfairly Treated
Vincenzo Montella was not the only one who got surprised by AC Milan board’s decision to give him the sack – and consequently appoint Gennaro Gattuso.
In a result-driven and oriented world of football where patience is nowhere to be found, the time has become a category measured and determined by money. New owners have invested hatful’s worth of cash into the new AC Milan project last summer but someone forgot to remind them that success does not come overnight.
Montella’s dismissal could be argued by a need to shake things up a bit and to introduce a shock therapy that would spark a change of fortunes but the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso simply undone the idea. As a devoted AC Milan soldier and a no-nonsense man, Gattuso was expected to introduce a military routine into the Rossoneri locker room and bring the best out of the heavily priced stars. His unrivalled passion aside, Rino was far from being the managed AC Milan need and everyone is starting to realize it now.
From current perspective, it’s more than fair to say Montella fell victim to an unrealistic increase in expectations. As a Milan boss, Montella went on to win 33 out of 64 matches at the club, which makes his record standing at over 50%. Rossoneri topped their Europa League group to go through in the competition and it was ultimately down to defeats to direct Scudetto rivals that Montella’s overall record was assessed.
Former AC Milan Boss Could be Ideal Solution for Sevilla
Vincenzo Montella will be forced to wait until his deal with AC Milan expires at the beginning of 2018 before he can commit to Sevilla but will have plenty of time to prepare himself for this new chapter of his managerial career.
Former ‘goal-poacher’, L’Aeroplanino, as he was called during his playing days, is as an intelligent manager as he was a player.
Montella will remain remembered as a centre-forward who boasted a wide range of skills that made him capable of filling in a second-striker role as well. As a versatile footballer, Montella used all of his knowledge and experience to form an equally versatile managerial base that helped him achieve the biggest success at Fiorentina. Having led Viola to Coppa Italia final back in 2014 and helping them reach the Europa League semifinal in the 2014/15 season, Montella was ultimately sacked despite finishing the Serie A season in fourth place.
Always a victim to high expectations, Montella could expect to be given a clean slate at Sevilla where expectations will be nothing lower than at any of his previous jobs. The Italian tactician is definitely brave enough to embrace the new challenge and should be a joy to watch with his attack-oriented approach.
Montella prefers a formation with 3 men in the backline and variations to the outline in midfield and attack. A 3-5-2 was often rearranged into a 3-2-3-2 format which should come as an improvement to Sevilla’s 4-3-3 formation. The Italian will most certainly have a strong player base to choose from and enough of squad quality to help Sevilla launch a more direct top-four challenge in the second part of the season.
