Real Madrid Don't Know What to Expect from Sampaoli's Sevilla, and nor Do We

“I don't like any side to dominate mine on the pitch.” Speaking in Trondheim before Tuesday’s UEFA Super Cup match with Real Madrid, Sevilla manager Jorge Sampaoli was not slow in nailing his colours to the mast, as reported by UEFA.com's Daniel Thacker. It was a reminder, if indeed one was needed, of the coach’s modus operandi. Attack, attack, attack, no matter who the opposition might be.

If that’s clear, though, then it’s all we can assume about Sevilla. Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane could be forgiven for not quite knowing what to expect because, frankly, nobody knows what to expect from a Sevilla side that has changed immeasurably since they booked their ticket to be here by beating Liverpool in the Europa League final three months ago.

Kevin Gameiro, their main goalscoring threat, has upped sticks for Atletico Madrid. Grzegorz Krychowiak, the power at the base of their midfield, joined Paris Saint-Germain. Ever Banega, who made it all tick at the front of the midfield, has signed for Inter (his departure had been written from the moment when he left the field in Basel, with the job all but done, wiping tears from his eyes).

The exit of that trio may have hurt (although there’s a theory that Sampaoli was quite happy to swap the excellent Krychowiak for more of a ball-playing midfielder), but Sevilla are used to it. Clearing the decks and subsequently repopulating is what they do. Losing their leader, however, was harder than expected.

The farewell press conference for Coke, the club captain and surprise two-goal hero of the Europa League final, wasn’t an easy watch. Coke, following his shock transfer to Schalke, was crying. Monchi, the sporting director, was sat next to him and was also crying. The master of market moves talked about having made a “mistake” in selling the player and how Sevilla were “losing the heart of our team,” per El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish).

It was confirmation, then, that this is a time of profound change at Nervion, though the headline is still Sampaoli’s appointment to replace now-Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery. The exit of Coke—whose ability to turn his hand to anything for the team was underlined when the right-back made a decisive contribution from midfield in his final game—underlined that this is a year-zero moment for the club.

We knew that already, of course. Emery’s attention to detail was legendary, but he focused closely on formulating a plan to negate the opposition. It’s hard to imagine Sampaoli doing the same. He demands that his team try to dominate in almost any situation, that they keep the ball and press hard in the opposition half. He is not typically a counterpuncher.

In this sense, the personnel overhaul makes sense. Maybe the club would have held on to him if they could have, but Gameiro was the ideal striker for Emery—lightning quick, direct and exactly the man to make the most of playing on the break, as well as being a penalty-box sniffer.

It’s easy to imagine Gameiro fitting in well at Atletico, just it seems like Luciano Vietto and his left-footed craft will be much better suited to Sampaoli’s plan, having made the opposite move. In the course of this exchange, it feels like some cosmic imbalance has been corrected.

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Sevilla may have profited from this particular deal, but even with the lucrative sale of Krychowiak on top, we should be clear. They have pushed the boat out for their new coach, ideologically as well as financially. Sampaoli’s first six signings were all midfielders, reiterating exactly where he feels the most important part of the team is (and echoing the thoughts of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who comes from the same Marcelo Bielsa sphere of influence).

With that in mind, the thought that this all could have blown up in Sevilla’s face is only just fading from local minds. Argentina wanted to make Sampaoli their new coach, with Asociacion del Futbol Argentino (AFA) President Armando Perez going as far as to arrange a trip to Spain in which he planned to sign Sampaoli, and to convince Lionel Messi to revoke his decision to retire from the national team, per Clarin (in Spanish).

After several days of speculation, Sampaoli finally came out and made clear he would stay with Sevilla, as it would be “irresponsible” to leave so early, per Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). If the AFA had been in possession of the funds to pay Sampaoli’s buyout clause, it’s hard to imagine he would have stayed, with the national team something he admitted was a “dream” for him. “But sometimes dreams don’t arrive at the moment when you want one,” he admitted.

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That dream would have been a nightmare to Sevilla, having already recruited hard to furnish Sampaoli with the squad he wanted to make his magic happen in Andalucia. To facilitate those deals, the coach has been lucky to have Monchi still in situ after Sevilla’s administrative council refused his request to rescind his contract, which runs to 2020, at the end of May, per AS.

The sporting director’s deep relationship with the club, having arrived in their youth academy some 30 years ago and serving in his current post since 2000, means that he has continued to work as hard as ever, rather than just marking time. He is invaluable to the new coach.

After this summer of upheaval, getting on with the football will be a major relief—and it’s a fast start for Sampaoli, with the meeting in Trondheim followed by the two-legged Supercopa against Barcelona, which begins its first leg at Nervion on Sunday night. It’s hard to think of a tougher introduction to European club football for the new man, although not having to face a Champions League qualifier, with the group stage already assured, is certainly a bonus.

“Our new style needs time to settle in,” Sampaoli admits, per UEFA.com. That much is clear, with two of the signings destined to be key to his midfield, Paulo Henrique Ganso and Franco Vasquez, not expected to be ready to start against El Real. Vietto will, though, as will Yevhen Konoplyanka, who has looked sharp in pre-season under the new management.

Zidane’s team is temporarily diminished post-Euros too, of course, but as Sampaoli has been at pains to underline, the opposition rarely condition his tactics, even if his Chile side did shift shape to cope with Messi in the past. All we know about this much-changed Sevilla, for now, is that they’ll be full of surprises.