He has a big void at Sevilla, but if Victor Horta’s performance as the club’s sporting director matches his personality then this won’t be a problem.
The charismatic former Leeds director of football replaced club legend Monchi in the summer – “it felt like coming to the Chicago Bulls to replace Michael Jordan,” he said.
He has already sacked one coach and appointed another, but the man famous for bringing Marcelo Bielsa to Elland Road is facing a new challenge ahead of Sevilla’s trip to London to face Arsenal this week. The future is full of confidence.
He started with some blue-sky ideas, proposing a Ryder Cup-style tournament between Spanish and English teams, and never got over it with a dig at the Premier League’s failure to curb Financial Fair Play breaches and an exposé of “one word” Lower yourself. He repeated that throughout the season as Leeds were promoted from the Championship.
Sevilla could face another Champions League season if they fail to beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, but he is clear what the club’s goals are.
Victor Horta (right) arrived at Sevilla this summer as director of football, replacing the popular Monchi. He was seen welcoming new manager Diego Alonso (centre) in October
Sevilla are preparing to face Arsenal for the second time in the Champions League this week, with the Gunners beating Arsenal 2-1 at home on October 24
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“We have the manpower and resources to break through the glass ceiling in the Champions League quarter-finals,” he said.
“Inter Milan were finalists last season and they are more or less the same team that Sevilla beat in the Europa League final a few years ago.”
Sevilla has won the Europa League a record seven times. “If you’re ambitious but not realistic,” he said, raising his hands, “that’s not good, but if you’re conservative (underhand), that’s not good either.”
Horta describes taking over from Monchi at Sevilla as ‘replacing Michael Jordan at Chicago Bulls’
When talking about replacing Monchi like succeeding Jordan, Orta said: “No one remembers Brent Barry, he was only there for one year and was actually not good. “I hope I can do it Better. “
Monchi served as his mentor at Sevilla for seven years from 2006 before Horta single-handedly joined Zenit.
“He had a great influence on me, but I also had my own ideas based on my experience in English and Spanish football,” he said, recalling Monchi seeking his advice on the peculiarities of English football.
“We’re friends and I do it out of admiration,” he said. “He loves any Sevilla win and I’m happy when Aston Villa do well.”
Could what he learned in England be used now at Sevilla? “Football has evolved a lot in terms of the physical side. Oddly enough, English clubs have been trying to play a more Spanish style of game for some time.
“Last season, Spanish coaches occupied the first and second positions in the Premier League. But what is interesting is that these coaches combined the Spanish style with physical advantages.
“Now that I’m back in Spain I can see the physical aspect coming into play. Jude Bellingham has made a huge impact here because not only is he talented but he’s also very physical.
Monchi arrives at Aston Villa to join Unai Emery as president of football operations
Orta brings Marcelo Bielsa to Leeds United as he helps them return to Premier League
His squad-building is now underway with new coach Diego Alonso, whom Horta hired last month following the sacking of Jose Luis Mendilibar.
“Page one of the director of football handbook is to sack the coach when things are not going well. Is that fair? No, it’s not fair. Are they the only guilty party? No. But sometimes that’s the only way to try and change things.
The appointment raised some eyebrows as Alonso failed to get Uruguay out of the World Cup group stage and has never coached in Europe.
Horta admits decision to hire Bielsa was ‘crazy’ but gamble pays off for Leeds
“People say ‘World Cup failure’, but what I value more is that they made it in the first place because they almost didn’t.”
“Maybe the fact that he hasn’t trained in Europe doesn’t matter. People said I was crazy for bringing Bielsa into the Championship. But my crazy idea got results. Hopefully it will bring us success too.
He had nothing but praise for Bielsa and what he has achieved at Leeds. ‘He raises your level. I want the people around me to do the same.
“He gets the best out of you and he also works with players, groundskeepers, CEOs and chefs. It’s a big challenge but it’s what I prefer.”
Leeds have been unable to stay ahead under Horta, but he wonders if the Premier League’s tougher measures on Financial Fair Play will have an impact. He doesn’t think English football has done that yet. He admits they have been ahead of La Liga for years in other areas.
“The Premier League is starting to allocate money earlier. La Liga’s first four TV rights deals were really unfair. Sevilla were one of the first clubs to point this out. In England they’ve had three decades of fairness distribute.
“But one thing I don’t like about England is the lack of consideration of (Financial Fair Play) rules. La Liga is trying to create sustainable clubs with balanced budgets.
“If Everton’s points deduction had happened last season, maybe my future would have been different – for better or worse.”
Everton could be docked 12 points for allegedly breaching financial rules for the 2021-22 season.
But Horta didn’t think much of it. Soon he regained his previous excitement. “I’ve been playing football for 19 seasons,” he said with a smile. “I know I look young! But I was only 25 when I was director of football at Valladolid.”
Gabriel Jesus scored Arsenal’s winning goal in Spain’s win over Sevilla two weeks ago
Speaking about the life of a director of football, he said: “Your future could be in someone else’s hands at any time.” People ask me why I am superstitious; sometimes that’s the only way you can feel like you’re influencing things!
“I don’t know if you know the word ‘Kiricocho’. It’s something you shout out loud to curse the opposition. During the promotion season of the Championship I kept saying ‘Kiricocho’ and people asked ‘What is that? “
A quick investigation (at Horta’s suggestion) yielded various origins of the word – the consensus being that “Kiricocho” was a student of Carlos Bilardo’s in La Plata, Argentina. employees.
His mere presence in training seemed to spell bad luck for the players and leave them injured, so they sent him out to meet every away team Estudiantes had to play, and they barely dropped points at home all season.
“You have to enjoy the moment. We are privileged to work in football. We are lucky people,” Horta said.
Horta would like to see more games between La Liga and the Premier League – such as Manchester United’s match against Barcelona in the Europa League last season
Now back to Ryder Cup football philosophy. “The champion of England plays the champion of Spain, the second against the second, the third against the third and so on. Three points for a win, two points for a penalty shootout win and one point for a penalty shootout defeat,” He said.
It’s not the worst idea, and it comes from a guy who has a lot of them. If Horta’s energy and positivity are a reliable indicator of Sevilla’s future, then despite their poor start to the season, the outlook might not be so bleak.
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