The 2005–06 UEFA Cup

Having finished 6th in the 2004–05 season, Sevilla secured a place in the first round of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. Juande Ramos was appointed manager during the summer and brought in many new players, including Andrés Palop from Valencia, Julien Escudé from Ajax, Javier Saviola from Barcelona, Luis Fabiano from FC Porto and Frédéric Kanouté from Tottenham Hotspur. All would become key players for the side. After advancing through the first round and the group stage of competition, Sevilla beat Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow to advance to the round of 16. On 9 March, Sevilla lost 1–0 to French club Lille OSC in the first leg of their home-and-away match, but, on 15 March at home in Sevilla's 50th game in European competition, Sevilla won 2–0 to advance to the quarter-finals. In these matches, which took place against Zenit St. Petersburg on 30 March, and 6 April 2006, Sevilla won 5–2 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals. In the semis, Sevilla knocked out the strong German side Schalke 04 after 180 goalless minutes, with Antonio Puerta scoring the decisive goal in extra time of the return leg. That goal was called by the fans "el gol que nos cambió la vida" – "the goal that changed our lives", because thanks to it, Sevilla played their first European final. On 10 May 2006, in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, Sevilla broke a 58 year drought on trophies and became the first Andalusian team to win a European final. Sevilla defeated Middlesbrough 4–0 in Eindhoven to win the their first UEFA Cup with the largest margin of victory in a UEFA Cup final. One goal came from Luís Fabiano, two from Enzo Maresca, and one by Frédéric Kanouté. At that time, Sevilla was the only European team which had played in the three major competitions (the European Cup, Cup Winner's Cup and UEFA Cup) and had never lost any game (out of 27) when playing on their home stadium until they lost to AZ on 14 December 2006.

A new resurgence (2000–present)

Under new coach Joaquín Caparrós, Sevilla won the second division title in 2000–01.New team president José María del Nido brought fiscal order to Sevilla, selling its homegrown superstar José Antonio Reyes to Arsenal in January 2004 for an initial fee of £10.5 million .[6] In that season (2003–04), not only did Sevilla reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey after more than 20 years (where it fell 2–1 to Real Madrid), but the team managed to qualify for Europe by placing sixth in the league and earning a ticket for the 2004–05 UEFA Cup.

The second half of the 20th century

Sevilla opened up its new Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium in 1958 with a draw vs Real Jaen (3–3).

In the 60s, Sevilla started a decline to mid-table and after the 1967–68 season, Sevilla was sent down to the Spanish second division but returned to the top flight a year later.[1][2] After another brief drop and return in the early seventies, Sevilla remained firmly in the middle of the table until the 1996–97 season, when the club was sent down again.[3] Another return to La Liga was followed immediately by a last place finish in 1999–2000, in which Sevilla managed to scrape together only 28 points in the season.

The early years (1905–1948)

On 15 October 1905, the Civil Governor of Seville officially announced the creation of Sevilla FC. The first president of the club was D. José Luis Gallegos. In 1908, the team played its first official game, and the first official game in Spain, against Recreativo Huelva. In 1914, the team won its first Copa de Sevilla (Seville Cup). In 1935, Sevilla won the first of its Copa del Rey trophies, beating CE Sabadell FC 3–0. After the Spanish Civil War, Sevilla won the first Copa del Generalísimo (the second Spanish Cup win of the club), beating Racing de Ferrol by a score of 6–2.

The 1939–40 season also brought Sevilla very close to its first La Liga championship. The league had just returned to action after the Spanish Civil War, and Sevilla had some astounding games, beating |Barcelona 11–1, Valencia 10–3 and Hércules 8–3. However, in the last game of the season, Sevilla could only manage to tie Hércules 3–3, thus giving the title to Atlético Aviación. In 1942–43, Sevilla took second place in the league again but fell to third the next year. After a transitional year in 1945–46, Sevilla won its first and only La Liga title, due mainly to the mercurial talent (striker) Oliver Ward, who managed to notch up an impressive 29 goal tally. In 1948, Sevilla captured its last Copa del Rey for 59 years, defeating Celta Vigo 4–1 at the Estadio Chamartín. Sevilla have beaten Real Madrid a record of 72 times, while Barcelona have beaten Real Madrid 80 in all competetions.

Sevilla

Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship. The club was established on 14 October 1905, in Seville.