The president on 'A Balón Parado'
The Club

CASTRO: “IT'S BEEN A GOOD SEASON, THE NEXT HAS TO BE BETTER”

25/05/2017
"The contract stands in place, a one-and-a-half million is one-and-a-half million. There's no other way," said the president on the Argentine Football Association's interest in Jorge Sampaoli

José Castro was the guest on SFC TV's A Balón Parado show last night, with the Sevilla president discussing a range of issues from last season before providing his thoughts on the campaign to come.

Thoughts on last season

“The assessment is very positive. All Sevilla fans should be proud, we’ve ensured a third consecutive season in the Champions League and it was only the fourth time in our history that we’ve finished fourth. It was the second-highest points total in our history. We’ve got to give ourselves credit for those achievements but that’s not really happened because we’re at a level whereby success is expected. I understand the demand, though, and I feel it. It makes us work harder and improve. The team were up there competing with the top two for a large part of the season and we had a bad spell during the six games without a win which allowed Atlético to catch up with us. But that can’t cover up the success that we had because it was a good season and the next has to be even better”

“Should someone suggest that the end of the season was bittersweet, I would say that if we’d won our points the other way round – 30 from the first half of the season and 42 from the second – then it would have been fantastic, but football is like that. We’ve been fighting at the top of the league and we’ve enjoyed it all; that fight has perhaps told in the second half of the campaign. You will never hear anything about winning the league form me, a few of our players talked about it and that seems a good thing to me, but I’m consistent. There are team with very big budgets and you can see that out on the pitch, but we’ve fought and enjoyed the fight at the top of the table.”

Sampaoli’s future

“The contract stands in place, if Argentina want him, there is a contract to be respected. If we had wanted to get rid of him, we would have had to pay a clause, but it’s not like that. If he were to stay, he would improve on his first season, which has been very good, but things can always be improved upon. He’s achieved our second-highest points total and we don’t want him to go. The friendship with Angelici [the vicepresident of the AFA] is one thing, the contract is another. I respect the opinion of the AFA, but in our minds a move is only going to happen if they pay the million-and-a-half clause, which means a million-and-a-half. There’s no other way. We heard Sampaoli say in a press conference that he understood that if a clause is in effect, then it has to be respected. The meeting with the president and the vicepresident of the AFA will be soon. I’d love him to stay at Sevilla, but his exit costs a million-and-a-half.

Planning for 2017/18

“There is no rush to bring in a new manager. The league finished a few days ago, the sooner we start planning a new squad, the better, and the sooner there is a new coach, the better. There is time for everything without a rush, but without stopping.

“Behind the scenes we have our sporting directorate who decide on signings. The coaches voice their preferences, but the sporting directorate ultimately make the decisions. We can guarantee that we are going to do everything in our power to have the best squad, to spend money on the squad and on players who will ensure we keep enjoying what we see and who will help us achieve important objectives which would have been unthinkable in times gone by.

“Jovetic is a magnificent player; we’re going to look at the possibility of keeping him here. He’s got a big price tag and earns a lot of money which are aspects that we’ve got to keep in mind. We’re working on it.

“Navas is an importanat option for Sevilla, he’s got a lot of ability and he would improve the quality in the quad. Sevilla fans want him, we’re in contact with him and I hope there’s news on that soon. I hope he comes and that he can beat the number of games that Pablo Blanco played for Sevilla.

“The sooner the squad is finalised, the better. But we’re putting pressure on ourselves that isn’t necessary, because we’ve done a lot of work.”

Objectives for next season

“We weren’t able to finish third or get to the quarter-final stage of the Champions League. The club is growing, the economy is growing and our objectives should grow as well. Yesterday more than a thousand days with of Sevilla being Europa League champions came to an end, but now it’s the Champions League in which we have to get to the quarter-finals; we’ve got to do as well as we can. We want to have an important project, full of hope and excitement, to see that we can win important things within our economic position. No one doubts that all of our economic strength is going to be put into what is out there on the pitch.”

Interest from big investment groups

"The fact that there is interest in Sevilla FC from financial groups, must make us feel proud and important, because big companies are interested in sporting PLCs which are growing with big aspirations. It's logical that there's interest, but there's a long way to go between there and blocks of shares being sold, independent of the fact that we listen to everyone because they can bring business which could interest us aside from the shares".

Biris Banners

"We are not going to let it be the case that in other stadiums they allow banners belonging to groups of ultras and not in our stadium. Freedom of expression is freedom of expression, if they don't give out fines in one part of Spain, they can't give out fines here".

"In the meeting with the LFP I said that we needed a commission to determine what type of banner can come in and what can't, some rules for every stadium. I was very annoyed and I said everything I had to say, because it's my duty to defend the fans, to defend Sevilla. They understood my proposal and they're going to create a commission to unify the criteria".

Refurbishment of the Sánchez-Pizjuán and the Ciudad Deportiva

"We feel enormously proud of this great project. Our sporting level had risen in such a way that we had to match it at our home. We've put in new seats, dressing romos, lifts in every section, they'll all work at the beginning of next season, the outer appearance. We've got the floor left and a few other bits of work. I think it's looking really good, we want tourists to come and visit it as one of the city's attractions. I don't want to forget the Ciudad Deportiva, we've just got to get authorisation for the main stand so that we can use it. We want to finish that mini stadium so that Sevilla Atlético and the teams we feel should play there can. We have worked and we have to keep working towards a modern Ciudad Deportiva. Everything that we're talking about is being carried out, we'll continue on this path so that the stadium can be the pride of Sevilla fans, it's our home and we have to feel at home here".

Sevilla Atlético and Diego Martínez

"The reserve team have achieved a lot. This season they've been the revelation, they have done an extraordinary job, everything that's come there way has had to do with the fact that they're a group that deserve it. The second division is very tough, there has been refereeing that has left a lot to be desired, you end up thinking that a reserve team isn't playing for the same things as the others, but yes, the fact that they're staying in the second division will give us the chance to, without making big investments, be able to bring quality young players in because the television money practically covers those investments".

"Diego Martínez is showing that he is constantly progressing, it's normal that there are potential suitors after him. He's a coach with a big future, he's a manager I like a lot and hopefully one day he can manage the first team".

Antonio Puerta Trophy

"The rough idea that we have is to hold it on 10 August, the date, again, is approximate but we want to do it in the summer and we're working to make it happen with a top European team which people will be very pleased about".

Sevilla FC Ladies and Youth Copa del Rey

"The Ladies team have achieved a lot. They're all from the academy and they have had a great season, leading for the whole campaign and finishing as champions. They're one step away from winning promotion to the top flight, it would make us very proud because they bear the club's crest and the crest has to be in the first division. The sponsor of the league will make a big investment in the top flight. I'm very involved because I understand that Sevilla FC Ladies have to be in the top flight".

The youth team are also fighting for something great, the Copa del Rey. The league season in the top division has finished, but there are three great matches left, the Youth Cup and the Ladies team, that's something exciting to finish the season in the best way possible".

Message to the Sevilla fans

"I'd like to finish by congratulating all the Sevilla fans for this very good season, I hope they continue to feel proud to wear the Sevilla FC crest, because we have demonstrated that we can keep growing and there will be no lack of work, that's something that runs through our veins and it's not going to change".