First team

MARESCA AND THE SIX ITALIAN SEVILLISTAS

14/02/2018

The contribtion that Maresca made - with his 141 games played - dwarfs the contributions of the other six Italian players that came after him, who together put together 69 appearances for the Nervionenses: De Sanctis (13), Guarente (13), Cigarini (16), Andreolli (9), Immobile (15) and Sirigu (3)

Sevilla FC had to wait until the 21^st century to have an Italian player in their ranks and no less than 128 years to have an Italian coach, Vincenzo Montella, take the reigns of the side. Curiously, the very first Italian to pull on the Sevilla shirt - Enzo Maresca - who arrived from Fiorentina in 2005, is now in his second spell at the club as an assistant coach to the new Sevilla boss.

Maresca spent four years with Sevilla FC, from 2005 to 2009, and unlike other Italian enforcements that would follow, he left with astounding numbers under his belt. He played 141 official matches and scored 21 goals, two of which will be forever etched in the memories of Sevillistas - scoring in the first Sevilla FC UEFA Cup Final in Eindhoven in 2006. To this day he remains the only Italian Sevillista to have triumphed in the form of silverware with Sevilla FC.

After Maresca, only Guarente managed more than one season at Sevilla

Leaving Enzo Maresca to one side, another six Italians have pulled on the Sevilla shirt in its history. By order of arrival, Morgan De Sanctis (07/08), midfielders Luca Cigarini (10/11) and Tiberio Guarente (10/12), defender Marco Andreolli (15/16), striker Ciro Immobile (15 / 16) and goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu (16/17) all fought for the badge. All of them were in Nervión for only a season, except Guarente, who played for two years, but without overwhelming frequency or success owing to a bad knee injury.

If Maresca put together 141 official matches, the six others would cumulatively play 69. With Maresca already at Sevilla, Morgan de Sanctis arrived from Udinese in 07/08, playing 13 matches and conceding 13 goals; eight in the league, four in the Copa del Rey and one in the Champions League. The keeper managed to also find a place in Sevillistas' hearts before heading to Galatasaray. He retired just last season playing for Monaco.

Maresca made 141 official appearances, while the others put together 69 cumulatively

Cigarini and Guarente arrived in 2010. The first came from Napoli, and was the Italian to feature most of the aforementioned six. 16 matches and three goals - two of which would be remembered by Sevillistas fondly - one in Germany in the Europa League against Borussia Dortmund and another against Karpaty. He played six league games, four cup games, four Europa league games and two Champions League games. He would eventually move on to Atalanta. Guarente, meanwhile, would play 13 matches as a defensive midfielder but would see his contribution stunted by a bad knee injury.

Andreolli and Immobile wore the Sevilla shirt in the 15/16 season while Sirigu joined in 16/17

In 2015 two more arrived in the form of Andreolli and Immobile. The loaned defender played in both the first and second leg of our European fixture with Inter Milan and was a first-team regular until an injury sustained in the Anoeta to his Achilles would cut his progression short. He played nine matches, seven in the league and two in the Champions League. Immobile, meanwhile, would join in the 15/16 season from Borussia Dortmund, with a promising goalscoring record. Sigiru would follow him in 16/17. Immobile scored four goals in fifteen appearances but did not fail to impress Nervión. Eight league games, three Copa del Rey fixtures, three Champions League appearances, and one appearance in the European Supercup.