First team

15 YEARS SINCE JESÚS NAVAS' DEBUT FOR SEVILLA FC IN MONTJUIC

23/11/2018

It has now been 15 years since Sevilla FC's captain first run out onto the pitch in Sevilla's colours. A decade and a half, albeit with a stint in England, which has already made him the player with the most appearances in the history of the club

23 November 2003. Barcelona, the Olímpico de Montjuic as the setting with Espanyol as the opposition, and Lizondo Cortés, the referee for the match, allowed the first substitution for Joaquín Caparrós' Sevilla FC in the 78th minute. Paco Gallardo, now the assistant to the director of football, made way for a scrawny and fresh-faced teenager who had turned 18 just two days prior to that day. Unknowingly, Jesús Navas began to write a story with his Sevilla, that, as he likes to say, has now made him the player with the most appearances in the Sevilla shirt and that this Friday 23 November 2018, he can complete a fifteen-year-long chapter since his debut wearing, in his second spell at the club, the captain's armband of Sevilla FC.

454 matches since that afternoon in Barcelona, the Sevilla fans have had the privilege of seeing Jesús Navas defend his club's badge. 322 in La Liga, 54 in the Copa del Rey, 41 in the UEFA Europa League, 30 in the Champions League, 5 in the Spanish Supercup and 2 in the European Supercup. Ten seasons in his first spell before moving to Manchester City, where he also tasted silverware, saw him lift two Europa Leagues, two Copa del Reys a Spanish Supercup and a European Supercup in Nervión. Last summer, after four seasons in England, he returned home to take his place in what has always been his right-hand touchline at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.

Jesús Navas has played the most games for Sevilla FC in our history and could end up setting an unreachable figure

One of the newly inducted Hall of Fame member Pablo Blanco's finest discoveries, Navas will not be able to add another appearance to his name this Sunday against Valladolid due to injury. Having gone beyond Blanco himself, Navas, recently turned 33, has the chance to leave a practically unreachable figure for decades to come, as Blanco did before him. A World Cup winner formed in Utrera and the soft spot of Sevillismo with every galloping run he has gone on since 2003.

Sevilla FC's current captain and number 16, the number of his dear friend Antonio Puerta, has provided 91 assists and 34 goals in his Sevilla career, with the 09/10 season being the most successful, setting his teammates up 18 times and scoring 8 goals between the league, Champions League and Copa del Rey, with Navas' goal in the second half to make it 2-0 against Atletico Madrid bringing home the domestic cup to Nervión.