Football Travel: Sevilla FC

Seville, Spain – the city of Carmen and the home of Flamenco – also boasts two football clubs. The more successful one – particularly in recent years – is Sevilla FC. I went along to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to experience it for myself.

The fortunes of Seville’s two main football clubs – Sevilla FC and Real Betis Balompié – have varied markedly in the last decade or so. In 1998, Betis paid a then world-record £21.5 million for Brazilian Denilson, but has bounced between the Primera and Segunda divisions since then.

In stark contrast, Sevilla FC’s recent form has been incredible: Four Europa League/Uefa Cups between 2006 and 2015, plus a host of domestic trophies in an era when the Madrid-Barça hegemony has been particularly ahead of the rest. [Continues…]

My visit to Sevilla’s Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán (capacity 42,500) is my first top-flight match in Spain since a five-goal encounter between Valencia CF and Betis in late 2008. And the Pizjuán does remind me of Valencia’s Mestalla stadium, albeit a lot smarter and not quite as steep.

This ground was the host for the infamous France v Germany semi-final at World Cup ’82 and hosted the 1986 European Cup Final between FC Barcelona and Steaua Bucharest.

The Sevilla FC experience

Tickets for Sevilla FC can be purchased online ahead of matches and printed off at home. I paid €30 plus €2.50 booking fee for an upper-tier seat level with the 18-yard line for a match against Espanyol of Barcelona, which proved good value.

Inside is the classic Spanish football experience: passing cigar smoke and the endless crackle of pipas – the toasted nuts that Spanish football fans chow on during matches, leaving a sea of empty shells.

The lyrics to Sevilla’s club hymn are emblazoned around the stadium, in case you want to sing along pre-kickoff. The hardcore is in the north stand lower behind the goal, and while they lead the rest of the stadium follows, creating a true cacophony. One thing I love particularly about Spanish football is the different response noises: the whistling of opposition players and refereeing decisions (rather than booing), the ‘ooo-eee’ cry for a near miss, and in Seville – the home of flamenco – the rhythmic ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three flamenco tempo clapping.

I have never known quite such a restless crowd, however. Everyone around me was up and down while action went on below.

After the rather soul-destroying experience of more than half-empty stadiums in Portugal’s top flight, it was great to have a full house again, and in good voice throughout.

In this match, both sides missed a host of chances but Sevilla ran out 2-0 winners.

How to get to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán

The Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán is not far from Seville’s main Santa Justa railway station. Personally, I walked to the ground briskly in around 40 minutes eastwards from the city centre.