Mendilibar returns to the dugout and becomes Sevilla's fire-fighter

Jose Luis Mendilibar (62) celebrated his last birthday just a few days ago, on 14 March, but surely he could not have imagined that the following week he would receive the call from one of the most renowned clubs in LaLiga. What was his wish when he blew out the candles? Perhaps he thought, after several months away from the pitch, of returning to the dugout, a task he began in the last century with Athletic Club's reserve team; or maybe it had nothing to do with football at all.

The only thing that is certain is that this is an emergency solution and that he will sign until the end of the current season. Sevilla have opted for an experienced profile. A relegation to the second tier would be a historic debacle and would mean a significant reduction in the club's income, which is why the only priority now is to remain in the top flight for next season and, from then on, to start a new project from scratch.

Mendilibar has suffered four relegations during his career, two of them very recently and consecutively. He achieved the feat of keeping Eibar in the top flight for five years, but failed to achieve his objective in the sixth season, despite the 10-plus goals scored by Kike Garcia, now at Osasuna. After that experience and without leaving the Basque Country, he became Javier Calleja's replacement back in December 2021, but lost his job after 12 games (one win, four draws and seven defeats).

The new Andalusian coach started out in the now defunct Segunda B and enjoyed his first experience in the silverware category with the mentioned Eibar. He went on to manage Athletic in LaLiga for 10 games, was promoted to the top flight when in charge of Real Valladolid - he was relegated three years later - continued his career at Osasuna - he was sacked after losing the third game of what would have been his fourth season - and spent just under two months at Levante, where he won just one game.