The passionate football fans of the cities of Madrid and Seville will join together in watching this weekend’s games, as Matchday 11 of the LaLiga Santander season pits Real Madrid against Sevilla FC on Saturday and Real Betis against Atlético de Madrid on Sunday.
These are some of Spain’s most historic clubs, as they are four of the only nine teams to have ever won a LaLiga Santander championship, while they hail from two of the most important footballing cities not just in Spain but in the entire world.
In Seville, around eight percent of the entire city’s population hold a season ticket for either the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán or the Estadio Benito Villamarín, a figure that most of the world’s cities couldn’t even dream of. In Spain’s capital, meanwhile, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid are also both loyally supported and these two clubs made history by disputing the first ever Champions League final between two teams from the same city in 2014. Two years later, they did so again, making Madrid the capital of the footballing world.
This weekend, there will be two inter-city duels and both are vitally important given that these four teams finished in the top five last season and all started 2022/23 with the objective of finishing inside the top four.
Real Madrid vs Sevilla FC: Will the Andalusians end their long wait for a Bernabéu win?
Over the past few years, Sevilla FC haven’t particularly enjoyed the 400km trip between the Andalusian capital and the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. That’s because they haven’t won there since 2008, when they earned a dramatic 4-3 victory, a match that current captain Jesús Navas played in.
Since then, Sevilla FC have lost 14 out of 15 away games against Real Madrid, with the only time they avoided defeat being a 2-2 draw in the 2020/21 season, at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano and not the Bernabéu.
This, then, is one of the toughest fixtures of the season for Sevilla FC, especially with the current champions in such strong form, but Los Nervionenses have improved since Jorge Sampaoli took over from Julen Lopetegui earlier this month. He has overseen one win and three draws from his four matches so far and will hope former Real Madrid man Isco can deliver at his former home this Saturday night, at 21:00 CEST.
Real Betis vs Atlético de Madrid: A battle of South Americans who have called both cities home
The second inter-city clash will take place in Seville at 16:15 CEST on Sunday as Real Betis host Atleti. This is a duel of two of the most experienced coaches in all of LaLiga Santander. Of all active managers, only Ernesto Valverde has been in charge for more top-flight games than Manuel Pellegrini’s 418 and Diego Simeone’s 412.
The Chilean and Argentine coaches have also learned over the years just how passionate both these cities are, as they’ve spent time in each. Before Pellegrini coached Real Betis, he previously had one season in charge of Real Madrid in 2009/10, when he set a then-record points total of 96 for the capital city club, even if that still wasn’t enough to overcome Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona.
As for Simeone, his first steps in Spanish football were taken in the city of Seville, as he joined Sevilla FC for the 1992/93 and 1993/94 seasons. The midfielder was signed by Carlos Bilardo and partnered Diego Maradona in that 1992/93 squad, before El Cholo stayed on for 1993/94 after the other two Argentines had left.
Both these coaches are happy where they are right now, at the Estadio Benito Villamarín and the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, and they know how important this game is for their sides. Real Betis and Atlético de Madrid both currently have 20 points in the table, sitting on the border of the top four. That is the objective for this season for these clubs, to bring Champions League football to their city.
