Sevilla put faith in Jiménez
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Article summary
Manolo Jiménez, 43, said there were "good vibrations" at Sevilla FC during his first training session after stepping up to replace Juande Ramos as club coach.
Article body
Sevilla FC announced this morning that reserve-team coach and club legend Manolo Jiménez will replace Juande Ramos for the rest of the season. The 43-year-old took charge of his first training session this morning after being presented to the squad by president José María Del Nido and spoke of "good vibrations" within the squad.
'Good vibrations'
"I am proud of the squad we have and the players have given me good vibrations during the first training session," said Jiménez. "I have finally achieved what I wanted after seven years working in the shadow and that's why it's a special day for me. Sevilla could have signed any coach, but they have entrusted me with the job. They didn't let me leave, I was their first-team choice and I hope to return the favour successfully."
Club record
The vacancy arose last night when Ramos stood down, reportedly to accept an offer from Tottenham Hotspur FC, and Del Nido believes Jiménez is the man to continue the former coach's success. The new boss played for Sevilla from 1983 until 1997, amassing a club record 354 top-flight appearances. Capped 15 times, he represented Spain in the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Testing start
After hanging up his boots, Jiménez returned to Sevilla in 2000 to take charge of the reserve team. He guided them from promotion from the third tier of Spanish football in his first season and last term - a day after the first team lifted the Copa del Rey - oversaw another promotion to the second division. He faces a testing opening match on Sunday, as Sevilla, in eleventh, tackle third-placed Valencia CF.
