luis garcia was presented on Wednesday as Sevilla’s new head coach in Seville, stepping in as the club grapples with a run of poor results and pressure near the relegation places. The change comes days after Sevilla removed Matías Almeyda following a 2-0 home loss to Valencia on Saturday, with the club confirming on Monday that Almeyda would not continue. Speaking in his first news conference, luis garcia delivered a blunt message: every player starts from zero, and decisions will follow once he evaluates the group.
Sevilla’s urgent reset and the first message from Luis Garcia
At his unveiling, luis garcia said he has not yet spoken with any players, but still made clear the standard he expects immediately. “I want to see them all and from there we will decide. Everyone starts from zero. I have my idea in my head, but maybe in a week it changes. Competitiveness among them will make us stronger, ” he said.
He also underlined the time pressure around the job, saying he is arriving to prepare his team “in record time. ” He noted that there is no match this weekend, which offers “a little more time” to work, while stressing that it is not the same as having a full preseason. He added: “We’re going to wait for the first match, for them to see us play. ”
Most immediate problem: goals conceded
In his remarks, luis garcia pointed directly at the team’s defensive record. “We are the most scored-against team in the category. I’m not saying we stop conceding goals, it’s very difficult, but we must close the goal as much as possible, ” he said.
He framed that objective as broader than playing defensively, arguing it is about becoming a difficult opponent while improving across multiple areas. “That is not being more or less defensive. You have to be a team that is difficult for the rival and grow in several aspects, ” he said. He also described communicating his expectations quickly, explaining that in a single day he laid out how he wants the group to behave, while acknowledging staffing limits: “We’re missing people to work with, but that is the most important thing. ”
Immediate reactions: Almeyda’s exit and the club’s position
Sevilla’s decision to dismiss Matías Almeyda followed another setback in La Liga, a 2-0 defeat at home to Valencia on Saturday. In a club statement released Monday, Sevilla said: “Sevilla FC wishes to thank Matías Almeyda and his staff for their work in these months and wishes them the best of luck in their next professional challenges. ”
After the Valencia match, Almeyda took responsibility in his own press conference. “It was a very bad match from us and the person responsible for this is me, ” he said, adding that he felt the team showed “little fight” and that there was “a lot of fear of making mistakes. ”
Almeyda departs after 32 official matches in charge, with Sevilla sitting 15th in the table, three points above the relegation zone after 29 rounds. The club has one win in its last eight matches, a 1-0 result at Getafe last month.
Quick context and what’s next
Sevilla’s coaching change comes with the team hovering close to the relegation places after a sequence of damaging results. The squad includes Chilean players Alexis Sánchez and Gabriel Suazo.
Sevilla’s next match is scheduled as a visit to bottom side Oviedo on April 5 (ET). Between now and then, luis garcia is set to use the rare open weekend to accelerate his evaluation of the roster, push internal competition, and begin the immediate effort to make Sevilla harder to score against—before his first match provides the earliest real test of his approach.
