Sevilla was in the bones. Blunt of points, of confidence and of leprechaun. He flirted with relegation, with a coach like Jorge Sampaoli who could not find his way between criticism and histrionics. The situation was extremely urgent and Monchi, the Sevilla sports director, also overexcited during the campaign after accumulating seasons of successes, pulled the signing of José Luis Mendilibar out of his hat. Surprise, skepticism and a unanimous comment in Nervión. “They haven’t found anyone else.” “That’s a lie,” Monchi defended himself, “we had many alternatives.”

It may or may not be, but Sevilla needed a twist in the script and, if possible, for it not to cost them an arm and a leg. Up to 11 million he paid for the dismissal of Julen Lopetegui in October, since he had two seasons left on his contract and eight million more he disbursed in March to terminate Sampaoli.

Mendilibar did not think twice and signed for three months and barely 200,000 euros. He arrived with an assistant like Fran Rico, whom he had as a footballer at Eibar, and with a physical trainer, Toni Ruiz from the Canary Islands, a regular on their coaching staffs since they met at Lanzarote. He arrived with that and with all the phlegm of his 62 years. It was March 21. A little over a month later, Sevilla is toasting at a fiery April Fair. The Biscayan coach has five wins and two draws, has kept the team away from the ghost of relegation and is in the semifinals of the Europa League, where Juventus awaits him after eliminating Manchester United.

How did you do it? Sensibly and using his left hand to recover the spirit of a team that had a tremendous mental soiree in their heads with the ups and downs of Sampaoli. “He sees football very differently. Mendilibar has generated a spectacular atmosphere. If we’re a little late for a training session, it makes us do somersaults and throw ourselves across the pitch”, points out Ivan Rakitic. “He brought humility and simplicity,” says Papu Gómez.

“What have I given to Sevilla? Well, I don’t ask for strange things ”, sums up the Basque coach. Trained in the steel industry of the northern benches (Athletic, Eibar, Alavés, Osasuna…), his way of seeing the world is far from the hubbub and filigree that are common in Seville, partly cliché, partly reality. But his landing has been the hand of a saint. “Someone has gone to the fair without permission, but they have played wonderfully. Of course, I will go, I will go in and I will go out just to find out what it is ”, confirmed the coach jokingly.

With a more direct football and four clear ideas, Sevilla is another. A team that extracts oil from the shale. He has scored five corner kicks in the last seven games. “If we have people who hit the ball well and very tall people, why are we going to make a wonderful play of five or six touches. It is about putting the ball there and that each one is placed in their area to finish off ”, compiles Mendilibar.

The one who has appreciated his presence the most is the Moroccan Yusef En-Nesyri, who has scored five goals under his command and has remembered the powerful striker who signed Sevilla.

Such is the state of grace of the team that in San Mamés on Thursday they won with a single shot between the sticks, the penalty that Lucas Ocampos scored in added time. “Mendilibar has given us peace of mind and confidence. In training he kills us physically, but we go with joy, with another predisposition, ”said the scorer in Movistar. But the technician does not want anyone to fall asleep. “Well, yes, we have won, but we have not generated anything. More should be demanded of a team like Sevilla”, the coach was self-critical after the game.

From being afraid to go down, to being asked Mendilibar if Sevilla still arrives on time to fight for Europe. Although his response couldn’t have been faster. “That we are already in Europe, that we are in the semifinals of the Europa League.”

The Basque is enjoying it. Before making his debut in the continental competition, he had only directed one Intertoto match 18 years ago. Suddenly, he found himself at Old Trafford. “Imagine what it means for me, that I started in regional. This is a gift”.

His trajectory is not. With more than 400 games as a coach in the First Division and almost 1,000 in total, he has plenty of experience. “It seems that they have given me the position. I will have done some merit, ”he released in his presentation.

He has won the Preferred Regional League (Arratia), the Third Division (Baskonia), the Second B (Lanzarote) and the Second A (Valladolid).

Later, his figure blended in with that of Eibar, a modest club, forged on fire, but dignified, proud and where things were done very well. A team like Mendilibar.

“He is being true to himself. When a coach arrives, there is a tendency to speak well of him and badly of the one who has left, but you have to be fair, and Jose Luis is giving us what we were looking for when we signed him. This fidelity is at the foundation of the good results”, Monchi x-ray.

Sevilla is being the best team in the League in April (13 of 15 points) and will not play until tomorrow, May 1, against Girona. In the fall of his career, Mendilibar has discovered spring. And all for a modest price.