So many world-class players have come through Sevilla FC from their first Copa de Andalucía in 1916/17 all the way through to the present age of winning their sixth UEFA Europa League in Cologne in 2020, and thus picking any amount of “greatest players” is not an easy feat.
Sevilla has been one of Spain’s best clubs in the past two decades. Although they have not been able to smell victory in La Liga, they have made history by winning a record six Europa League titles. Sevilla’s last and only La Liga title was won in 1954-55 but they have been one of the challenges in many of recent seasons.
Established in 1890, Sevilla is one of the oldest clubs in Spain. Throughout its history, many legendary players wore its jersey and dazzled on the field.
From the likes of Guillermo Campanal who became one of the global superstars in the early 50s to some recent impressive players like Dani Alvez, Davor Suker, and Frederic Kanoute, and many more. Sevilla has always been home to many great Spanish and non-Spanish football stars.
Let’s have a look at the top 10 greatest players from Sevilla FC, who one way or another left a mark in the football world.
Top 10 greatest players from Sevilla FC
10. Javi Navarro
One of the most renowned Central defenders spent most of his career at Valencia and Sevilla. Navarro joined Sevilla in 2001 and went on to become one of the Best Sevilla FC players of all time after winning four major trophies with the club.
Javi Navarro formed a strong partnership with Pablo Alfaro in the heart of Sevilla’s defense line. He was one of the leaders of the club during its golden years in the first decade of the 21st century. The ending of his story at Sevilla had a bitter taste as he suffered a terrible knee injury in 2007 which kept him on the sideline for the following two years. Javi said goodbye to football in 2009 after failing to get back to form and consistency. However, he returned to Sevilla FC as an assistant coach in 2010.
9. Dani Alves
The famous Brazilian is considered one of the most impeccable right-back players of all time. Dani holds an astonishing record of winning 42 trophies across all competitions, five of which he won at Sevilla. Despite playing for six clubs throughout his career, he will always be remembered for his mesmerizing spells at Sevilla as well as Barcelona.
Dani is an offensive wingback player who is known in particular for his pace, technical skills, overlapping attacking, stamina, and accuracy. Alvez was picked by Sevilla in 2002 and stayed with the club for 6 seasons. He became one of the most celebrated players in the history of Sevilla FC. Alvez played a very crucial role in the first two of Sevilla’s six Europa League titles.
8. Davor Surker
The veteran Croatian forward is best known for his amazing performances in the 1998 World Cup in which he helped his country reach the third place and won the Golden Shoe award with mind-blowing 6 goals. Suker was a Real Madrid player when he shone at the World Cup, but it was in Sevilla that he established himself as one of the best strikers in the world of football. He was sold to Sevilla FC in the year 1991 after a successful three-year spell at Dynamo Zagreb. Davor stayed at Sevilla for the next 5 seasons, scoring 90 goals in just 177 matches.
7. Guillermo Campanal
One of the biggest Sevilla FC Legends of all time, Campanal started his career at Sevilla in 1929 and stayed with the club for the next 17 years. Before joining Sevilla, Campanal had a brief spell at Sporting Gijon. Born in 1912, the flamboyant striker netted 218 goals and featured in around 400 games for Sevilla, and became the club’s all-time top goalscorer. Of all his goals 101 was scored in La Liga, 75 in Segunda Division, and 42 in Copa del Rey. Campanal also played 3 games for Spain and scored 2 goals. He was a member of the Spain national team in the 1934 World Cup.
6. Juan Arza
Juan Arza is without a doubt among the Best Sevilla FC Players ever since he is the second record-holder in the most goals scored and most no. of matches played categories. Azra is the second all-time Sevilla top scorer with an astounding record of 207 goals in 400 odd games. Juan also is the second player with the most appearances in the club. (Behind Jesus Navas with 512 games). He joined Sevilla FC in 1943 and stayed for almost 16 seasons. He was one of the leaders of the Sevilla side who won the only La Liga title in the club’s history. He won his first and only Pichichi award in the 1954-55 season after netting 29 times.
5. Andreas Palop
Andreas Palop is one of the most established goalkeepers that the world has produced. Palop joined Sevilla in 2005 after impressing with Valencia and Villareal. He stayed at his favorite club for the next 8 seasons and won many trophies including 2 UEFA Europa League, one Europa Super League, and two Copa del Rey titles.
Andreas Palop played around 300 games for Sevilla across different competitions. One of the most memorable moments about his career spell with Sevilla is that he scored an unforgettable goal for the club. In the UEFA Super Cup round-of-16 game against Shakhtar Donetsk, Palop scored Sevilla’s equalizer in the dying moments of extra time. Sevilla reached the next stage and eventually won the title.
4. Juan Araujo
One of the Greatest Players in the History of Sevilla FC, Juan Araujo made his first appearance for Sevilla in 1945. The Spanish ferocious finisher stayed at Sevilla for a total of 11 seasons and was a key member of the team which won the one and only La Liga title in the club’s history. Overall, Araujo netted 158 goals for Sevilla (139 goals in La Liga and 19 goals in Copa Del Rey and became the club’s third all-time top scorer). He left Sevilla in 1956 and retired two years later. He also won the Copa del Generalisimo with Sevilla in 1948. Araujo died in 2002 at the age of 81.
3. Jose Antonio Reyes
Most definitely one of Sevilla FC legends of all time. The left-winger started his career at Sevilla B before getting promoted to the senior team in 2000. Antonio played for 9 clubs during his memorable career including 2 terrific spells at Sevilla. Reyes played a total of 86 games for his first spell at Sevilla and scored 21 goals for the club. He won the Segunda Division title in his first season with the club. Reyes’ second spell with Sevilla started in 2012 and continued for the following four seasons. He won many trophies and awards during this time including three back-to-back UEFA Europa League titles. In 2019, Jose died in a car accident which shook the entire world of football.
2. Frederic Kanoute
Ask Sevilla supporters for the greatest players in their history and many perhaps most will name the France-born striker, Frederic Kanoute, who came to Sevilla FC in 2005 and stayed for 7 seasons. His spell with Sevilla was a huge success as he won a total of six titles, including two Copa del Rey and two Europa Leagues. His goal-scoring stats won him the African Footballer of the Year award in 2007. Kanoute has netted 136 goals in 290 matches across several competitions. He is also the 4th highest goal-scorer in the history of Sevilla.
1. Jesus Navas
A product of Sevilla’s youth academy, Jesus Navas has played most of his career at his boyhood club. Navas was promoted to Sevilla’s first team in 2005 after impressing with the club’s B team. In his first spell with the club, Navas played 285 games and scored 23 goals. He won a total of seven titles including the club’s first two of a record six Europa League titles. Navas stayed for 13 seasons in his first spell with Sevilla. He then joined Manchester City to experience a new challenge. However, destiny had different plans for Jesus as he returned to Sevilla four years later. The Spanish-born right-winger helped his team win another Europa League title in the 2019-20 season and also became the club’s record holder for featuring in the most number of matches.
