Sevilla chief opens up on "stupid" superstitions ahead of tough Arsenal test
Victor Orta knows superstitions are “stupid”, but the former Leeds United sporting director isn’t letting that stop him.
The 44-year-old left Elland Road in May with the club in relegation danger, and they fell short in their efforts to avoid the drop. Now, while the Yorkshire club push for promotion back to the Premier League, Orta is back at Sevilla after a 10-year absence, filling the role vacated by his former mentor Monchi.
Speaking in the lead-up to his team’s crucial Champions League trip to Arsenal, the Spaniard is full of ideas - sharing his concept of a Ryder Cup of football and explaining in vivid detail how he first met Sevilla boss Diego Alonso at a barbecue in 2011 - but he doesn’t let the meeting end without bringing up the South American tradition of Kiricocho.
“People will ask me why I'm superstitious,” Orta says. “I know superstitions are stupid, I know it's not influencing anything, but it's the only way you can still create a link to your destiny.
“I don’t know if you know the word Kiricocho,” he half-asks, half-tells, gearing up to explain in detail. “It's a word you use when the rival is attacking to bring bad luck to the rival.
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“It's from South America, a doctor in Estudiantes la Plata who the first day he performed surgery a person died, and they always said he brought bad luck. Then when teams arrived at Estudiantes de la Plata in the Bilardo era [coach Carlos Bilardo, who later managed the Argentina national team], he put [his hand on] the hand of the teams to bring bad luck to the other teams, and Estudiantes didn't lose one game at home in a year or a year and a half.
“They created this culture in football about Kiricocho, and in the Championship [with Leeds] I said Kiricocho and people said 'what's that?' - I know it's not important but it's the only way to have a feeling that I can have any influence.”
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Sergio Ramos has followed Victor Orta in returning to Sevilla (CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images)Influence is important for Orta, even though he knows some things are out of his control. Spain’s bigger clubs have traditionally taken a bigger piece of the pie when it comes to TV broadcasting money, forcing pretenders like Sevilla to work creatively - in their case, convincing supporters it is worth selling stars for big money and rebuilding the squad with lesser-known talents.
In Orta’s first spell at the club, identifying these talents was a big part of his role. He would often watch up to five matches per day on video, while also travelling the world to take in games - including some at under-20 or under-17 level - in an effort to find the next big star.
Now, though, his role has changed. After a decade away from Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan - including spells in Russia and England - he has returned with greater responsibility, but also with a motive to enjoy what he can.
“When i had the agreement in Seville, my close friend working in football too - Emilio Vega, who is now working in Qatar - told me: 'This new contract, try to enjoy the journey. try to enjoy that you're back at a place you love.
“‘Try to enjoy that after 10 years going around the world - Russia, Elche, Middlesbrough, Leeds - you arrive to your house. Try to enjoy the daily basis with your team, try to enjoy the sunshine in November, try to enjoy the food, try to enjoy your son going to a Spanish school, try to enjoy the good things'.
“We need to try to enjoy that because we are privileged people, working in football, talking about football, travelling around the world because of football. We cannot be always upset or sad or always depressed if the results are not the results. We are privileged, we are lucky people. This is my motto this season, try to enjoy the journey.”
Orta's Leeds spell had many ups and downs (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)However, while Monchi is thriving at Villa with former Sevilla boss Unai Emery, things have been tougher for Orta. A slow start to the season saw manager Jose Luis Mendilibar sacked, with Diego Alonso now the fourth permanent manager since the start of last season.
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The Uruguayan arrived in October after his tenure with his own national team came to an end, ironically with Marcelo Bielsa taking the reins in his first job since being let go by Orta’s Leeds. And that’s not the only comparison to be drawn between the two.
Alonso has never managed in Spain, just as Bielsa had never managed in England before taking the reins at Elland Road. That gamble paid off, though, with the legendary manager taking Leeds back to the Premier League after more than a decade away and delivering a memorable first season in the top flight.
"To be honest for me it was really good because he increases your level," Orta says when asked about working with Bielsa on a day-to-day basis. "I want to have people near me that always try to increase to make you a better person because you grow.
Marcelo Bielsa took Leeds up to the Premier League in 2020 (Getty Images)"I am not scared about that. I prefer people to be on a daily basis demanding, and Bielsa, you always have to give him your best person professionally.
"This is one of the things that's a challenge, but on the other side it's really important because to know your own limits about how to do your best, because the good feeling is not only with me - it's with the players, it's with the gardener, with the chief executive, with the personal chef on the training ground.
“People said 'you're crazy bringing Bielsa to the championship' and then my crazy idea had results,” Orta recalls. His Alonso plan, meanwhile, has its origins back in 2011 - back when Orta was in his first Sevilla spell and Bielsa was in the midst of his own impressive stint in Spain with Athletic Club.
“I remember I was in Uruguay watching the derby, Penarol-Nacional, and I watched a game of Sevilla when we won last minute when Negredo scored in Zaragoza,” Orta recalls. “He [Alonso] was playing still, a striker in Penarol, and we made a classic barbecue - an asado in South America - and a close friend of mine invited him because he was his neighbour and there were a lot of people from football at the table. Top-level coaches, players from Uruguay, agents, really top-level.
“One of the things that impressed me a lot was that when he started to talk, he started to talk like a coach when he still was a player. I never had this feeling before with another player. I worked with players before who said they wanted to be a coach, but he talked like a coach and is still now a coach.”
Orta made a point of following Alonso’s career, from its humble beginnings at Bella Vista, where he saved the Uruguayan side from relegation, through stints in Paraguay, Mexico and the United States. Now, just a month after bringing the 47-year-old to Seville, he’s confident the new man can buck the trend of Mendilibar and Jorge Sampaoli and remain at the helm for a number of years.
Orta has brought in Diego Alonso as Sevilla's new manager (AFP via Getty Images)Alonso almost oversaw a dream domestic start, with his team taking a short-lived lead over Real Madrid before eventually drawing 1-1. The first win of the new era arrived in midweek, against Quintanar in the Copa del Rey, while a daunting trip to the Emirates Stadium is on the horizon as Sevilla aim to add to the two points they have earned across three Champions League group games.
Last season, early elimination from the competition proved to be a blessing in disguise, with Mendilibar overseeing a run to Europa League glory. It was a record seventh win in the competition - no other team has more than three - but Orta feels this squad is capable of even more.
“I put the example of Inter Milan, the [Champions League] finalist last season. It was more or less the same team that, three years ago, this team beat in the Europa League final,” he says. “Then with this example [we need to look at] how we can reach the next level and how we can work to try and reach the next level.
“The ambition is one of the things in football that is really important - if you are ambitious and not realistic it's not good, but if you are conservative it's not good [either]. I was really scared when I arrived of saying 'maybe it's only our ceiling, the Europa League', but after three months working here I'm sure that we can reach the next level.”
So far, Orta’s project has consisted of attention to detail and figuring out what works, as he tries to enact a plan many years in the making. Even so, if he watches Arsenal’s forwards bearing down on the Sevilla goal on Wednesday, he might allow himself to shout ‘Kiricocho’ if only for his own peace of mind.
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