Sevilla make the switch: miracle-maker replaces the deal-breaker

It was about time Sevilla said goodbye to Argentinean underachiever Jorge Sampaoli. The former Argentina national team and Olympique de Marseille head coach, known in world football as a passionate and quirky character, has been sacked after he couldn't improve on the Julen Lopetegui results from 6 October onwards.

And so, La Liga's 14th-placed club decided to bring in their third coach of the season - one they probably should have gone for in October - Jose Luis Mendilibar. The former Eibar coach is universally acclaimed for keeping the tiny Basque club in Spain's top division for years against all odds, doing so on a shoestring budget and with a lot of swagger. It's something Sevilla are desperate for, considering they'd wasted millions in the past few years with precious little to show regarding results.

Mendilibar signs for three months until the end of the season. His only task is to save the club from relegation. If he succeeds, then he'll ensure a longer stay at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. He has been jobless since he left Alaves last year. And in his career, in more than 15 years on professional football benches, his great work over six years at Eibar stands out the most.

Mendilibar will not have an easy job, who at least knows three members of his new locker room, such as Joan Jordan, Bryan Gil and Marko Dmitrovic. The Sampaoli era has left many players angry with the world, and now they will be directed by a coach with a clear method, without unnecessary drama or the need to get the players all worked up. He will place each footballer in his natural position and will try to grow from high-pressure football with few touches to reach the rival area. It seems so simple - but football is simple, after all.

In the meantime, Sampaoli penned an emotional letter to Sevilla fans, proclaiming his love for the club he's now left twice. The first time in May 2017, he left after talking Los Nervionenses to the fourth place in La Liga to become Argentina's coach in the 2018 World Cup. Argentina fans probably wish he'd stayed at Sevilla. To be fair to Sampaoli, he did manage to steer the club into the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, where Manchester United await them. But his most significant "achievement" during the six-month reign is to go viral when he puzzled his player Jordan with a set of instructions during the match at Camp Nou. The man is quite a character - but he's clearly not fir to lead a serious team.

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Now Sampaoli can relax, and Mendilibar can perform another miracle to save the famous club from going down.