Sevilla FC hires a former River Plate player as coach | The Andalusian team avoided relegation last season.

Matías Almeyda will face a new challenge in Europe. The Argentine coach will take his project to Sevilla, as the Andalusian club confirmed that the former midfielder has signed for three seasons. Thus, the strategist, who has a history at River Plate, will replace Joaquín Caparrós starting July 1, returning to the southern Spanish entity where he played during the 1996/97 season.

The 51-year-old coach from Azul has managed AEK Athens for the past three years (from 2022 to 2025), leading them to a league title and a Greek Cup. In his 134 matches with the capital team, he recorded 80 wins, 24 draws, and 30 losses.

Almeyda will take over the position left vacant by Caparrós, who took charge of Sevilla following the dismissal of Xavi García Pimienta. The Argentine coach arrives in Spain with the aim of improving on a difficult last season, where the team struggled to maintain its status after finishing seventeenth with 41 points, just one above the relegation zone.

“The board is ready,” announced on Sevilla’s X (formerly Twitter) account, referring to the coach’s passion for chess.

The former River player, who played 30 matches with the Andalusian club, began his coaching career in 2011 when he took charge at the Núñez entity, achieving promotion to the top tier of Argentine football after a season in Primera B Nacional. He managed there for 60 matches until 2013, the year he moved to Banfield, where he stayed until 2015, with a total of 101 matches and a promotion in 2014.

The next year, he headed to Mexico for his first experience abroad with CD Chivas Guadalajara. He stayed there for three seasons, winning the 2017 Clausura Tournament, two MX Cups, and the 2015-16 Supercopa. Additionally, he claimed the 2018 Concacaf Champions League title—the second in the club’s history—defeating Toronto FC in the final.

In 2019, he took the helm of the San José Earthquakes in MLS, and in 2022 he left North America to sign with AEK Athens.

His arrival in Sevilla was celebrated on the official social media accounts of the Iberian club, highlighting his numbers: 545 matches managed, with nine titles won. They also evoked nostalgia by showcasing a photo from his time as a player when he first arrived at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium.