Bienvenido Al Infierno: Alli esta Puertaaaaaaa!!!!.........

It gets said entirely way too much that after a tragedy happens in sport, athletes and media alike come out and say, "this really puts everything in perspective." This is all true. But we still lament the loss of life, especially when it is one of our heroes who roamed over pitches all over the world. One such case was last August of 2007 when Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta collapsed in a Liga game and died after suffering several cardiac arrests. Antonio was a mere pup. Only 23 years of age. He was beloved by the Sevilla FC faithful and will always be remembered in the annals of the club for scoring one of the most memorable goals in history when his electrifying volley ripped past the Schalke goalkeeper in the 100th minute to send Sevilla to the 2006 UEFA Cup final. Sevilla FC radio went beserk and it still remains one of my favorite calls of a goal ever.

"Alli esta... alli esta Puertaaaaa. GOL! GOL! GOOOOOOL! PUERTA GOL! PUERTA! GOL! GOL DE ANTONIO PUERTA!!!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3msyoOGI0M8

I mention Antonio Puerta because he was part of what has now become one of the best 'canteras' in all of Spain. To refresh everyone's memory, the 'cantera" is the youth system developed by the club. Antonio was born and raised in Sevilla so it was only natural that he be groomed within the Sevilla system. Other La Liga teams have their own "B" teams that play in the different divisions, but it is only Sevilla who has a feeder team playing in La Segunda Division. That happens to be Sevilla Atletico. As opposed to the other 21 teams in La Segunda Division, Sevilla Atletico has reached their ceiling from a team perspective. But the goal of reaching the first division still remains for the players and looking at the current and recent Sevilla FC squads, that goal is very much attainable. The aforementioned Antonio Puerta played for Sevilla Atletico, as did goal-scorer Jesus Navas and Diego Capel.

It certainly speaks to the depth and talent in the Sevilla system to essentially have thir "B" team playing at the next to highest level. That's not the case with some of the other 'gigantes'. Barcelona B was only recently promoted to Segunda B for example. In years past, some B teams have had such a successful season in La Segunda Division including Castilla (Real Madrid's B team), Bilbao Atletic and Atletico Madrid B. There's a certain purity and feeling of innocence when one watches the "chavales" of the B teams play in more modest venues. I'm sure fans who take in these games get wispy when they see one of their boys achieve success with the parent team. And one can only imagine the sense of heartbreak it gave Sevilla fans to watch one of their own come up through the system, yet have his life taken so suddenly. Dare I say, it puts things in perspective...

Jornada 7 - Resultados