Sevilla are one of the nine sides to have won La Liga since its inception in 1929. That success came in 1945-46 however they haven't added to that single league victory since. They came close in 1950-51 missing out by two points to Atlético Madrid but it wasn't till the 2006-07 season that they challenged for the title again.
That 2006-07 campaign despite what you might read about it, was a three-way tussle for the title between the big two and the Andalucians. Sevilla were on the back of a first ever UEFA cup victory the previous campaign and would go on to retain it in this season. Under the stewardship of Juande Ramos, Sevilla would become a force that stood up to the big two.
With the experience Andrés Palop in goal they had a commanding presence between the sticks. A certain Dani Alves was bombarding up and down the right wing with Jesús Navas with frightening pace, Dane Christian Poulsen added steel to the midfield with Renato supplying the Kanouté Fabiano partnership that would yield goals for days.
They started the campaign with a trashing of Barcelona in the UEFA super cup showing the threat they posed. As for the Liga campaign a nice three wins from three including a derby victory over Real Betis got Sevilla off and running.
A bad tempered game with Atlético followed which saw them slip to 5th, bouncing back with a victory over Getafe before the first major test against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Despite briefly drawing level, Sevilla succumbed to a 3-1 defeat that pushed Sevilla into 4th.
However that defeat didn't dampen the confidence too much as they went on a six game unbeaten run that saw them drop only two points (away at Racing Santander). That run of form elevated Sevilla up to 2nd a point behind Barcelona and two ahead of Real Madrid.
They faced Espanyol away and despite taking the lead through Luís Fabiano, they let it slip and suffered a 2-1 loss. That allowed Real Madrid to overtake them in the table but crucially Barcelona only drew at Levante.
A three game winning streak up to the Christmas break followed. In the run was a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid. Going down early to a David Beckham goal, Sevilla regrouped and fought back to claw themselves a massive 2-1 victory. That success was followed by the victories over Recreativo and Deportivo.
So at the Christmas break Sevilla were top. They sat two points clear of Barcelona and held a five point lead over Real Madrid. All seemed rosy at the top for Juande Ramos' side. However the break came at a wrong time. First game back was a 2-1 reverse at Zaragoza which was followed by another 2-1 reverse this time at home by Mallorca. Those two defeats allowed Real Madrid to claw back three points on the christmas lead while Barcelona themselves were also stuttering. Sevilla did arrest the losing run with a 0-0 draw away at Villarreal.
A six game unbeaten run followed but half the games were draws. The sixth game of that run was the biggest game of the season so far, Barcelona at the Sánchez Pizjuan. The rojiblancos went down to a Ronaldinho strike early on but were back level with winter signing Alexander Kerzhakov striking before a Dani Alves free-kick had the Sánchez Pizjuan rocking!. A massive victory, which lifted Sevilla top by a point from Barcelona.
What followed was an absolute disaster. Away at a Gimnástic side that along with Real Sociedad were adrift at the bottom of the table, seemed like a certain victory to follow up the massive Barcelona win the previous week. However it didn't end that way. Somehow Sevilla were beaten, 1-0 thanks to a Javi Portillo strike. The loss saw Sevilla relinquish top spot on head-to-head with Barcelona. Behind them at this stage was Valencia just three points back, they had quietly gone about capitalising on the indifferent form of both Sevilla and Barcelona, however they wouldn't keep pace.
For Sevilla a victory and two draws followed which amazingly only resulted in being a point behind Barcelona. However Real Madrid after 29 games had crept up to a point behind Sevilla. An interesting side not after 29 games was the fact that in 4th place was Real Zaragoza who were level with Valencia in 5th, both were six points off leaders Barcelona which showed just how competitive La Liga actually was at the time.
The next game for Sevilla was a 2-0 loss away at Valencia which allowed Barcelona to move four points clear and Real Madrid were beaten at Santander.
Eight games was all that remained in the title race. A run of form at this stage would be crucial and Sevilla certainly started the final stretch on fire. A 4-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao and a 3-1 success over Espanyol was good preparation for another big test, Real Madrid away.
Going into the game the table read Barcelona 62, Sevilla 61 and Real Madrid 60. A massive game that saw Sevilla take the lead with an Enzo Maresca goal. However back came Los Blancos and despite a Javier Chevanton late goal Sevilla were beaten 3-2. Barcelona were also victorious, at Real Sociedad so Sevilla slipped four points behind with five to play.
Sevilla continued their form. Three wins over Recreativo, Deportivo and Zaragoza followed which bought Sevilla back to within two points of both Barcelona and Real Madrid who were level after 36 games.
Round 37 was crucial. By the time Sevilla kicked off against Mallorca, Barcelona had dropped points at home to Espanyol while Real Madrid had yet to play, they faced a tricky game away at Zaragoza. As it turned out Sevilla were extremely frustrated by Mallorca. A victory would've drawn them level with the big two going into the final day as Zaragoza got a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid. However all Sevilla managed out in Palma de Mallorca was a flurry of cards. The goal evaded them and it was a case of ass you were as all three draw going into the final day.
Sevilla on 71 were just behind Barcelona and Real Madrid who both had 73. Sevilla needed a miracle at this stage, even draws for Madrid and Barcelona would've be enough thanks to the head-to-head records. What Sevilla needed were defeats for both sides and it didn't seem likely. Real Madrid did go behind at home to Mallorca but the problem then was Barcelona were trashing Gimnástic. In the end Real Madrid came from behind to win 3-1 which despite Barcelona's 5-1 success was enough for Los Blancos to secure the title on their better head-to-head record while a down Sevilla lost to Villarreal 1-0 when all hope was lost.
It was a case of what might have been for Sevilla. In the end they missed out by five points if you include the head-to-head and when you look back that Gimnástic defeat and Mallorca stalemate cost Sevilla the title. They had the quality to overcome Gimnástic comfortably and a bit of luck would've won them the Mallorca game. However they played their part in what was an enthralling season in La Liga. In fact with hindsight this campaign was the last in which there was a third challenger to the throne, not until Atlético's extraordinary 2013-14 season did we have someone challenge the big two.
The consolation for Sevilla in this campaign was the success in the UEFA cup and the Copa del rey. They ended with a double but it could so easily have been a treble.
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