Benfica re-encounters Nolito in Zurich

He is in the batch of 20 players from Sevilla called-up for the friendly match against Benfica. Now, on the other side of the pitch, Nolito will re-encounter some teammate with whom he shared the dressing room during a season and a half at Luz.

Nolito arrived at Luz in 2011/12 and had an amazing season start: he established himself as a starter and scored four goals in the first five rounds. In total, in that season he played 48 matches and 15 goals. “Barcelona is big, but Benfica is also. It does not come second to Barça”, he stated when he became an eagle.

In the second season, he played 15 matches and scored one goal before moving to Granada, on loan. In 2013/14, he transferred to Celta Vigo, where he relaunched his career and earned him a spot at Manchester City. He played there one season and then returned to Spain (Sevilla).

Seven years later, another re-encounter. Among the several players who shared the dressing room with Nolito during the season and a half he played at Luz, Luisão, Jardel, André Almeida and Salvio remain in the squad.

“They have been hard days of work, almost always with two training sessions per day. On Saturday, we have a match against Benfica and we will prepare it the best way possible”, said the former player in statements to the official site of Sevila.

Nolito is part of Pablo Machín's 20-man squad, together with Sergio Rico, Vaclik, Corchia, Nico Pareja, Carriço, Escudero, Arana, Sarabia, Correa, Amadou, Roque Mesa, Franco Vázquez, Borja Lasso, Nolito, Ben Yedder, Genaro, Fede San Emeterio, Lara, Pejiño and Marc Gual.

Text: Filipa Fernandes Garcia

Pics: Sevilla FC