The title of "the most valuable player in the history of the club" does not move him • The issue of his height (1.78 m) has turned from disadvantage to advantage • And there are already those who compare him to Sergio Ramos • Jules Conde is the diamond in Sevilla's defensive squad, who will have to stop tonight (22:00) The Arling Holland
Kunda.
"Technical, knows how to handle the ball and has an amazing head game"
Photo:
AP
The meeting between Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund tonight (22:00) at Ramon Sanchez Pijuan is certainly not the most glittering in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in the team index.
The Spaniards are in excellent shape, but are only ranked fourth in the league, while the Germans are in a bad period, sixth in the Bundesliga and 16 points away from the top.
In the player index, however, this game has one of the most fascinating encounters in the last 16 stages - a direct duel between two of the future stars of world football, two of the greatest talents.
In the right corner - the Norwegian machine Arling Holland.
The 20-year-old, 191 inches of Viking power, the man who is capable of passing an entire field in six steps and has already scored 23 goals in all competitions this season.
In the left corner - the man who will try to stop him - Jules Conde.
Aged 22, 178 inches that were a gamble and turned into a bingo.
As always with Sevilla, the one who went "all in" on the French brake was the professional manager Monchi.
In the summer of 2019, the man who grasped before everyone the potential of players like Danny Alves, Ivan Rakitić, Julio Batista, Freddie Canuta, Adriano, Saidou Keita and others who came to Andalusia for a reasonable amount and were sold at a large profit - decided that Kunda is the next exit.
Although Bordeaux's brake has only played 70 official games, and although his height (1.78m) is lower than the standard of the average brake, Sevilla acquired him for an amount that came with bonuses of 25 million euros which made him the most expensive acquisition in the club's history.
"It does not move him to be said to be our most valuable player in history," Monchi declared at the first press conference.
"He's the perfect brake"
Through the acquisition of Conde, one can learn quite a bit about the working method of Sevilla, thanks to which it has won the Europa League six times in the last decade and a half and was a top team despite limited resources.
"I think the economic risk is much smaller than it seems to you," Monchi said near the signing, adding two facts to the explanation.
The first is the rise in brake prices - in the same transfer window Juventus paid 85 million for Matisse de Licht, Bayern 80 million for Lucas Hernandez, Real spent 50 million for Militeau, and Costas Manoles and Abdu Diallo also went to Napoli and PSG more than Sevilla paid for Kunda.
"This is the market, these are the prices," Monchi clarified and presented another fact - Sevilla is a well-known team.
In the summer of 2019, it sold players for about 130 million euros, led by Wissem Ben Yader, Pablo Sarabia and Luis Muriel, so its coffers are always balanced.
The economic aspect is impressive, and no less so the professional one.
According to the team from Andalusia, when the coach is interested in acquiring he asks Monchi for a player who will suit his requirements, and the professional manager pulls out the most suitable from a bank of players who have been carefully examined over the years.
Luftaghi explained that he was looking for a central brake who would know how to get along in a defensive squad that plays far from the goal, and Monchi had no doubt that Kunda was the one.
"He's the perfect brake and has rare intuitions," the professional manager declared, "he is athletic and elastic, quick-thinking and one who learns things very quickly."
Sevilla examined Conde to such an extent that she concluded that height was not a disadvantage in his case, but an advantage.
His figures were reminiscent of those of Sergio Ramos, who grew up in Sevilla, and from his height of 1.84 meters became one of the best brakes in the world.
Like Ramos, the Frenchman does everything from everything, not just defense.
Pablo Blanco, a stopper who moved to Sevilla and today the youth team coordinator, told El Pais: "His development is reminiscent of Ramos'. He is technical, knows how to handle the ball and has an amazing head game."
The data backs this up.
Conde is ranked third in the Spanish league in height struggles and second in average dedication per game.
He also has three goals this season in all competitions, including one in an impressive slalom against Barcelona in the Cup semi-final.
"He's a tremendous talent that still needs to grow and get better," his coach Lofty said this week, "and I have no doubt it will happen."
Conde is the diamond in Sevilla's defensive squad, who along with Brazilian goalkeeper and Brazilian striker Diego Carlos have kept a clean sheet in their last seven games - all of which they have won.
Last summer Monchi turned down a £ 55m bid from Manchester City for him, and now his release clause already stands at £ 90m.
As part of its life cycle Sevilla plans to sell Conde next year for as much as possible, and that price will surely go up if the Frenchman manages to stop the Netherlands twice a month.