Sevilla's La Cartuja History: One Official Loss, One Goalless Derbi — Now the Real Thing Awaits
With the Gran Derbi heading to La Cartuja on 1 March, we dig into Sevilla's surprisingly thin history at the Olympic stadium.
Sunday’s Gran Derbi is heading to La Cartuja — and for Sevilla fans, the omens from the ground’s brief history aren’t exactly sparkling.
A venue with barely any history for Sevilla
With Betis temporarily calling La Cartuja home while the Benito Villamarín gets its makeover, the stage is set for what’ll be the first official Betis-Sevilla clash at the Olympic stadium. For the rojiblancos, though, the ground holds just one official match in living memory — and it didn’t go well.
That 2003 defeat to Real Madrid
Cast your mind back to April 2003. Sevilla president José María del Nido Benavente shifted a league fixture against Real Madrid to La Cartuja, partly to get sponsors on board and make it accessible for season ticket holders.
The result? A 1-3 thumping from Vicente del Bosque’s Madrid side.
- Iván Helguera opened the scoring for the visitors
- Paco Gallardo pulled one back before half-time to give the home faithful a flicker of hope
- Then Zidane and Morientes killed it off in the second half
Joaquín Caparrós was in the dugout for Sevilla that day — same fella who’s had about seventeen different stints at the club since. The ground clearly didn’t bring him much luck on that occasion.
The forgotten friendly derbi
Before that, there was a Betis-Sevilla match at La Cartuja — but it was about as low-stakes as it gets. Back in the summer of 2001, the ground hosted a pre-season triangular tournament called the I Trofeo Estadio Olímpico, with Athletic Club making up the numbers.
A few things worth knowing about that one:
- Matches were just 45 minutes a side
- The referee was a young Medina Cantalejo, long before he became a household name
- Sevilla drew 0-0 with Athletic in the opener
- Betis, managed by Juande Ramos, beat Jupp Heynckes’ Athletic 1-0
- The derbi itself? Ended 0-0. Riveting stuff
The Betis lineup that day featured the likes of Prats, Cañas, Juanito and Benjamín, while Caparrós’ Sevilla side included a very young José Antonio Reyes among their starters. Different era, different players — but the same old ground.
What it means for Sunday
Sevilla go into the 1 March derby desperate to make amends after a 0-2 home defeat to Betis in the first leg back at Nervión earlier in the season. That result still stings, and you can bet the dressing room knows it.
La Cartuja has given Sevilla precisely nothing to shout about historically — one friendly stalemate and an official defeat to Madrid. Whether that changes on Sunday is another matter entirely, but the stakes couldn’t be higher. A proper derby, a neutral-ish ground, and a point to prove. Lovely stuff.