Victor Orta on time at Leeds: ‘I forgot about bad times the day I closed the door’ - The Athletic 20/6/23

By Dermot Corrigan

Former Leeds United director of football Victor Orta says he forgot “bad moments” at the club “the day the door closed” on his time at Elland Road.

Orta left Leeds, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, in May and was confirmed as Sevilla’s new sporting director on Tuesday.

The Spaniard’s role had come under scrutiny in Yorkshire after two seasons of struggle under two ill-fated managerial appointments in Jesse Marsch and Javi Gracia.

Leeds said at the time they sought to “change direction” but Orta, speaking at his Sevilla presentation on his return to the club where he was previously technical director, defended his record.

The 44-year-old said: “I had a very satisfactory time there, taking a team which had been 16 years in the lower divisions, as a foreigner in England, where they demand double of you.

“I managed a Premier League budget, all that means, managed the club as a director general, always aiming for the best for the team.

“It was a very important part of my life, with some very good moments, and the bad moments are forgotten. I forgot about that the day the door closed, just wanted to remember the good times I had there.”

Orta was appointed Sevilla’s sporting director after Monchi left the role at the La Liga club last week to join Unai Emery at Aston Villa. Orta previously worked at Sevilla and under Monchi for more than a decade.

On his appointment, Orta said: “Sevilla contacted me Friday night, just before confirmation of Monchi’s exit. I received an offer on Saturday, there was a small negotiation, and now I’m here on Tuesday afternoon. It could not have been done more smoothly.

“It’s always a long-term plan, the sporting director’s job is to build a project. Short-termism in football never works. I have the ambition to be here as long as possible, winning games, getting results. The same here at Sevilla, at Leeds United, at any team in the world.”

Asked about the future of Leeds striker Rodrigo, who joined Leeds from Valencia in 2020 and is believed to have a relegation release cluase in his contract, Orta said: “I am not going to talk about individual names. I sent Rodrigo Moreno a message yesterday to congratulate him for the trophy (the Nations League won with Spain). With this rumour, maybe from there, things have got a bit exaggerated.”