Since being relegated to Segunda División in 2013, Royal Zaragoza, a veteran team that once won the European Cup Winners' Cup, has been languishing in the lower leagues for twelve years. During this period, the club was surrounded by all kinds of absurd and chaotic management decisions, and its dignity was repeatedly trampled on, which is sad.
As the team's fourth coach this season, Gabi dares to take on such a hot potato. His courage and determination are admirable. Why did Zaragoza get to this point? What kind of coach is Gabi?
Review of the Royal Zaragoza 24/25 season: highs and lows and out-of-control management
In the past twelve seasons, Zaragoza has had only one goal: to return to La Liga. This season's lineup is the most expensive lineup Zaragoza has ever assembled since Segunda División's campaign. The Lions of Aragon started well. Under the leadership of the club's legendary coach Victor Fernandez (Víctor Fernández), who was born and raised in the club, they started against strong Segunda División opponents such as Levante and Elche and rushed to the top of the list with strong momentum.
Although it has been in decline for a long time, the club's youth training system still maintains its standards. Center Iván Azón, as the latest representative of the "Quarry", has solid skills and a strong physique. Although he was a little green at the beginning of the season, he gradually showed good physical confrontation. With a winger background, he can also enrich the frontcourt; another striker Mario Soberon (Mario) Soberón) is a very cost-effective signing. Not only does he have good technology in the Segunda División environment, he can also undertake counterattack and connection tasks, and has strong finishing ability. Bosnia and Herzegovina forward Samed Bazdar is the standard-bearer this season, but he obviously has adaptation problems. As a forward, his technical characteristics are not suitable for the Spanish system. However, when Asson or Soberon provide support in the frontcourt, he can launch attacks from the second-line wing. This is his most threatening moment.
Asso may have gone to Como too soon
However, the team actually relies on offense to cover up its defensive weaknesses. Although for sub-league teams, futile signings year after year are the norm, but Zaragoza using a summer window to build a disaster-level defense is also a miracle.
As far as goalkeepers are concerned, although the French Poussin occasionally has short circuits in his brain, he can at least save. When the newly signed Joan Femenías faced the forward, his flesh and blood burst like a chicken under a butcher's knife. This was a real shot on target. His position selection, posture and gestures were all "eye-opening" in a professional league environment. Choosing the starting lineup between him and Poussin was a hesitation between death and panic.
The central defender Bernardo Vital (187cm) signed for 1.5 million euros (a huge sum for the second-division team) is just an ordinary defender of Segunda División level. He is easily out of position when facing fake moves, occasionally makes fatal mistakes, is insufficient in air defense, has a slow starting speed and stiff turns. Even so, he is already a relatively reliable part of the defense.
As for other central defenders, the Slovak central defender Sebasitan Kosa (193cm), who was also signed in the summer window, has rough skills, slow speed, and lack of coordination. Although he has height, he does not know how to use it. He even makes Jair Amador (190cm), a veteran central defender who adds to the team's burden when playing, look good. The fourth central defender Lluis Lopez (182cm) who was two years ago had mediocre hardware, but now he is the strongest starter besides Vital, and his performance can be imagined; youth training abandonment Enrique Clement (Enrique Clemente, 180cm, can play LB) returned from the summer window. His ball output is useful among Zaragoza defenders, but in fact he is a weak person who is physically and mentally unable to compete with Segunda División. Only with a lot of talent can the terrible gap he creates less obvious.
Among the full-backs, the newly signed left-back Dani Tasende (172cm) is one of the main reasons for the relegation of VillarrealB last season; Ivan Calero (Ivan Calero), who can serve as a part-time left and right full-back Calero (174cm) spent a "small" sum of money (300k). He was quite stable at the beginning of the season and was considered a Segunda División qualified full-back, but his form has declined significantly since November. In general, it is better to spend this money to promote youth training.
As the season progresses, opponents gradually understand and continue to exploit the many weaknesses of the Zaragoza defense. After losing eight consecutive rounds and losing 2-3 to Oviedo, Victor Fernandez resigned on December 18, "I can no longer explain this situation. I can no longer find a solution to the problem on the court, whether it is me, Victor Fernandez, or someone else coaching. Please stop relying on my image. I am tired of always acting as a protective shield for the club." At the resignation press conference, the old coach who loved Zaragoza said so.
Victor Fernandez's resignation press conference
What is interesting is that Zaragoza's 13 signings in the summer window, many of them were in the name of "this is the person the head coach needs". Among them, apart from Soberon, who has met the performance expectations, and who is the person the head coach really needs?
Taking over as head coach Ramirez (Miguel Angel Ramirez) is the opposite of a "modern coach" and can be called the biggest joke in Spanish football this season. From personal experience, as long as the resume of an unknown person with a non-professional player background has the three major elements of recognition from a celebrity (Director of the Royal Club!), "high-end" resume (Asbel College!), and long interview (The Coach Voice!), it is enough to sound the alarm for scammers. It’s not surprising that the coach was booed, but he took office without any old grudges This is the only one who was told to get lost by the fans in his first home game.
After coaching for only ten games, Ramirez never admitted that he was wrong, and created countless objections, calling the Royal Zaragoza an "amateur team" with "a harsh environment and not suitable for work", and asking the media to take responsibility for the team's poor condition. The most classic one is "Before considering upgrading, we must first improve the IT level and improve the stadium conditions." This statement is all incompetent and shameless modern syndrome patients.
As for the style of play, Ramirez's solution is to pile up central defenders. But when all central defenders have poor personal abilities, the accumulation of numbers cannot be equated with good defense. More defenders mean that the team is forced to retreat deeper and cannot transfer the pressure. When the opponent continues to press, it will be more likely to make personal mistakes. It is even more unrealistic to expect these central defenders who are constantly frightened, nervous, lacking speed, interception, confrontation and aerial challenge to be able to stably deliver the ball from the backcourt.
If the central defender plays against a strong team, then that's it. But Tenerife, who has lost his morale in the field (the team's senior management battles this season are so intense that it is enough to make a TV series), ranked 5-4-1, and was scored two goals by the opponent. This is Ramirez's level: relying on the media for public relations, arming himself with technology, training to recruit people, and finally insulting the fans with his performance.
After 31 rounds, Zaragoza was only 1 point higher than Segunda División in the relegation zone. Ramirez and sporting director Juan Carlos Cordero got out together. What Gabi is coming to pick up is this mess.
Gabi and Zaragoza: Leap of Faith
Royal Zaragoza will extend an olive branch to Gabi, which is actually due to capital operation. The club’s largest shareholder is Atlético de Madrid’s board secretary Pablo Jiménez de Parga. Long before Ramirez was selected, he had intended to invite Gabi to coach, but at that time he assessed that the risk was too high. Four months later, when any coach who cherishes feathers is unwilling to take risks, the original concerns have been forgotten.
Since the acquisition was completed through capital increase and debt-for-equity swap in 2022, Deparga has controlled a majority of the shares (50.1%) of Real Z LLC, the parent company of Royal Zaragoza, through its controlling Global Tavira SL, becoming the largest shareholder. In the company's equity structure, De Parga personally holds 88%, and the remaining 12% is held by Joseph Oughourlian, president of the Spanish mainstream media group Prisa (De Parga is also a director of Prisa). In addition, American businessman Jorge Mas (also the owner of Inter Miami) and his brother also control the remaining 25% of the shares through Real Ventures. The “Atléticoization” of Zaragoza is a direct reflection of this capital marriage.
When Deparga became the actual controller of Zaragoza, several close associates of the Hill family also entered the Aragon team's board of directors. Therefore, Zaragoza's behavior and performance can, to a certain extent, reflect the true capabilities of Atlético's senior management.
This team has become a testing ground for Atlético de Madrid. Not only are Víctor Mollejo, Giuliano Simeone and other young players renting Zaragoza, but now even at the most critical moment, coaches with no professional team experience are invited to practice. The royal Zaragoza, which has a glorious and long history, is now further tooled. The chess pieces are no longer important, the chess game is the key.
Depalga calculated very clearly: As Zaragoza's idol, Gabi's return can stimulate the enthusiasm of fans; a short-term contract of three and a half months can be used and thrown away; if the relegation is successful, the performance is good, and the contract is not large, he will become the head coach of the "long-term project"; if the team is relegated, if there is no better alternative, he can also renegotiate and renew the contract with Gabi and lead the team to compete in La Liga.
On the other hand, as a strong negotiator in Spanish football, Getafe chairman Ángel Torres (who is famous for his work as Greenwood) also has rewards behind his "release" - in the form of a one-year loan + 3 million euros with a priority to buy out 50% of the ownership, he won Getafe's long-coveted Zaragoza youth training left winger Adrián Liso. Although this 19-year-old white left-footed winger is not a speed player, he has shown tactical value in Segunda División with his height (182cm), strength and line-pushing ability. His tireless side attacks and high-position counter-attacks are very practical attributes in modern football.
Adrián Liso
In this "cooperation", Gabi is the weakest party. His willingness to give up his position in the GetafeB team and accept a three-and-a-half-month short-term contract and such a challenge can only be explained by his love for Zaragoza.
From 2007 to 2011, Gabi played for Zaragoza as the main force, experiencing the ups and downs of the team's relegation, promotion and relegation. He endured the overwhelming anger of fans when he was relegated in the 2007/08 season, and in the 2008/09 season The ten-man team reversed a bloody battle with promotion opponent Jerez He fought until he vomited. He scored twice in the final round of the 2010/11 season to help the team escape from a desperate situation and was hailed as the "La Romareda Hero".
He is the echo of the city's suffering memory and the watchman of the remaining flames of glory. He has single-handedly reversed the situation several times in desperate situations. Zaragoza fans have never forgotten him and have always missed him.
In the last round of the 2012/13 season, in La Romareda, It is Atlético de Madrid that will drive Zaragoza into Segunda División. There are rumors that Gabi, who has been transferred to Atlético, took the initiative to request a truce from Simeone before the game to avoid kicking his old club into the abyss with the only theoretical possibility of relegation. He also asked his teammates to try not to celebrate if they score a goal. Personal information and data sources are limited, and it is impossible to verify the authenticity of this Zaragoza fan legend. Judging from the results, Gabi did not play, but watched the game in the box; After Costa scored, he also put his hands together to apologize. Although even if Zaragoza wins, it will not change the fate of relegation, but if the rumors are true, Gabi's personality charm can also be seen from this.
Costa regrets Zaragoza's relegation
"I just want to help Zaragoza. I don't care about my past and future." Gabi revealed his heart at the appointment conference. His core advantage lies in his experience as a Zaragoza player, which makes him more empathetic than other coaches. After all, there is not much difference in the strength of Segunda División players. No matter what tactics are used, the key is to restore the players' confidence.
The Zaragoza people seemed to have returned to the summer of 1808: the undefended city faced Napoleon's fire and sword, and the people resisted bravely under the leadership of Palafox. The tragic siege also shaped the character of the Zaragoza people: they regarded the city's challenges as their own challenges and participated in them personally.
Tactical style and coaching staff configuration
Gabi's only and potentially fatal concern is that he only has coaching experience in Getafe B, the second division of the Western Conference, and has no real professional football coaching experience. His words are powerful, but the real difficulty is putting them into practice.
Gabi has a good reputation in the local area for its strict military management and motivating players. He mainly plays with a four-back style. The common systems are 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2, emphasizing gaining the initiative in the game through control. Focus on wing attacks, with both fullbacks moving forward significantly, and both midfielders being very involved in both offense and defense, which also brings about more aggressive offensive pressure. Since GetafeB's personal ability as a frontcourt fulcrum has certain advantages in the Western Conference B, Gabi will also arrange for the goalkeeper to pass long passes and compete for two penalty kicks, and adopt a more direct style of play when necessary.
Although they both belong to Getafe, the tactical style of Gabi is very different from that of Bordalas. This is related to the different positioning of the teams: the Getafe team's lineup in La Liga is a weak team, while the GetafeB team is a strong team in the fifth group of the Spanish Association B. At present, the more powerful La LigaB team is generally in La Liga, so Getafe also hopes that team B will be upgraded so that the echelon can play games of the same quality. Therefore, in order to upgrade, in addition to youth training age players, GetafeB will also introduce a mature male forward who is about 28 years old and whose level is between La Liga and Segunda División to lead the team to ensure results, which shows the vision of team building.
GetafeB team’s lineup for the 23/24 season, Bordalas heavily deployed players on the left wing
For the 23/24 season, Bordalas recruited a large number of players from Team B. The number of players is La Liga, even more than Barcelona. This can illustrate the personal strength of some players. Among them, it is worth mentioning that Abdoulaye Keita, a black high winger who has great advantages in crossing and shooting in the Spanish League B and can be used as a fulcrum on the wing, John Patrick, a mixed high midfielder selected for the Irish U20, and Coba da Costa, who is currently in the first team.
The large-scale transfer also brought a test to Gabi's work. In the second round of his tenure, he encountered the situation where the main left back was called up for a long time and could only let the right winger play as the left back in half the game. There were frequent guest appearances between fullback-center defender, midfielder-centerback, and forward-midfielder. He did not have the same starting position for two consecutive games during his tenure. In this process, Gabi also developed the ability to adjust tactics according to existing players. Judging from the results, when he first took over the GetafeB team, the team was in the relegation zone. At the end of the season, it rushed to the promotion play-off zone and played at the level that the team should have.
GetafeB team's lineup for the 24/25 season, the defenders have changed, the left wing continues to be frequently transferred, John Patrick left the team in the winter window for 1.2 million euros
In the 24/25 season, GetafeB had strong momentum before the winter window and ranked first in the group in early November. However, between November and December, they lost points in consecutive draws with CD Guadalajara, UD Melilla, and Cacereño, the strong teams in this group. Especially in the match against Guadalajara, the opponent was sent off in the 32nd minute. GetafeB failed to control the situation and was tied after taking the lead, which exposed its Systemic problems in the line of defense. John Patrick, the main defensive midfielder in the winter window, transferred to Reims of the French Ligue 1 for 1.2 million euros (although there is a team bonus, but for the Spanish League B team, this is still a big deal that is rare). The midfield control has plummeted, and the team's hope of directly advancing to the Spanish League is basically shattered.
Despite having played under Simeone, in terms of how to train the defensive organization, Gabi did not learn or bring the training methods they saw back then to the GetafeB team, or the GetafeB players were unable to accept these methods - in short Cannot see the defense organization form of SimeoneAtlético。His defensive organization is closer to that of traditional Spanish coaches, and traces of overall positional movement training can be seen, but it lacks specific and clear assignment of responsibilities and zone defense design。
In terms of system adaptation, Gabi needs a central defender with both speed and technology, and relies on two midfielders with sufficient physical fitness, technical skills, and certain confrontation capabilities. Although the Zaragoza central defender lacks speed and personal ability, there is no shortage of good players in the midfield. Honduran high midfielder Kervin Arriaga is trustworthy, and he also used a similar Patrick in GetafeB; Tony Moya and Francho Serrano are also the backbone of this level, and Raúl Guti Guti) is back, and the team's midfield configuration is Segunda División, which can be regarded as an upgrade to the play-off level.
Therefore, with the personnel set, Gabi may shift the defensive pressure with a more direct attack, and rely on the control ability and barrier function of the midfield to defend. After all, from the midfield forward, although Zaragoza's overall talent is not particularly outstanding, there are several Segunda División players with mid-to-upper-level abilities available, which are enough to enrich tactical options.
From left: fitness coach Daniel Castro Simancas, analyst Oscar Hernandez Romero, Gabi, assistant coach and Gabi cousin Mario Jiménez Fernández, goalkeeper coach Salva Sánchez
In Gabi's coaching team, physical coach Daniel Castro served as Ortega's assistant during the Atlético period; analyst Oscar Hernandez Romero claims to be the one who discovered Yamal and Kubo Takehide (although this has set off a personal scammer alarm). The selection of personnel for the first game on March 24 will become a benchmark for judging the quality of the coaching staff. Hopefully we won't see some disastrous player in the starting lineup.
The top management of the club is engaging in intrigues and the players are losing confidence... The current situation of Zaragoza is just a microcosm of countless sinking teams. The root of the problem has never been the formation of a certain coach, but the ignorance, arrogance and hysteria from top to bottom over the past twelve years.
The trust of desperate bosses is very fragile, and the respect of fans can easily be swallowed up by reality. In its final season at the La Romareda Stadium, the team was as shattered as the ruins of its south stand. Gabi may not be able to change all this on his own, but he can and has awakened people's remaining love and sense of belonging. This is the first step to save this team. Although Gabi is still immature as a coach, we will wait and see whether this team can regain the soul that will never bow down under his command.