[FM18] The Empordàs Love Being Sternest, a Costa Brava for Serious People

[Diego Imposta]

225.

The staff hung around at the club, it being the last day before the break, and watched the results in a subdued manner. Our biggest defeat of the season was going to sit with us for two weeks of holiday.

Saguntino got a much needed win against Ebro to really separate the bottom four teams from those above them. Ebro and Europa were gone but Atlético and Eldense had five or six points to catch up. I saw Espanyol, Saguntino, and Badalona below us as our direct rivals. Inconsistent sides are ahead of us but they generally have more positive results than bad and should sit comfortably in mid-table. At the top, Mallorca were four points clear, and the next five were interchangeable winning machines. Usual suspects Barcelona, Mestalla, and Villarreal were joined by wholesome Alcoyano and Hércules.

It was time to reflect on what I was trying to achieve. I had a year at Olot, straddling two seasons, an eventful half season at Santa Eulalia after that, a full season at Badalona, and now half a year at one of the best clubs in the lower half of the division. 12th, 8th, 13th, and now eight points from equalling my best finish and eight points from getting relegated. I was constantly reminded that my cup win at Olot was a long time ago now. I hadn’t even played in the cup since but that wouldn’t stop them, no.

I had signed up for a fifth year in management but, at this rate of mid-table obscurity, I could not go on any further. I needed more. The coaching badges will help, but chairmen and women needed to see that I had rebuilt two clubs and kept them secure. I would see out the season at the very least so that I had four league finishes on my CV. It was time to be ruthless. In my squad of 32 I did not need three goalkeepers. If an offer came for Lozano he was gone. His initial clean sheets were against the current bottom two clubs. Other than that he’s conceded 18 goals in five games. He was expensive, in every manner of the word. Manzanares would not sign a new deal but I was keeping tabs on this promising Tercera ‘keeper and would make a move at the end of the season, should he want to join.

The players were told that we wanted them back in a week. Light duties to begin with. I didn’t want to just avoid relegation so let’s get in early and prepare for Castellón, who had sunk to mid-table too.

Three Llagostera boys in the youth team were the first to go on the release list to Manzano. ‘Keeper Juan with Dennis and Ortuño, two defensive midfielders, had no chance of games here. In the stiffs, goalkeeper Marc and midfielder Toti made five locals set to leave to the club, and so too Manzano’s poor Basque defensive signing Aizpurua. The window wouldn’t open until after we had played down at Castellón, and I wanted to get the squad trimmed before they came back. Sergio Alonso was told, along with Nacho, that their deals would not be renewed at the end of the season but they can stay.

Depending on the quality and size of the youth intake, I may not need my B team staff for a second year. All of them were on one-year part-time deals and I had seen little to justify their wage. Tarragó agreed to spend € 30 000 releasing those six players on the proviso it came out of my budget. We’d go full steam ahead with these now 31 players all in the first team squad. I could buy one player with the now € 75 000 available to me, once adjustments had been made to cover new contracts. Still we were thinking about out 4-2-3-1 Narrow formation and I’d found the perfect player for that man in the middle we had struggled with. Mouaad Messaoudi was at Avilés in B1. He was born there with Moroccan descent but at 27 had only just made his way into league football. Corominas reported he was ambitious to play, having largely been used as a substitute, but was scoring penalties and giving assists where he could. He was unpredictable, skilful and… tiny. His speed was great but this was not a crux to build the team around – this was a little bit of magic where we couldn’t get anyone to do it.

They wanted just what he left on his contract - € 9 000. We negotiated the next day. He was not silly, he knew this was his big payday and came prepared with a lawyer to thrash out excellent terms with bonuses and clauses galore, not to mention an eighteen-month deal. It was inside our financial reach so we had to be careful here, Manzaro and I. I liked that he wanted landmark goal bonuses but in an amicable way, we walked away. He simply wanted out as soon as he got here, with an array of binds meaning we would either lose him for next to nothing or be stuck with an enormous wage. It wasn’t going to happen. We meandered through the week trying to look at targets but ultimately we don’t have the pull, especially in January. It was very difficult to improve what he already have at the club.

On the first day back, Gascón pulled abdominal muscles trying to do weights. He’d obviously not got out during the week and now he’d be out for up to two months. It was a silly thing to do but we did now have 31 players. Castellón wiped us out on the opening day but we would train that formation again even if we wouldn’t use it. 4-2-3-1 Wide left us exposed to three heavy defeats at the start but there was definitely a place for it. The narrow formation probably should have been used in the last fixture. Now it was a case of using the right formation each week and tweaking personnel to suit the system. Everyone was much fitter and the team had gelled compared to when more two thirds had only just come in the door. The tricky thing will be keeping all of these players fit and happy, or even sending some back down to the B team before the end of January. There was a squad there for that if I wanted to but right now I’d wait and see who made the grade in the first team, if any.

[Diego Imposta]

226.

I conceded defeat in the transfer market and handed the reins to Manzano and Peso. They had just shy of € 75 000 to use between them. I would have final say but I made it clear that I did not expect players of Aizpurua’s quality coming in to the club. This is for immediate improvement or not at all.

Closer to home, Jiménez was assigned training regime control. While I didn’t want to be using any old system, the players were clearly falling in and out of happiness with it. I needed to concentrate on my coaching badges. On the same day N’Diaye fractured his lower leg. I would pay for him to see a specialist as the kid is still growing and should be given every opportunity to get back to his best.  

Peso was the busier of the two men, trying to bring in players on trial. I put a stop to it immediately. He should be concentrating on getting local boys signed up for the youth intake – when I said young players I meant 19, 20, 21-year-olds not schoolboys. Jiménez was quite the taskmaster – putting on double fitness sessions as if it was pre-season. I was not going to interfere unless there was a revolt!

Atlético kicked off the second half of the season with an heroic 1-0 win away at Hércules. That is just what we wanted to achieve, too. Castellón were as quick as they come, especially at the back, so to reflect this we went with our strongest eleven in a defensive 4-4-1-1 formation with a strong, diverse bench. The last time that we played Castellón, Vaquero was in defence and we conceded as soon as we took him off. Sergio Alonso and Nacho in a double-pivot had since fallen by the wayside. Mendez and Enríquez were being slowly eased into the squad while Gutiérrez had only just signed. This time, Jose Juan has been made vice-captain and starts from the bench, alongside Pedro Gran who covered the left for the B team. Sergio Alonso, Lozano, and Roche were brought along to keep the peace with their complaints about involvement. Daniel Miguel or Moreno could hope to make an appearance as the best outfield players available. We’d owed Castellón for the last match, so I told the squad to get their revenge in this huge stadium. Willy had scored twice late on - their physical dominance routing us - so we would aim for a point and a clean sheet. It’s back to basics, get forty points, and then play.

Castellón kicked off and watched us stay compact while they passed it around the back. It was only a mistake that could let them in and Enríquez duly obliged with a poor short pass out. To a man, they retreated and soaked up the pressure. In the end he atoned by hooking the cross clear. Three shots from range in the first five minutes meant we were in for a long afternoon. Gutiérrez finally got on it and tried his luck from way out. He kept it low but it was greeted by jeers from the home crowd. Him and Diego were in roles designed to pressure the back four today. On twelve minutes we lost control high up the pitch and had to scramble back to safety. Eventually the shot was worked in from inside the box and Manzanares could only parry it back to left winger Solís who mopped up from an angle.

The winger’s direct running inside Agudo caused everyone to panic, Muniesa tucking in when really he should have followed right winger Montero who, in so much space, was able to pick out Solís for a return ball. Headed away from goal and into the path of onrushing midfielder Carri, the shot is too hot to handle Fiuza momentarily lost his man. We had to abandon plan A and try and get options for the pass. A more expansive game would leave us too open at the back. We’ll bide our time. With the lion’s share of possession Castellón were struggling to get at us. Vaquero had barely touched the ball so I demanded we give it to him, let him dictate play. A well-worked move, without the captain, saw young Gutiérrez win the ball from a Manzanares kick. Serrano skipped two challenges, put a deep hit into the area, and hoped the bloodhound would get on the end of it. The defender and striker went up, both missed it, and Álex Gracia cracked a left foot shot past the stranded goalkeeper for 1-1. The away fans went ballistic, a tiny noise in the otherwise silent 16 000 all-seater. What a comeback after such injury hell! It was time to see if we could earn the right to play. Still keeping our narrow frame, low tempo, and standing-off, we just had to be a little more Catalan in our general passing. Enríquez was undermining our attempts to keep the ball – he just had to play it to Vaquero. Do as you’re told. Before they had settled I began talking. Enríquez, you’re off the boil. Sort it out. Diego, you’re going to drop back and Vaquero you are too. Sit in the hole and dictate the game. Wait for Diego to break from the middle and – above all, men - express yourselves. We clapped them out early to get ready.

Before I’d sat down we had conceded. Muniesa lazily leaving a ball to go out but Montero won it on the by-line, crossed to no-one in particular and Solís was there. Header at the back post, Agudo not paying attention to his man. Only mistakes will lose this for us. We tried to play on but the nerves or occasion was getting to some of them, Serrano hoofing a cross at the goalkeeper. An incredibly poor touch from Enríquez should have been punished, again Solís beating Agudo to the rebound. Daniel Miguel was on to orchestrate air traffic control. An unbelievable mistake from Muniesa gave away a 1-3 victory, he tripped over the ball on his own goal line for Montero to cross again to Solís’ hat-trick.

An unplanned good-cop, bad-cop routine between Jiménez and I was theatre to the dressing room. I was absolutely disgusted at the mistakes out there today. Beaten by the same score under the same conditions – we were in it for such a long period. Twice. Agudo, Muniesa, and Enríquez would all be dropped for the home game against Alzira. Their official warnings would be announced on Monday.

Other results went our way. Some justice.

[Diego Imposta]

227.

Those dirty long-ball merchants Alzira were in town at the weekend. I was determined to go on the offensive. Ubis had to now be registered because of his age – it was an easy decision to leave out an injured N’Diaye for the rest of the campaign. A lower leg break is not to be rushed back for a scrap at the bottom of the league. Ubis had performed remarkably well in his week with the first time and his right back spot was earned. Gran would occupy the left and Ubis would bomb on and run it forward.

Fiuza would have to be moved to the left to accommodate Moreno in the heart of defence, his pace enabling Ubis to get forward without caution. Three changes at the back was a huge call but this big squad is now a bone-fide meritocracy. Serrano is unlucky to miss out due to the formation change of 4-2-3-1 Narrow but both he and Muniesa, ever the killer in training, provide cover. Diego was back to his preferred right-hand role, although ceded playmaking duties to Sergio Alonso. Álex Gracia second striker is back for more after his goal-scoring return and Vaquero would look to set the tempo deep.

We would play narrow and let them hoof the ball. By slowing it down we had room to race through the gears as the game wore on. Jiménez’s fitness regime was killing them, an injury time goal giving that thought credence, but this was short-term pain for long term gain. I was beginning to fall out of favour with Manzano as I vetoed yet another signing. We do not want Tercera players – end of story.

An olive branch was thrown to Nacho as last sub and another to Lozano in goal. It was a dry, breezy noon in Palamós once again and the fans were out in their usual numbers. It was time to give them their money’s worth. The rain of high balls began in earnest. Madrazo and Jero were giving dribbling lessons on the flanks when the ball fell to them, Losa lurking between our midfield and defence. He got his goal in the first two minutes. Ubis committed to the press and left Madrazo the channel. Losa peeled off Fiuza after Moreno tried in vain to close the gap but Losa volleyed from point blank range.

Suddenly Alzira were playing football, knocking it about the park. 0-2. Jero fizzing the ball across the box for Madrazo to stab home after eight minutes. The ball was going from flank to flank with ease.

Switching through the gears as planned made a game of it. A shot from Sergio Alonso fizzed past the post with five to go. We were on top, bossing possession and working our openings. It was a long old road back. Four minutes of added time saw us concede a third from a corner, Lozano’s parry from a header hitting Ubis on the post and falling invitingly for Losa to tap in yet again. They’ve had three of their four shots go in. Once crestfallen, now determined, I calmly walked off down the tunnel. Right.

None of you are coming off. Keep at it. We’re into double figures for shots for the first time since any of us can remember. You’re all playing for form in the next game. Reset the score in your minds. 0-0.

Diego spurned a glorious chance after being put through by Gutiérrez but the crowd roared. We had been fantastic. We’ve given away three real chances on goal and that’s it. The minutes sped by and I wished the game had started with this second half. It was our most assured performance in months!

After around half an hour, Gutiérrez began a stunning counter-attack and slipped a dinked pass into Diego to volley home. What a goal! Quite possibly the best we’ve seen at Palamós all year. The rest of the second half performance was a joy to behold and, despite the result, it was a good day. Bring it on!

[Diego Imposta]

228.

I enjoyed a chuckle when I saw Ebro got their first win of the season at Badalona. You couldn’t make it up. We were flirting dangerously close to relegation now – there was only three points in it – but I wasn’t worried one bit. What worried me was five points between us and Alzira directly above us. As we head into the third of our three horrendous fixtures that started each half of the season, we had seen no improvement on paper. An uncharacteristic capitulation on the first day back at school was uncalled for but last weekend was a statistical anomaly. We’ve probably lost eight from the last ten by the time Hércules are finished with us. The 0-4 mauling brought about a tactical change that saw us go on a scintillating run of form for a couple of months at the start of the season. This time, with another Espanyol starter, I relished us devouring Ebro and Europa in back-to-back games once more.

The real test will be improving the run of seven points from the last eight games of the half season. I would hopefully still be around to see us take on four of the current top six and four desperate ones hoping to get above us. After Hércules there is a middle eight to negotiate before that long fade out.

Ros the player liaison officer knocked on my door Tuesday morning. Morale is low. The players seem very happy with me, he hastened to add, but defeats had taken their toll. I appreciated him coming to me and thanked him for not just holding the door open for a crowd to walk in behind him on this occasion. Wait until Hércules is done, I said. Timing is everything. As I soon found out. Manzanares is stricken for two months with a hamstring strain. Lozano is going nowhere and is de facto goalkeeper.

An enforced change aside, we go with the same squad. It was so much easier to train at Llagostera in the week and drive half an hour to Palamós for game day two weeks in a row. Ebro raised eyebrows with a € 60 000 purchase of the Valladolid B manager’s contract. Diego Delgado had the continental qualifications their next season so desperately craved. They simply had to come back up at the first attempt. For us, we had money burning a hole in our pocket. No-one wanted to see the Costa Brava.

A late game for a change but no television. An unfashionable 4-4-2 for the visitors meant we would have to be at our very best to deal with direct wing play and balls into the box. Make it count, boys.

The challenges were meaty. Just what I liked to see. We had a good rhythm, picking up where we’d left off, but some of the passes weren’t finding their intended targets which put strain on the back line. Left winger Dominguez covered an amazing amount of ground before getting a cross in but the man between the sticks rose high to claim the ball. Lozano was growing in confidence with each day.

He needn’t have bothered. Again we were behind on two minutes. Both strikers got away from both central defenders and combined wonderfully, Manel squaring to Carlos Fernández for a tap-in. It was not our day in front of goal. The build-up play was excellent but every time the move broke down up against two banks of four and Hércules would come at us again. We tore up the playbook after thirty minutes and pulled Sergio Alonso wide left and Álex Gracia wide right in a solid 4-4-1-1. Happy that I had stemmed the tide for half-time, Jiménez gave the talk while I ran over the details of our next big move. In the beginning, we played 4-2-3-1 Wide. But we didn’t have a clue who anyone was. We do now. A reckless challenge from playmaker Hinojosa saw him sent off for a second bookable offence in the first minute. I couldn’t believe our luck but still we struggled to play around their new 4-3-2.

Back to the narrow formation we go, looking for overloads. It didn’t work. This team was resolute in defence and still as potent in attack! Manel struck the bar with a rasping effort after 20 minutes and I nearly threw in the towel. We would forget about attacking them. The risk was too great. I’ll take a point here and bite your hand off, I said to Jiménez. For the last fifteen minutes we threw it at them, 4-4-2 with José Juan on for Vaquero in the middle and Daniel Miguel on for Diego up top. It’s literally a man advantage in the same system. Surely we could score? José Juan instantly made an impact, his captaincy galvanising the team. A ball was squared to Mendez outside the box and his shot launched into the underside of the bar… and Moreno bundles it home! That’s his first goal for the club! But he is offside! Oh, the heartbreak. We battled and battled but Hércules held firm, batting away our aims to get near the box. It was an incredible performance from them – the best I’ve seen in years. As the clock ticks over into injury time we give it everything. Álex Gracia spreading play from right to left in an attempt to get Sergio Alonso to whip it back in from the other side. Again it’s headed clear. White noise fills my brain. José Juan takes control of the ball. It doesn’t breach that back line. Surely its all over now. And it is. An absolutely galling defeat here at Palamós. I don’t think that back four lost any of their aerial duels today. Incredible. We have put ourselves through the ringer in these home ties.

We patted the team on the back. They tried. They were on the floor. Go home and get some rest. I’ll need to speak with you all on Monday morning so be there first thing. I hoped they would think that I was considering resigning but I didn’t give them any time to ask questions and I was gone. Imposta is a proud name and family. I wouldn’t suffer a resignation, parting ways with Olot was hard enough.

The day came and I spelled it out to them. It’s a blip; let’s rally and come together because we really are staying up. You know that, I know that. We’ve got some nice games coming our way. I know I’ve let you all get carried away but it ends now.

[oche balboa]

Keep this up. Enjoying the story. 

Are you running more then 4 levels in Spain? 

[Diego Imposta]

2 hours ago, oche balboa said:

Keep this up. Enjoying the story. 

Are you running more then 4 levels in Spain? 

Thanks Oche! Always nice to have feedback. 😊

No editor used - so relegation from B3 is a sackable offence - but have ticked database for national level four (Tercera) and regional Catalan levels five and six

[Diego Imposta]

229.

Tuesday training and the shake-up begins. The B team, using only amateur players now, are to be a separate entity in a bid to wind down operations at the end of the season. The staff will still come in Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as normal but everyone else will come in on the alternate days.

I took control of training again, thanking Jiménez for his three weeks of fitness training. Three tough games had been like a second pre-season. I would now grant an additional day off and reduce match preparation to the weekend only. Intensity would tick up a notch to bridge the gap. The idea was the players would come in, give their all, and rest. That would be repeated before a weekend double set of walk-throughs and meetings about the opposition. Western scout Seubert would now compile his outside perspective crib sheet on the next opponent to compliment the data analyst’s work. Both of the other scouts, Corominas and Beltrán, had experience of all six pro leagues between them so they would work together to unearth free transfer targets for June. Manzaro would manage their reports.

From a tactical point of view, it was all change. Nearly every team we played against had two on the wing and one up front with a man in the hole. I wanted a conservative base to manage that threat as one-on-one we were clearly not at the standard required some weeks. I wanted an extra body in so I proposed a 4-1-2-3 Wide vision to the squad. You will always have a man advantage in defence. That gives us a solid foundation to pick up points, deserved or otherwise. Then it’ll be up to me to work it out how best to employ the front three. It won’t happen overnight but we’ll focus on teamwork too.

After that we can have a bit of fun with two weeks of attacking drills ahead of Ebro and Europa, then back to team bonding for another week for Lleida. Any questions? The squad was as tight as its been all season – they were all mingling well – but one man stood out: Vaquero. He had cut an odd figure recently, perhaps because of his impending retirement. He asked who would play at the base of our midfield triangle, his voice already expecting his displacement in the starting eleven. I responded in a sympathetic tone and told him that his body has called time on his career. But this is a system for my captain’s brain. You, Vaquero, will read the play and shield that defence. You, Vaquero, will keep the ball ticking over. And the rest of you lot will honour this man’s career and do what he tells you to do!

I took my captain aside afterwards and asked him what he thought of the positive atmosphere at the club. His withdrawn demeanour lately meant he was the perfect person to ask. He was frank. It is ok at the moment, boss, but Agudo’s issues are affecting the camp. He wants a good dressing room just like the rest of us but his moaning is getting out of hand. You’ll need to speak to us more often, Jefe.

I appreciate the candid talk and made a bee line for Serrano, understandably upset at being left out for the last two games for tactical reasons alone. His form had been brilliant in those four games as a right winger and I wanted to tell him personally. He would be given his spot back with the new tactic and only in emergencies would I send him back into defence. I explained that the reason I promoted four full backs from the B and youth teams was because we had no cover. Now we do. So Serrano, I need you to get your head up and try to keep on improving. It seemed to boost his spirits but behind my will to keep the squad happy I had concerns about the guy’s consistency. That Italian education is yet to bear fruit.

[Diego Imposta]

230.

Manzaro knocked on the door, Espanyol report in hand. Good, I needed to speak to him anyway. But first things first – how did Seubert get on? Very well, Diego, very well indeed. He’s identified that the formation will likely be the same your new… vision. I didn’t like his tone. The defensive crux of their style was built around Martínez screening the back four and giving the ball to Joan ahead of him. Get him marked and they will be under pressure to play a different way. The same could be said for our man but Vaquero will be operating a little deeper. García sat in the box waiting for a strike on goal so we should man-mark him too. Right winger Valldosera looked to draw fouls to enable the big men to come up for set-pieces but generally their strength was in attack. Well, Manzaro, while you’re here…

Do you want to go on a bull run? His eyebrow popped up. I need you in Pamplona. Before he got his response in I was already talking again. Have you heard about Henning Hauger? He wants citizenship and is making no secret of it. Go and convince him to come here. Diego he must be late thirties! Not that I cared. He was Segunda División quality. A lifetime in Scandinavian midfields brought him to us for semi-retirement at Osasuna and back-to-back play-off failures. 23 caps for Norway is a reputation to blow away B3. It’s a long shot, I know, but bend just go and sound him out will you? He will jump at the chance of a nice villa on the beach in the Costa Brava working one day a week for us, I know it!

He called me the next day to say he’s met officials at Osasuna and typically, he was away playing. Oh well, at least you… what? Tercera football? No wonder he’s desperate to get out of there, Manzano!

He had a week to find him and make a deal. I left him to it. We had a game to prepare for. Again we had a late kick-off down in Barcelona so we only had Saturday to work with the players. The team is announced earlier in the week now so everyone was clear. Agudo, Muniesa, and Enríquez return at the back and Roche starts alongside Mendez in the middle. Gascón is fit enough to travel so joins the ever-present Diego on the bench. Hauger rebuffed our, or indeed anyone’s attempts to sign him. We heard back from Osasuna that he was now not sure if he can continue playing. What had happened?

An hour before kick-off we got word that the Barcelona game will be televised. Congratulations! It’s finally happened. Next time we’re in the city make sure you’ve had a shave and a haircut – you will be representing the entire Costa Brava. We need to attract the players with our image if not football.

The minor stadium at Espanyol only had radio for the other games that were finishing. The dressing room went quiet, all knowing we could be in the relegation zone before a ball was kicked. We knew Alzira had lost, giving us a chance of closing the gap to them today. Defeats for Ebro and Europa as expected but a goalless draw for Atlético Baleares and three points for Saguntino. Badalona lost so stay where they are. That means Espanyol in the play-off one point ahead and us one point ahead of them. One more point to Atlético and another to Saguntino. Come on boys! Sieze your opportunity!

Espanyol had demanded that we don’t wear our home kit in their stadium. It was a fair concession to make, for rivalry is everything in football. The bell rang and it was time to deliver the last words they would hear before walking out into the wet night. Floodlights make everything seem intense so I just turned off the light in the dressing room. It stunned them into silence. Don’t make me angry tonight. Make me proud.

[Diego Imposta]

231.

Let’s show the world what this team is about, shall we? The players walked into the showering rain.

Espanyol kicked off and the players looked comfortable with the extra out-ball, zipping it around the back. This was just what we wanted in order to assess the conditions. A standard, flexible shape was ringing in the players’ ears. We didn’t have the physicality to bounce off these elite youngsters so we had to wait for a weakness to reveal itself. A slow opening five minutes saw Espanyol edge the game.

Peso and Ortiz had new roles with us, the Head of Youth Development and First Team Coach doing a good job in their day-to-day duties as standard. My Assistant Manager Jiménez and vaunted Director of Football Manzano had really struggled to deliver returns in their first six months at the club and so their roles would be marginalised as we flirted with relegation. Peso is now my de facto assistant and Ortiz my trusted lieutenant. After ten minutes they combined to remonstrate about our bad passing.

After fixing Lozano’s distribution we seemed to settle. Twenty minutes went by without a chance for either side. Loose passes at the back were now the main culprit for not finding our rhythm but it was a risk with Enríquez back there. Vaquero should be a close enough option to mitigate his poor vision.

At the midpoint our left flank was being overrun. Álex Gracia would look to play down the wing as no joy was being found inside. In turn Muniesa would concentrate on staying in his own half. Valldosera was a real threat on the right wing, and was comfortable crossing or running with the ball at his feet.

Still without a shot with ten to go, we went for it. Espanyol were playing a high line - we matched it.

At the break we were still in it but with Joan’s partner Martínez on a booking already, I switched our two central midfielders around. Joan was troublesome in ticking them over and Mendez could be an advantageous runner against a carded man. Speaking of runners, Gutíerrez needed to run on beyond that defence, too. He had done all he could pressing them but we needed an outlet badly. Kick-off…

Within five minutes Martínez had been moved to the bottom of the midfield trio, Joan in his place so we swapped ours back. To decrease the risk of Joan’s passing, Agudo was told to hold fire in attack. I felt Mendez could overrun Imanol and asked him to get forward. Álex Gracia would fall back to get in a quick-release passing option and Serrano would look to bomb ahead on the other flank. Aguirretxu was a canny manager, reacting by bringing Martínez back into defence and fresh legs in the midfield.

I reacted in kind, determined to disengage Mendez from defensive responsibilities. Eventually Joan is replaced, and we have a new game on our hands. We would be bold and close these new kids down.

A terrific save from Lozano kept out a García header and the game came alive. It was a mistake to let them in with our pressing game. What we did need is support as we were yet to work an opening. In the seats on the bench were game-changers but who do I take off? With fifteen minutes to go, their boss had made all of his changes. Do we dig in and try to hit them on the break or just bring on good players? I opt for the latter. Diego was on as an attacking force in place of Mendez. Gascón fresh legs on the left and Daniel Miguel as a battering ram up front. We knew they would respond in kind soon.

3-5-2 from the home side. For a minute or two we were lost, being overrun. Then an amazing pass in from Oriol set up a pass for the heavily-forward Martínez to take a touch in the box and curl one into the top corner on 88 minutes.

[Diego Imposta]

e232.

A chastening defeat. Drastic action was required. I called Florentino Pérez, Real Madrid’s big cheese.

Deadline day was close but not too close. He took my call. I explained our situation: we had the cash but we had no pull. Is there anything he could do for us? A long silence followed. There’s a player, he cryptically offered. A winger. He can’t find a game in any of our teams and will be released at season end. Miguel Baeza, 20 years old. 21 in a couple of months. Both footed. But – and it is a big but - he’s too big for his boots. He lacks focus, commitment. He has the talent to be trained here, Diego. You’ll have to work very hard. Of course, we will need to recoup our losses if he were to join you on loan…

€ 10 000 a month to pay his contract, another € 10 000 to cover what they’ve paid him in this year so far. I made the deal with the devil. I called Manzaro to see if Nacho could make be released from his contract to enable us to register Baeza. Four starts and three substutute appearances is not enough to justify his position here for another five months. He agreed. I called Nacho up to my office. A true gentleman, he recognised he was not playing a role at the club and was happy to find a new one as a free agent to bypass the rules. Making the step up to B3 at the age of 32 was hard, especially coming from in the island Tercera. It was a cruel game sometimes, but he’ll get our hefty severance package.

Ebro’s problem was scoring goals so we had to reward the young defenders who worked so hard this week. Agudo, Fiuza, Vaquero, and Álex Gracia had been appalling in training, as were Diego, Gascón, and Daniel Miguel. Seven changes was bold but it had to be done. Ripa and Ogbonna had earned the chance to play and Baeza would start on the left. Vice-captain José Juan would start in midfield with Mendez dropping back into the playmaker role, Roche pushing forward into a support role. Ripa had to take his opportunity at right back and attack that flank with his jet heels. Rivas, Grau, Xabier, and Vallejo join the bench-warmers by default. It was a warning shot to our slacking senior professionals.

Deep inland to Zaragoza for midday matchday. An easy evening journey was made and we trained in the morning at El Carmen, a cold sleet storm tearing the tiny stadium on the outskirts of town apart.

The game was played a slow pace; the players were freezing. Gutiérrez pulled a half-chance wide on two minutes, a good ball through the middle from Muniesa. The ‘keeper did well to close him down.

Baeza wonderfully brought down a ball from Mendez and his trickery earned a penalty which he had to take. ¡Gol! 1-0 to Llagostera. When was the last time we said that? Low and hard to wrong-foot a stranded Sergio García. Baeza’s tail was up now, beating two defenders before exchanging passes in to Gutíerrez and back again for 2-0. These two just had an innate understanding already. Gutíerrez is the perfect foil for this talisman. We could now afford to play free with the four pillars of Llagostera.

Three minutes after the restart Gutiérrez pulled down a pass from José Juan, rounded their ‘keeper, and lashed it home after taking one too many touches than was required. He was enjoying himself!

Quite happy with nearly an hour from magical Baeza, I wrapped him in cotton wool. Xabier was now on and five minutes later Vallejo for Roche, albeit in a more attacking role to try to support Serrano.

Ripa fell down in a heap and our third substitution in ten minutes was on – Grau. This team of youths had kept Ebro at bay all day. We would go for four in the last fifteen and lose two of our pillars. In an agonising last-minute attack Vallejo put it on a plate for Gutiérrez to blast over and rue his hat-trick.

Back in the dressing room the boys were buzzing. Bettering our last result against Ebro by a goal and away at that was huge for us. Our joint-biggest win of the season. The other was against next week’s Europa side. It was clear that despite the positives, Ripa had done serious damage to his ankle and it looked like it was a case of months not weeks. A huge debut for Ogbonna may just keep him with us.

Badalona sack Munitis. It was a shock. Then came the haymaker. Sportpesa had me as the next to go in the sack race. I knew internally I had the backing for the board and the fans but the early red card bookended by two goals at Orihuela did for Munitis as they slipped into the relegation zone for their first time this season. I was only five points from that but equally five points from a 12th place safety.

The week began as the last had, attacking training to meld to our successful controlling play at Ebro. Europa would be a different proposition, a 4-1-4-1 looking to hit us on a counter. Juanito was a real poacher, netting a goal every other game for them up front on his own. Another midday kick-off but this time at home had us in good spirits. We would travel to Palamós in the morning after a session.

They had one win in sixteen - none in their last eight -  and we’ll have to be prepared for the tables to turn. Vaquero and Daniel Miguel were much improved, and with Ripa out and Xabier failing to do the basics they were out. Ubis was preferred to Grau at right back for two weeks excellent training on the trot. Vaquero would sit in the hole while Mendez would get forward this time, Roche missing out and dropping to the bench because we needed that attacking effervescence. It meant that the bench was more expansive with coverage across the pitch. Vaquero and José Juan would play only a second game together on the pitch, the younger vice-captain doing the defensive legwork that older captain Vaquero could no longer. In theory it was a match made in heaven. A huge top of the table clash between Mallorca and Barcelona ended 1-1 – the gap between them still just two points at the beginning of February. Badalona were still without a boss for the weekend tie.

[Diego Imposta]

233.

An impressive start gave way to a fierce battle from both sides eager to create a chance. The bright gusty afternoon was as good a setting as any for our short passing game. Their right flank was where the danger was and we had to pay attention to their full back and winger, closing them down at each opportunity. Mendez was having a particularly bad game by the time it settled and I discussed taking him off early with Peso and Jiménez. Instead we urged him to break that flat midfield four and look to take up playmaking positions behind them. We were inviting Europa on to us. A ball out to Juanito on the right saw him peel away and cut across from Jamelli to side-foot in from the penalty spot. 0-1.

It was an excellent move and I was intrigued to see how we would react. As the rain began to pour in from the heavens Gutiérrez levelled just before half time, pouncing on a poorly cleared corner. Four minutes from time was an excellent time to score but we still had our work cut out to carve them up.

Roche was on for Mendez to give a bit of steel to the original role. Two battlers in front of Vaquero is just what we need to grind out a result but Roche reads the game well too. Pick your moments, boy.

We weren’t getting the best out of Baeza on his home debut even with Muniesa getting on the ball so much. We had to try and exploit that flank. Twenty minutes went by, most of the passing coming from us, and José Juan was beginning to have a poor game with persistent fouling. Roche would take over defensive duties and the vice-captain would jog off for Vallejo. Europa’s aerial dominance called for something different. We’d give Gutiérrez the chance to make amends and run beyond his man or create gaps for Baeza to work in, dropping in between the lines. Ten minutes to go now and enough was enough. One chance for each side and one goal each. Daniel Miguel was charged with changing the game in the last ten minutes. An injury time overload was needed. Everyone get forward and do the best you can to break this defence. Lozano threw it out to Muniesa, who found Baeza in a pocket of space. The kid from Madrid drove at the aching calves of Europa, pulling them this way and that.

He clips a perfectly weighted pass onto the chest of Daniel Miguel and it takes him beyond the back four. Hands grabbing at his shoulders, the target man does what he does best and puts everything in to strike the ball as hard as he can. Gol gol gol gol gol gol gol. He’s done it! Ninety three minutes on the clock! It couldn’t have gone better but boy, did we get out of jail there. Peso had stern words for these players when they eventually came back into the dressing room. I left him to it. I couldn’t have said it better myself. These were back to back wins by default due to the opposition but we couldn’t take it for granted what that security has done for morale either. Everyone below us lost bar Ebro, so we’ve got a real photo finish for last place with both teams now on 10 points and only 12 from safety now.  

[Diego Imposta]

234.

A trio of tactical tweaks saw Baeza look to attack the gap between the midfield and defence instead of running at the back four. Gutiérrez would do that and to enforce the transition Roche was tasked with breaking away from Vaquero and winning the ball. He read the game so well I needed his layoff to be an option between his captain and the new sensation in town. Ogbonna and José Juan did not have the experience to face Lleida and so Moreno and Roche were recalled. It would be a tough test.

Ortiz felt the players should stick to their jobs and look to hit on the counter. Lleida were a big, tough team and although we were at home we were at distant odds for the win with local bookmakers. He wanted us to be disciplined and drilled that into the walkthrough. Ubis and Muniesa would defend at all costs against a forward three and if we were lucky, we may just nick a 0-0 at Palamós. A safe plan.

Hércules did us a big favour on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Espanyol B. If Saguntino could follow on with a loss at Mestalla in one of the early Sunday kick-offs we’d still have a three point cushion over them come what may. All eyes were on Badalona at home to Eldense in a crunch match in the lower fifth of the table while Atlético Baleares were not expected to put up much of a fight with Barcelona.

The two results went our way but the surprise was Badalona’s huge victory over Eldense to bring up level with Atlético on points. Eldense were now five behind, Europa and Ebro seven more adrift. We had five points clear of that lot but Castellón and Alzira played the bottom two later and undoubted would be more than three points clear of us by the end of the night. The cold and hard rain fell loud.

Pink shirts, white shorts, and white socks. It was rather bright from Lleida Esportiu. We aimed to dull that spirit and to that end Vaquero would look to sit tight in front of the back four. I wanted us to get five men on their front three at all times. We opened the game controlling possession in the middle.

Having successfully negotiated the first quarter of the game, we allowed the players to play. Lleida’s front three were bound to score, such was their intent, so I had to make sure we did too. Gutiérrez had to pull away or give time for support from those central defenders winning every ball in the air.

A bruised shin for Serrano and a yellow for Muniesa made it difficult. We had to eke out good games from both of them before they went off for so we stepped out, finishing the half well but nowhere in sight of goal. Their right back was a fantastic out-ball but his crosses were being dealt with. Baeza did not need telling twice to attack that flank and dovetail with Gutiérrez. He’d had too much of the ball.

That being said, the defence were wasting it. After ten minutes Serrano and Gutiérrez were put out of their misery. On came José Juan on the left flank, Baeza moving right and told to attack the wing. Daniel Miguel was up front and told to use his physicality to make something happen for us tonight.

No sooner had we made the chance when Muniesa picked up a second yellow for a needless trip. It was very harsh from the referee and gave us a real headache. José Juan would fall back to left back while we figured it out on the bench. With twenty minutes left and Roche no longer on his best form José Juan took over, Rivas coming on at left back. Baeza moved to a central role for the last minutes and Lleida simply could not get two touches together near our goal. We ran down the clock like men possessed. Another point earned!

[Diego Imposta]

235.

Muniesa’s suspension was a blessing in disguise. Sergio Alonso was part of the old guard dragging his heels in training but liaison officer Pos was keen to point out that I’d a promise to keep regarding the maligned midfielder’s playing time. It was possibly too late now but he would join the squad anyway.

This new look, younger Llagostera had seven points from nine and were in fine defensive form ahead of the televised Barcelona B game. We’d bring them in for an extra day’s training this week. There is perhaps a chance that Sergio Alonso could stake a claim as the attacking wing back on the left there.

Seubert’s report made for interesting reading. The goals came from everywhere, of course, but there was a style in play – keep the ball and get it down the wings. Cabral’s analysis coloured it in. Their set move was to work it down the right between the full back and winger and then send it in to a man in the middle or the other winger following on. I called a meeting on Thursday, keen to improve morale ahead of an expected drop Saturday night. The players were proud of the league position, and I had to make sure that this wasn’t a glass ceiling. I challenged them to kick on. Vaquero rallied the troops.

An excellent day’s training was followed by a now-unusual second. We picked the team on Friday for what felt like an extraordinary chance to sew the two halves of the league together. Grau’s willing to step into the first team showed, his Barcelona heritage fuelling an eager week. It turned out to be an only change as a reward to the valiant 0-0 players. A further reward being Miniestadi with television.

We worked on a highly defensive game for two days, happy with our abilities should we need to get back into the game. Again both full backs and Vaquero would look to set their stall out. A 23-match unbeaten run in the league was enormous to fight but it was important to lose with dignity or pride.

I wasn’t ready for my first press conference in months – I had thought the media had forgotten me – but Paula assured me it was a one-on-one session. The Spanish Football Informer had been good to me so any anxiety quickly dissipated. We talked about the magical 40-point mark and how a point a game until the end of the season would equal that. The topic moved to Vaquero’s retirement and a genial mood from the reporter Rubén Crespo meant I chanced my arm at doubting whether it was a good idea for my captain to hang up his boots. The only negative was when we brought up our goals conceded. I deflected the blame onto myself in a frank end to the interview. The next day Paula gave the clipping to me and I was pleased to see that the theme of his piece was based around hard work.

Manzanares was now back in full training but a week or so away from being trusted with a return. I did have my work cut out to keep my bench match fit in that time, too. But I trusted my first eleven.

It was a dry night but a wet pitch in Barcelona. Peso relaxed the younger players in Miniestadi and I was thankful for his abilities in dealing with them. Baeza had a poor game last time out yet wouldn’t need any more inspiration than playing at his bitter rivals. A tunnel interview caught me off guard, or at least unprepared, and an ESPNFC.com microphone was thrust in my face. A needless concern over when kick-off times occur was batted away. Another negative followed, Muniesa’s absence, but with the way training had gone this week I stated that we had prepared for this eventuality. It’s not been the easiest of seasons but I wanted to remind those watching that we had worked hard to give a bit of breathing room in the fight against relegation. The fight would feel longer than most days tonight.

A poor touch from Grau early on let the hosts in early doors and Lozano was strong to palm it away.

Rosalén missed a plum header from central attacker Keïta angling down the flank after picking it up from a corner. We were in this game, though. Gutiérrez was being chopped down by the home side and it was time for a rethink about how to get him into the game. Rosalén then missed an absolute sitter after Pere got the better of Grau down our left flank. Two minutes later he rattled the bar and I had to get Grau off. He was having a nightmare. Told to lock down Pere, he had a stay of execution if there were no more mistakes. Barcelona duly threw everything they had at us. Could we make it? By injury time Moreno had been booked and for that he had to learn. We had nothing to lose by setting up with our natural game in the second half. Sergio Alonso was on for the increasingly lost kid Grau.

Serrano had been having a poor game so I moved the equally ineffectual Gutiérrez out there and got Daniel Miguel to get changed. His impact was immediate, dragging defenders with him and creating the space for Baeza. He clipped in a ball out to the back post for the workmanlike forward to get, slot across their goalkeeper, and stun the Barcelona faithful! For ten minutes they didn’t recover, having no more shots in that period. We couldn’t get excited, there was business to do here. José Juan was on for Roche and let loose to break hearts. We had reduced them to pumping balls at us in the hope we would make a mistake. We did. But Sergio Alonso expertly read the ball out to Pere and we went again. We didn’t know what to do. Rosalén finally crashed a shot in under Lozano in a devastating bit of counter-attacking and the dream was perhaps over. They stuck four up front after that. Rain was falling now and it played into their hands. Five minutes left. Two passes from the ‘keeper and it was in the back of our net. We were inconsolable. To be beaten by two 50-metre passes right at the end of the game was disgusting. We didn’t deserve that. It was a fabulous effort and one that would be the catalyst for all future games this season. We had to keep our heads held high.

[Diego Imposta]

236.

We stayed overnight at the hotel and enjoyed our relative success long into the night. The next day, members of the squad set off in their groups and had fun in the city ahead of an afternoon bus back to Llagostera. I hadn’t seen the squad this happy all season. The late collapse against a vastly better Barcelona B was treated as unlucky – we nearly ended their five-month unbeaten run! Incredible for little towns like Llagostera, Palamós, and the Costa Brava as a whole. Baeza was turning out to be an excellent signing with three assists and a penalty in his first four games. Could we afford to tie him to a contract? Could we afford not to? He was becoming more determined by the week, regular playing time improving his application as a player. If I could tempt him to move permanently we might keep this club in the black for years to come with a big money move. Peso believed he was La Liga quality.

There was still the matter of three tough mid-table games. First up were Hospitalet, then Orihuela in back to back home games, then Prat away. There would no doubt be better performances from our seniors this week so the trio of fixtures should pave the way back to match fitness ahead of that final eight that derailed the first half of the season. Much work was to be done to get to 40 points quickly.

Good spirits were rewarded with three weeks of cohesion training to try and match their level and to possibly keep mid-table within arm’s reach. Set-pieces were a source of frustration for us lately so I’d cover this before each game. My post-match interview had been reported and Paula pinned it to the notice board. Imposta tips players to bounce back. It was a great headline. We were all united here.

I had a good sit down with head coach Ortiz on Monday. He had flown through his badges this year and was now on a Continental C licence. I wanted him to apply here what he learned before he saw fit to move. Jiménez was also studying for that level and was improving in the background. Jiménez was always covering the technical side of training and would be busy for a few weeks but it was time for me to step back and concentrate on taking the defending coaching off Ortiz’s hands. He had good ideas about tactical and attacking drills now and as much as I’d like him to concentrate on the latter, we didn’t have the budget for another member of staff. I would not interfere with either of their day jobs now, although it meant a much harder individual workload for us all. We all wanted to improve.

Agudo came knocking soon after, as de facto leader of the morale-concern group, and wanted to say thank you for sorting it out. It was impressive of the man, who was no doubt keen to get back in the side to. Next on the agenda was to sit down and discuss the ways in which we could stop Hospitalet.

Canario was the star man, the winger-cum-striker having all the talent but never quite making it into the Segunda División. In fact, his thirties have been his most productive in terms of goals and he was now seemingly twice the player that played for them ten years ago previously. If we could stop Fati from getting on the ball, their flat 4-4-1-1 would not be able to deal with our extra body in defence.

Only Manzanares was poor in the first session, indicative of his contract rebel ideas. For everyone in the squad it was a clean slate. A huge midweek win for Orihuela at home to Mallorca got the players talking on Thursday. Roche and Lozano came to me to drop their playing time concerns – both had been much improved – while Sergio Alonso felt he hadn’t had a fair crack of the whip. He wanted to play, so we’ll let him leave.

[Diego Imposta]

237.

The preliminary pick was hard. Too hard. In goal Lozano’s form had dipped and while it wasn’t as bad as Manzanares’, lessons had to be learned. The veteran was recalled, the expensive kid on the bench for the first time after a seven game stint as number one. He couldn’t rest on his laurels at this stage.

Muniesa and Gascón were to be our left side after an excellent display in the two sessions. We didn’t want to load up on too many unfit players so any others would make the bench. Daniel Miguel was a shoe-in for his second start of the season after diminishing returns from The Bloodhound. Similarly a rest for Serrano was on the cards and Baeza was unstoppable in this form - he preferred to the right.

With three changes in the first eleven, the bench was revamped. Agudo, Fiuza, Serrano, Álex Gracia, and Diego joined Lozano and Gutiérrez. The squad should consider this as my olive branch extended.

One of the topics that came up in our separate coaching courses was facilities, and what we should do to get improve. I took a deep breath and called Tarragó. She was unsure. The board would like it if we didn’t hope someone came through the youth team to save us. I pleaded our case. With Peso doing such a good job with our young players who knows what next season will be like with the new intake? My passion convinced her. It was on my head. They’d look in to it at the end of the season.

Hospitalet were notoriously tight at both ends but now had score one in the last four and lost all of them, two wins in ten if I were to be unkind. Yet again they fielded two Canarios – the captain was a lesser known quantity but a similar attacking player, today playing wide left. The striker scored had to be nullified if we were to get anything from the game. We would also roll out our 4-4-Vaquero-1.

A superb save from Manzanares stopped Canario heading in from a well-worked throw-in after just five minutes. Ortiz was furious, wanting us to hit shorter passes that wouldn’t go out of play. Daniel Miguel traded blows a minute later with a rising shot into the ‘keeper’s hands after a good pass and move phase from the back. An unremarkable quarter of an hour followed, save for a couple of cards, before Chato launched one just wide from thirty metres. Baeza then found space around Moreno to hit a free-kick onto his head but the defender could only take the sting out of it. Two good chances for either side. Captain Canario took a corner very, very quickly to the near post, Pedro Amate saw it and volleyed in. The crowd at Palamós fell silent - here we go again. The impenetrable Hospitalet did what they do and would sit back all day. We worked and worked and were getting set-pieces in the away half. Ten minutes to go until half time and we had to make changes in order to score our goal.

Baeza’s corner, having trotted over from the other side previously, found a crowd of our players and it was in! Gascón towering above the rest! Seven minutes after the restart and we were back in this!

They dug deeper. A free-kick whistled past a well-beaten Manzanares and struck the underside of his bar in a freak moment of an otherwise boring second half. We had to work our socks off here. A spell of set-piece of dominance followed for them, but with minutes to go we threw caution to the wind. I had already put Diego in the middle, Álex Gracia in the hole, and Gutiérrez up front but I didn’t need to, tactically. We were so tired. Álex Gracia launched a channel pass for Gutiérrez. He held it up, put a ball back to Gascón, and he shredded it at waist height into the box for Baeza to running-volley in a winner!

[Diego Imposta]

 238.

I was untouchable. The words of Isobel Tarragó, chairwoman of Llagostera. It made my heart sing. It came after a meeting between us and Ortiz to discuss coaching qualifications. We had finished ours on the same day and she agreed to further our education once more. By the summer I will have the highest national coaching badge, while Ortiz will take a little longer on his by taking on sessions out in Europe. In the late games Espanyol and Atlético both won to keep the pressure on, Badalona lost. It was looking increasingly likely that the three teams I left would be relegated the very next season!

Orihuela would be a similar test so we would keep our 4-4-1-1. Buenacasa had been on the books at Barcelona and then Juventus without making an appearance so their goal threat had quality, well in the past tense anyway. He was out with damaged cruciate ligaments which was just what we need.

Training began well although it looked like Álex Gracia and Fiuza had played themselves off the list of bench players. Manzanares might have replaced them with Lozano gaining focus but he lost it in the second session, as did Diego. Rivas was in for the suspended Moreno while left back Gran impressed the most and made the bench. Ogbonna and José Juan filled the bench with their die-hard attitude.

We would look to control the ball in the early stages and double up on both flanks. A light drizzle set the tone, Orihuela able to sit deep and protect the ball. Garrido up front worked a run into the wide left of our box and struck the near post with a shot on the turn. The game petered out for twenty or so minutes and we were still without a shot. Orihuela were bossing possession so I barked Vaquero to sit behind the midfield and tell his wingers to push on. Muniesa took a throw, exchanged passes with his captain, and fired a poor cross in way over the goalkeeper, off the post, and in. Speechless!

We were awful and didn’t deserve the lead. Time to close the game out. At half-time Gascón and an ineffectual Baeza swapped wings and were asked to come inside. We would take 1-0 if it is offered.

After an hour we reverted to a flat midfield, Gutiérrez and Gascón making way for Daniel Miguel and José Juan. Roche came into the support role in the middle with the vice-captain closing down. It was only a matter of time before Orihuela scored a couple here. The rain got worse - it wasn’t our friend.

It stemmed the bleeding. Did Orihuela have another tactic? They didn’t need one. A free-kick header looped forever in the air and over Lozano ten minutes from time. We had to come up with new ideas if we were to leave with a point. We went for it. When Baeza’s free-kick near the corner flag in those last five minutes was headed in by Enríquez, the Palamós crowd were ecstatic for a second week in a row. I urged caution, eleven men behind the ball. Route one football up to Daniel Miguel. No regrets.

One scare in injury time was enough to give me a heart attack but they scythed through us with one more. Manzanares twice pulled out fantastic saves under pressure and we might just do this. Corner ball. It comes in. Penalty! Roche supposedly pushed his man. How has the referee spotted that? José Juan, already booked, was given a stern telling off for his protests. We didn’t deserve the win but we didn’t deserve to have it taken away with the last kick of the game. Who else was to step up but sub Oller who I managed at Santa Eulalia. 96 minutes on the clock. Goal. He is mobbed by his teammates and our players are furious. With three goals from the 80th minute onwards this was always going to be the way it ended, with nearly a mass brawl at Palamós.

[Diego Imposta]

239.

We had to keep building. Prat were another flat 4-4-1-1 team but the away trek was still a pressure game as Espanyol, Alzira, and Atletico Baleares were all a point beneath us. Orihuela, Hospitalet, and Prat were eight and nine above us. The gap was huge. We were the best of the rest but it would be a slog to stay at that second summit in 12th. We scored like a mid-table side but conceded like one that had relegation written all over it. Training was much, much better and Lozano was finally recalled in light of his consistent improvement over the two sessions. Prat had enormous defenders so we gave a start to Daniel Miguel to try and win that aerial battle. Vaquero and Mendez would trade positions, the captain sitting deep with Roche to try and win the ball to feed Baeza coming in and Gascón going forward. Our momentum had slowed of late so Peso urged them to play their natural game Sunday.

Within a minute Ubis had looked for Daniel Miguel and found him, the striker pulling his shot wide of the far post. It was an impressive start. Prat’s possession centred around their trio of centre midfield so Vaquero was told that the man in the hole Nacho Martín was his responsibility. A counter, which they didn’t need as they had so much ball, saw the captain race back and the nick the ball back well.

Dopi was unplayable, roaming both channels and hitting a speculative shot off the woodwork. It was clear that we needed be on the defensive. We settled, limited Prat to playing in front of us while we played out from the back. Daniel Miguel rattled a defender and got him booked. We pushed high on clearing the ball and with seven players offside Prat still won the ball. A winger ran beyond them on the left and crossed it in for the overload. Goal. Defender Rivada smashing it home from close range.

Serrano twisted his knee before the break so we had a rethink and changed formation. We needed some steel so Vaquero was off for José Juan, Roche in the deep role in the hole. Baeza went to the left and Serrano right. Long ball after long ball went to Dopi and he won it every time, in the air or on the floor. Moreno tripped him in the box after eight minutes. He took the penalty himself. Saved! He hit the rebound… post! Goal! He hit a third rebound. The guy was first to absolutely everything today and that penalty personified it. He was unplayable. A catalogue of mistakes at the back followed that madness and we had no idea how to get the ball into their half. When we finally did Mendez blazed over. We would lose seven or eight nil the way this was going to I had to make sure we scored. 4-4-2.

The two senior subs combined to give us an expansive counter after Dopi had again pulled a superb save from Lozano. Serrano chased down a cleared cross, drove into the Prat half and sent a diagonal cross for Gutiérrez to smash home from the penalty spot. It was an excellent goal against the run of play but I’ll take it. It didn’t last. A corner was won from kick-off and headed in. 1-3. We went on the offensive, Gutiérrez crossing for Daniel Miguel to make it 2-3 immediately. Those three goals in six minutes were all the fun we were going to see in the last moments of the game until Roche should have got his goal deep into injury time but we were exhausted, his header tame after we had gone 4-3-3 and pumped balls into the box. There was a malaise kicking in and while we told the boys that they were unlucky to lose 2-3 away at Prat, in reality the hosts were leagues ahead of us, shooting 28 times at our goal by my count. Ogbonna and Moreno were totally overrun by Dopi.

[Diego Imposta]

240.

4-4-2 looked a promising attacking formation if we could get the defence right. I asked Ortiz to make sure we had it trained in case we needed it. He gave me the heads up that Agudo was frustrated for his place in the team but a poor week’s training lost him even a place on the bench. Gascón followed suit. José Juan filled in at left flank while Jose Juan made a claim for a substitutes position after being left out for months. I hoped the striker would be needed but with Daniel Miguel ceding his starting position to Gutiérrez after that brilliant goal and assist cameo I doubted it. Grau also returned here.

Eldense were on a run of six straight defeats but we had to be professional. We’d worked hard in the week on fitness after conceding such late goals last time out, expecting inverted wingers coming in to support Cañi in the hole of another 4-4-1-1 formation. A breezy evening in Elda awaited our men.

Centre back Nacho was looking like he was running lame so I told Gutiérrez to stick one on him, let him know he was there. Partner Damián took revenge quickly and ended up in the book. Excellent.

The home side were keeping the ball and playing some good stuff, Cañi getting the better of Moreno and getting a wayward shot in. If we could just keep the ball it would be better. We hadn’t got going in the first twenty minutes and we only managed a couple of shots by half time. Peso gave them his best bad cop routine and I berated them for not looking to pass the ball into space. We turned it all around at the start of the second half but there was a lot of work on if we were going to win the tie.

On the hour Vaquero was pulled for being passable but unable to affect the game. Daniel Miguel is on and asked to dovetail with Gutiérrez in order to confuse the defenders, Nacho succumbing to his injury earlier. We went two up top for the last fifteen minutes with the returning Ripa’s pace used on the left flank for José Juan and the players told to feed him. A bad day at the office saw us limp into the final minute so I threw the dice: José Javier was on. Before we had a chance to attack it was all over and we can think ourselves lucky to escape with a point despite the numerous shots coming in. None were on target and although there were a few near misses, we kept a clean sheet against our relegation rivals in a very nervy performance. All other results went our way so we stayed 12th but a place higher was now nine points away. Next up was a trip to Badalona who had now not lost in the last three including a point at Mallorca and a win at home against high-flying Alcoyano. It was an ace start from their new manager who had lost the opener at Mestalla but got a point against Villarreal B too. They were five points from safety, clearly the best of the bad bunch being nine points clear now of Eldense. We really should have beaten them on paper but the sinking feeling is back again. I need to lift the mood. The next Tuesday I called a meeting. The bad news is you’re going to be doing drills again this week. With a bit more energy we would have won that game. The good news is that we’re not doing too badly. Let’s keep things going in the right direction. We’re still top of the bottom half.

Even Manzanares spoke up. We have to give the fans something to shout about! It was just what the doctor ordered and crucially, it bought us more time to work out what the hell was going to fix this.

Ortiz and I agreed that a return to the midfield trio would mitigate new Badalona.

[Diego Imposta]

241.

Paula had a smirk on her face; she couldn’t wait to tell me. The local press were reporting Badalona were braced for a very low turnout. Only 600 tickets had been sold, 40% down on their usual, and it meant their fans expected them to lose. If only football was that simple! A couple of stands at Estadi de Montigalà would be closed and yet the bookmakers had them as clear favourites, thanks to their home advantage. A win would see them move out of the relegation zone and the new manager sure had given them a bounce. But crucially, he was unaware of Diego Imposta and the fans don’t forget.

Before we got on the coach, I got a call from a goal.com journalist. Apparently the Saguntino boss, a man named Saleri, has said that our side don’t have the bottle to stay up. Bemused, I told him that I was intrigued that Saleri appears to have such a strong grip on the mental strength of my squad. I’m not about to get into spats with managers with so much to concentrate on. Talk moved to how we’d lost to Badalona last time out. They had destroyed us 0-3 at our place during our awful run without a win. We would treat this match like any other, I said. Revenge is for fans not managers. When talk of Baeza came up, I was frank and said I’d like to sign him. It was up to Zidane whether or not the kid is playing for Real Madrid next year. He then asked me who was going down and, with that, I hung up.

Peso had the new youth intake ready and proposed a game against the under-19’s tomorrow. It was a great idea for our unused under-20s to get a game as a select XI - a real big test for the schoolboys.

Agudo was in for the injured Ubis who was only fit enough to make the bench, a tight groin not a risk I was willing to take. With the youths playing tomorrow it meant a recall for Gascón, Diego, and even Sergio Alonso. Serrano would cover Ubis just in case a right-sided player was needed. We were a late kick-off meaning the others were in. Atlético, Eldense, and Europa all lost while Espanyol picked up a point. Saguntino and Alzira played out a 0-0 despite the home side having ten men for 75 minutes. It forced us to look at the table before the game, which I would never normally advocate. We were on 33 points just like Alzira, Espanyol, and Atlético. Saguntino were four points behind in the play-off. If Badalona won today they would go a point ahead of them. If we did, we’d be three clear of our rivals and eight points behind the top half of the league. There was a lot to play for at this lovely stadium.

There were no surprises with their line-up. We started well, showing ability on the ball. However, an errant pass or two turned the tide in favour of Badalona. Shots were at a premium in the first half an hour, neither team able to break down the other. Two deep defensive midfielders in Matías and the old head Maestre were shielding the back four admirably. We would not be able to counter as Ortiz had thought. A snapshot from Gutiérrez worried the home crowd but he had to come deeper to give the wide men a chance to get into the game. As the half drew to a close, we talked on the bench for a few minutes and agreed to attack at the start of the second half. Which of these man can impress us? The troops buoyed, a brilliant move in the first couple of minutes saw Baeza get in behind, hit a cross to the middle but José Juan rose highest and couldn’t test the goalkeeper. But we were better.

Roche had been poor in his distribution and tackling, so Mendez took his role and Diego was called.

A well-worked free-kick saw Mendez strike at goal but there wasn’t enough on it to cause concern. A double change on twenty minutes got Daniel Miguel on as a battering ram and Sergio Alonso doing a job on the left for us. Baeza was asked to get further forward so we had two great crossing options.

We could now call ourselves the better side in what was a more assured performance than last week but we couldn’t attack all game. We would have to. Moreno slipped on the ball and allowed Rivas in on goal for their first shot on target all game. Lozano was stranded in the one-on-one and missed it.

I wanted every ounce of strength from my men. We pushed up, closed down, picking up the pace. A cross from Sergio Alonso ten minutes from time found Daniel Miguel and he stuck his head out. 1-1.

A deep free-kick was volleyed in by Cristian three minutes from time. It was so, so undeserved. We’ll go for them like angry dogs. 4-3-3. A long ball from Muniesa found Daniel Miguel running the left. In the middle was Baeza, screaming for it. The cross came in. Baeza had misjudged the flight of the ball.

Goal! Incredible! Baeza readjusted and headed it into the roof of the net. 94th minute equaliser. 2-2!

We were absolutely delighted by the result. Yes, we should have won. But the character to come on and get the goals… I didn’t know we had it. We would attack Saguntino and their loud-mouth boss.

We had a crucial point advantage in our four-way of teams looking over their shoulder. Six games to get six points. That’s all I was thinking about. Six points to the relegation zone. We had a reprieve. If we won the next fixture then we could play Alcoyano and Mallorca without pressure. Villarreal and Mestalla ended our season but with a two week break before those games, the league would almost certainly be decided by then. The fixture in the middle of those five, Atlético away, was so essential.

We had conceded the most goals in the league and mistakes had to be cut out. Once this full-throttle game was out of the way we simply had to tighten up and go for the clean sheet against a quadruple of very good sides. Saguntino and Atlético Baleares were must-win games if we had even a chance of staying up. We had the hardest run-in bar none. I didn’t want the two post-break games to be nervy.

[Diego Imposta]

242.

While I was in town, I called on Tarragó. We had to get Gutiérrez on board for next season. If I try to talk to his agent, the demands will be sky-high. He knows The Bloodhound is my go-to striker now. If the move were to come from the club the vision could be sold as long-term. Tarragó agreed and said that she and managing director Vilaró would try and get the deal over the line in private. Another we talked about was Vaquero. Contractually, he had triggered a year’s extension but retirement made it moot. There was space in the squad for two very different teams if he went: one under 21, one over. His and Manzanares’ departures would mean we needed that goalkeeper as competition for Lozano, presuming schoolboy loanee Merino was not kept on. The standout candidate was the Tercera man Javi Ruiz of Alcalà in the Madrid league. I called the club myself and asked to speak with the player.

To make the fixture even more competitive, we would pit sixteen against sixteen. Lozano is the only one too expensive to risk in such a game and it meant that each side had one goalkeeper. Moreno, José Juan, Ubis, Daniel Miguel, and Roche would be limited to 45 minutes. Peso would trial a 3-5-2 for the youth candidates and 4-2-3-1 Wide for the de facto under-23s. It’s a breezy night in Palamós.

Checa, possibly the most talented of the bunch, struck a shot wide from central midfield after three minutes. Within ten minutes Peso had decided that the formation mismatch wasn’t working and got them both to play 4-4-2 to make it a contest. Both sides had chances but the game was reduced to a long ball game and we wanted to see them play. A slight knock for Vallejo on 20 minutes was a real concern but he was happy to play on. Diminutive striker Ferre missed his second one-on-one of the night on 25 minutes and it showed that the youth candidates were giving the young professionals a game. The teams were able to cancel each other out and this was a good thing. I wanted our young players to be as good as their elders. Half time came and it was neck and neck. None of the older of the two teams were pulling up trees and Daniel Miguel was off at half time for José Javier. Central defender Villanueva was having a hell of a game at the back for the youth candidates, passing and intercepting his way into player of the half. The wind picked up in the second half, ruining long shots.

The breakthrough came from a set-piece. Xabier’s wide free-kick was flicked on towards the ‘keeper by Dani and volleyed into the net by Roche with his first touch! N’Diaye was given just an hour on his return from a fractured lower leg and it looked a remarkable substitution now. Three more were on for the youth candidates, misfiring Ferre one of the trio to make way. It mixed the game up, and two more interrupted the flow to a dirge. The under-23s were able to call José Juan, Moreno, and Ubis in to play with 20 minutes to go. A switch to 4-3-3 for the newbies showed Peso’s will to secure a draw.

Monster defender Masferrer pulled a long-range shot just wide of Merino’s goal, such was the high line of their controlling play. Peso and I exchanged knowing glances when José Juan got booked for a meaty challenge. His desire was unquestionable. Happy to see the game end without an injury, I left Peso to it. Vallejo was fine in the end with just a kick to the shin. In the car on the way to Llagostera I thought about how next season we have a XVI of under-23 players as our B team and a XVI of school boys to learn their trade in the under-19s. The issue was whether the middle team’s players can play ten or less senior games.  

[Diego Imposta]

243.

The run-in would require rotation but it would also require men. Most senior players were recalled, given a reprieve, for the Saguntino game ahead of tough fixtures against Alcoyano and Mallorca. We had 14 players in mind and the four most used youths by a distance made up a core matchday XVIII.

Only Fiuza, Sergio Alonso, and Álex Gracia were unfit right now, so they were guaranteed minutes in the first of six final games. Baeza was of course included but Merino was sent back to Barakaldo. This was no place for a schoolboy, and with his parent club’s under-19s in mid table with nothing to play for he was sure of opportunities there. The sixteen other teenagers were kept in the first team as we had to respect B team rules regarding appearances. Tarragó informed me after Tuesday training that she had gone direct to Olot regarding Gutiérrez and organised a transfer as a way of bypassing agent payments that would exceed it. The player was happy to sign so it should be considered a formality.

An enormous 93rd minute 2-1 win for Ebro away at Barcelona to end their 28-game unbeaten run. It gave the erstwhile bottom club hope of making a great escape, now 12 points from safety with six to go. Diego Delgado had earned instant respect at the club and was surely the man to take them back.

On the advice of Ortiz, Manzanares would be selected ahead of Lozano in goal. The latter had been a much better trainer but I was happy to cede to his thinking with rotation over the next six in mind. In midfield the only other change was Gascón in at left wing. We would attack Saguntino and Ortiz had even suggested playing 3-4-3! We would encourage creativity during the week and avoid any further injuries with a no-contact rule. Should we need it during the game, we will indeed try his formation.

A long ball from kick-off had Palamós’ collective hearts in the mouth as Agudo misjudged the header and let the striker nip in behind him. Busting a lung to get there, he could only stop it on the line and topple over, Agudo clearing and unable to hide his blushes. A silly booking for Moreno two minutes later did little to dispel the nerves. Ten minutes passed before Bueno shrugged off both our central defenders and only a late fingertip save from Manzanares turned it around the post. We had to slow the game down to get anything from it – Saguntino were very direct when they got the ball and were very effective. The game became quite an agricultural one as desperation took hold, Gutiérrez next to miss a one-on-one with defenders breathing down his neck. Half time came – we’re second best.

Agudo and Muniesa were told that they would be substituted for purely tactical reasons. Álex Gracia and Daniel Miguel got changed. A simple free-kick five minutes after the break saw one of the most brilliant goals of the season – Melo striking high into the roof of the net from 30 metres. Heads had gone now and only a wonderful save from Manzanares stopped it from being two. We just couldn’t break them down. Moreno was really struggling by the hour to play with a booking so Fiuza was on.

Ten minutes later Saguntino had scored another incredible strike, Antonio Manuel taking it first time from 20 metres against the run of play with a ferocious strike on the end of a 50-metre run from the defensive midfield position. Our mettle had completely gone and we conceded from kick-off, Baeza guilty of not keeping an eye on his man. The game had descended into a farce and we couldn’t string two passes together. A volleyed clearance from central defence put Bueno through for their fourth.

The entire staff were disgusted at the lack of passion shown from the squad in this one. We had just as many chances as the visitors but we’ve got the biggest defeat of the season!

[Diego Imposta]

244.

I got it wrong. Saleri was right; we had no mental strength. Do I dig in, or do I accept relegation now?

With Roche suspended for the next game Rivas was called up. He was not only the next most used of the young players but a consistently good performer in training lately. Enríquez and Fiuza were poor in every contest yesterday and will have to work very hard this week to dislodge Rivas from his start.

Roche was one of very few to come away with any credit in that game and I would love to have him in my side. Vaquero and Mendez were ineffective, as was Gascón, while Baeza and Gutiérrez at least tried to make something happen but flattered to deceive. This meant potential recalls for Diego and Sergio Alonso in the middle, with Serrano and the exciting Álex Gracia involved. Baeza would be out of his comfort zone in the middle of the park as part of a conservative 4-1-4-1 setup alongside Diego.

Sangalli and Omgba were a formidable midfield pairing for Alcoyano, who were four points clear off fifth and as such could feel comfortable with their play-off position alongside Mestalla, Mallorca, and runaway leaders Barcelona who had just secured their place. We talked about the four pillars of our start to the season. We can’t match them physically but we should aim play them off the park with a dynamic attacking centre, Baeza and Diego getting forward to support a deep Gutiérrez at all costs.

All in white, Alcoyano kicked us off in the drizzle and immediately kept the ball for a minute before a shot on goal. We were letting them play, of course, but we were figuring out what they wanted now.

Sergio Alonso was tasked with feeding the defenders and orchestrating moves from the back. A poor pass from Baeza let them in, attacking midfielder Cano playing it through to José Garcíá. Cut inside, a rocket left his right boot and nestled into the top corner. 0-1 after four minutes and another brilliant goal at Nou Municipal. A free-kick from Omgba soon followed and a magnificent acrobatic kick from Ruiz just flew over the bar. Why were teams turning on the style against us? After ten shots without reply Diego finally took our first but shanked it wide. After half an hour he set up our second, with an agile save from Leandro keeping Gutiérrez out. We were growing into the game now. Alcoyano dried up and didn’t add to their ten shots in the second part of the half, until an injury time shot in anger.

The rain had stopped when we came out. Was it a sign? Serrano then picked up a foot injury and the nervous Baeza replaced him, Gascón on in the middle to compliment Diego. We upped the tempo to cause them problems and Moreno went close with a header from a well-won corner. Soon after our hopes were dashed, an excellent ball into the channel for Cano catching us on the back foot and his cross into José Garcíá was perfectly swept in at the near post. He only had to wait for ten minutes on to get his hat-trick, Cano again finding space but in between the lines this time and the striker got it.

Just when we really couldn’t score Alcoyano did it for us, Ruiz’s backpass wrong-footing his ‘keeper.

We simply couldn’t near their midfield two, who racked up what must have been a hundred passes each. Alcoyano kept the ball for the entirety of four minutes injury time and won a penalty as their reward. Left-back Arellano sent it straight down the middle for our second four goal capitulation at home in two games. If only we didn’t have Mallorca next! Only our midfield three could come away from that game with any credit at all. A shocking performance that puts us in real trouble. Now only three points from the drop, we had to find form before we played Atlético - just one point behind.

[Diego Imposta]

245.

With Serrano out for the Mallorca clash in three days, it was an easy decision to bring Roche back in to the fold. Agudo and Muniesa were dreadful yesterday so Moreno and Rivas, who despite the real difficulty in dealing with Cano and José García, would deputise on the flanks. Enríquez and Fiuza are to sit in defence once more. Manzanares would also lose his place, such was my disgust with two of the four goals they scored. Roche would protect the back four with an industry over central midfield.

Álex Gracia, Baeza, and Gutiérrez would be given a further chance to put it right as they were simply our best players and I had little to no faith in Gascón and Daniel Miguel on the wings. Thankfully all other results had gone our way and the relegation race was still wide open with four games to play.

I called the boys in. The league table was a great leveller. After the first half of the season we were comfortable in that 12th and below, lower mid-table area. We were making a hash of these last few fixtures again. Six games without a win but three points to show for it. Mallorca won’t define us but Atlético Baleares will. Its too much to ask that we win our back to back home games after the break.

Until we’re mathematically down we’ve still got a chance. If we don’t start improving then we will be relegated. We have the hardest run-in of anyone yet who else can nearly topple Barcelona B at Mini Estadi? Who else can draw 0-0 at home to Mallorca in their first televised game of the season? You!

Realistically it was between us, Atlético, and Alzira as we all had nearly exactly the same fixtures too.

After cooling a war of words with Manola we arrived in Mallorca at the Iberostar Estadi which was a fine stadium built for La Liga. There was a breezy drizzle again and we would expect 10 000 inside it.

With our bench now fully fit, rotation had gone as planned even if results had not. We faced what is an impossible task to leave with any points at all. Nobody expects anything, so just enjoy the crowd.

Smart play down the right in the first couple of minutes gave Baeza the chance to blind-side a pass in around the corner to Gutiérrez on the right side of the box. His shot whistled passed the far post in a moment of hushed silence from the home crowd - much better but what a wasted opportunity, too.

Successive corners for the hosts around twenty minutes were their first taste of action. We had held well but were making silly passing mistakes. Right winger Viega flashed a chance across goal, similar to Gutiérrez’s miss at the other end half an hour previous. Gutiérrez was pulled a little deeper inside.

Mallorca were really starting to turn on the style now and the ball just wouldn’t stick up top. I made a brave and early substitution and removed Sergio Alonso for Daniel Miguel to play up top in a 4-4-2.

Diego was having a poor game and was taken off five minutes later, Mendez’s steel was required in a supporting role. Five minutes from time a searing challenge from Roche provided an out-ball. Finding Gutiérrez in a pocket of space, he judged his strike-partner’s pace perfectly with a ball over the top, and Daniel Miguel did the rest. 1-0 Llagostera! Now we had to get back and defend deep in numbers.

Buoyed by the goal Daniel Miguel nearly had another! The target man latching on to a misplaced hit from the bloodhound, perhaps even stealing it from Baeza, and made the keep steer it wide low and to his left. He should have scored. We were playing direct, pressing football now with our targetman.

2-0! Gutiérrez pouncing on a clash of legs inside the box! At the Iberostar Estadi! Crazy celebrations.

After encouraging words to my strikers I quietened the room down to give Roche the captaincy from Baeza. He had been the catalyst for this turnaround and we were by no means done yet. Give it your all out there lads! On their way out Rivas was told to sit deeper, we would attack with Baeza on the other flank now and I needed 100% from the young defender as we will try to bring on Muniesa late.

After five minutes it was clear that Mallorca would be patient in trying to force their way back into a game which they had dominated. Roche and Mendez dropped deeper to act as a screen for the flat back four and Daniel Miguel was to hound theirs. Gutiérrez had a half-chance to make it three. We’d need a few more chances like that to make sure. A wonderful ball down the channel from Baeza did it, Daniel Miguel putting the cross in but the bloodhound just missed it. They were standing off us so we didn’t need to be direct, just quick. With over an hour gone Viega finally got the better of Rivas, was in on goal, and scored. Muniesa was sent straight on and we would try to hit it on the counter.

Mallorca were incredible and scored an incredible equaliser, Nuñez hitting a left-foot volley from all of 20 metres to raise the biggest noise of the night. Did we have any fight left? Were we crumbling?

For the last ten minutes we went five at the back with Álex Gracia in attacking midfield on his own.

In injury time, with Mallorca now having what must be thirty angry shots against us, we sprang what could be madness. 4-4-2 with Baeza and Álex Gracia swapping wings and coming inside. We had our chance, Daniel Miguel muscled off running onto a through-ball from Gutiérrez. Was that it? Now our players couldn’t put a pass together. Thior struck a perfect ball from left wing to right wing, finding a menace in Viega. His cross came in but thankfully Mallorca were too tired to get on the end of that!

Lozano wasted no time. Daniel Miguel was through. Gutiérrez… no! Headed away. Roche picks it up, plays in Baeza, back to goal on the left of the box. He glides around onto his right. Top corner! Beaza!

That’s got to be it referee! He plays on. We survive! Baeza has won it for us in injury time! Again! We mobbed the players on the pitch, the staff ecstatic. This is without doubt our best ever win. Scenes!

[Diego Imposta]

246.

We did it. Against all odds we did it. Surely now just a win away from securing B3 for another year. I enjoyed my time in the press room after the game, giving long and storied answers to the assembled journalists. I was trying to make a name for myself. Diego Imposta: Giant Killer. We partied long and hard into the night, knowing full well we’d be in the Balearics for a few more days yet. I had no real need to go and see that fraud at Santa Eulalia while I was here but I missed the beachfront. With one of those hot hangovers I caught the boat ahead of the squad to Ibiza and made my way east of that port. Here, on the promenade, I contemplated the management career that was not improving fast enough. We had to take what worked against Mallorca to their neighbours Atlético. Was this really the end point? For four years I’ve wanted to bring 3-5-2 to Catalunya but no club is equipped for it.

Joining back up in Palma de Mallorca refreshed and rested, I sought out Serrano first. He had come over now fit and rested himself while Rivas was sent home. Muniesa had earned his place back now and Álex Gracia had given his away. Serrano would play right back, with Moreno impressing over an inconsistent Fiuza. Sergio Alonso was recalled to the left. Atlético would probably line up with a style aimed at hitting us on the break. Fran was a clever little playmaker in the middle. Daniel Miguel is to be stationed behind Gutiérrez as we look to give ourselves a passing chances when we win the ball.

The top end of the table was now a five horse race with Hércules beating Alcoyano 3-1 away to jump ahead of them in the table. A good ten points separated them from the rest so this is now a league in four parts. Eldense, Ebro, and Europa had done well to pick up points but it was too late, all three were 15-20 points off the chase with three games to go. The six teams above them can all go down.

Three days rest followed by two days spent working on defensive walk-throughs. Now it’s matchday.

Roche led us out, the 19-year-old midfielder personifying a never-say-die attitude with his will to win the ball and play in Baeza after 92 gruelling minutes against Mallorca. He was in a similar role today.

A reporter from the Spanish Football Daily cornered me in the tunnel. Why isn’t Rivas involved? Such a question took me surprise and I said I’d rather talk about the players I’ve selected to win the game. The questions went on and on and he motioned to Roche, asking what makes him captain material!

I needed someone to set the tone. We are one win from survival and this kid has got what it takes.

The game did not go to plan. Just when we thought Daniel Miguel was through he was called back for offside. An early corner was not dealt with and it found its way back in for Pablo Roca to nod in at the far post on eight minutes. We just couldn’t seem to string any passes together. Atlético were fit.

Daniel Miguel returned the favour to Gutiérrez, through on goal from thirty metres. I knew he would miss. But he didn’t! Through the goalkeepers legs for 1-0! Our lion’s share of the ball had afforded us to get our heads up and play the pass. Just then the rain stopped and it was 2-1 two minutes later. A double for the Bloodhound after good work from Sergio Alonso and Muniesa down the left. A swept left-foot strike from inside a crowded penalty area and we were on cloud nine. What had happened to Atlético? Incredible control on twenty minutes from left-winger Altamirano got him down the line and a whipped near-post cross was headed in by lone striker Raly. We couldn’t cope with it. Atlético were now superhuman, the goal buoyed them into being world-beaters. The referee was handing his cards out to all and sundry and if both teams weren’t careful they could lose a man later in the day.

Atlético finished the half the better side and were desperately trying to tee each other up inside our box. It was perhaps overplaying, perhaps because they had us on the ropes. The two defenders got a special mention for how unimpressed I was and at the other end of the scale Gutiérrez was praised.

From the off Gutiérrez ran a blinder into the channel only to be taken clean out by defensive Guerra and our entire bench was onto their feet and appealing for a red card. Not even a booking this time!

Playmaker Fran collided with Sergio Alonso and both were hurt. I didn’t want to ruin his summer so the winger was off on 50 minutes for Gascón who had a good game against this lot last time. It upset the rhythm and we stood off Atlético and invited them to score. Fran into Segado his partner, and in to Raly and into our goal. A disgusting goal to concede. None of our players with within ten metres.

Vaquero was on for some captain qualities on and off the ball. Mendez had spent the afternoon just kicking Fran and was not contributing. A superb introduction sent Gascón flying down the left, his hit to the far post sliding-volleyed in by Gutiérrez for the hat-trick. We were somehow still in this but an atrocious defensive performance was going to cost us. I knew it. More goals are required. So Daniel Miguel comes off, Diego on. The old partnership! But our collective heads had gone. Nervers were a terrible disease in this game and we let Atlético queue up in the box to get on the end of Raly’s run.

But we held firm. Diego played it our to Baeza, just about the only man with energy. Gutiérrez fouled again but no free-kick. The referee had booked ten players but was so inconsistent. Five minutes left.

We made mistake after mistake after mistake with the ball at our feet. We were exhausted and the inevitability of defeat sunk in. We have to fight harder to make sure it doesn’t happen. There were a massive six minutes of added time. I was furious. Baeza gave Gutiérrez one last chance but he was so tired he couldn’t hit it after running. We contained them. One last shout. Concentrate! The referee finally blew it.

[Diego Imposta]

247.

Llagostera and Alzira were five points clear of the drop. All we needed was for Saguntino to not win their two remaining games against Espanyol, five points clear of us both, and already relegated Ebro.

One point from two home games against Villarreal and Valencia would secure it for us. Two weeks to go before we played again. Enríquez was now suspended for the first, Daniel Miguel a booking away from missing the second. Rivas was again recalled to the first team and I decided to go down on the train to my hometown to scout Barcelona versus Villarreal personally on Wednesday. They were the two top scorers in the league, both surpassing 80 goals in 35 fixtures. It should be a fantastic game!

Valencia sprang a 4-4-2 surprise and started fast and direct, a ball over the top finding Orquín who smashed it toward the top corner only to see top-class Carevic more than equal to it. The white top and orange shorts of Valencia certainly stood out against the sea of red and blue and the corner was taken from where their fans were. Two deflections kept it out and a free-kick was won on the other side. Esquerdo again whipped it in and Barcelona just about cleared it. What a lightning start tonight.

After a subdued fifteen minutes Orquín was at it again, pulling another save from the best ‘keeper in the league. Barcelona were shell-shocked. Nearly half an hour without a shot. When that ball was on Valencia supported well and made sure a flurry were had each time. Keïta, that talisman number ten for Barcelona, was coming closest from set-pieces either with his head or his foot. His free-kick over.

Fantastic two-touch football from the visitors drew yet another clambering save from Carevic. Two wins might even sneak them into the playoffs and they knew it. The boys from La Masia finally got in to a rhythm with ten minutes to go but it was still unconvincing. Orquín’s distribution was just as hot as his pace. I had no idea how we would cope with him in this form. Maybe it won’t matter by then.

Valencia started the second half by living dangerously, trying to walk the ball in for fear of Carevic in goal. Kabashi and Pere on the wings finally woke up, stretching the wing backs and inverted wingers of the Valencia system. Mújica up front was his usual nuisance self but simply wasn’t getting service.

This had been a long old season for both sets of players and the energy levels dropped midway into the second half. It looked like a substitution would win this. Esquerdo was off on 67 minutes, Peter the Nigerian winger on in his place. Further changes followed but none so effective. 4-2-4 from our hosts for the final ten minutes. They’ve abandoned the Barcelona way in pursuit of a championship.

Deep, deep into the fourth minute of injury time Mújica tapped in the winner. Valencia were just so inconsolable. They blitzed Barcelona from the off but just didn’t have the energy to play 95 minutes.

It was all over and a good scouting mission. The away side had secured a play-off spot despite their defeat because of the fixtures that other teams have to play. A win would have taken them level on points with Mallorca in second. Elsewhere, Hércules and Alcoyano were still separated by a point in their fight for the last play-off spot. Down at the bottom, Badalona, Atlético, and Saguntino were on 35, 34, and 33 points respectively. Not one of them deserved to go down but one or two might yet.

After Thursday training I decided to get the players in for a weekend session while I went away. I got back to the news that Daniel Miguel had pulled knee ligaments and would miss both games. It was a bitter blow but tempered by the news from Ortiz that Agudo had bust a gut to impress the coaches.

José Juan would join the squad next week.

[Diego Imposta]

248.

Villarreal B’s 4-3-3 would cause us problems all over the park. In Garrido and Villanueva on the sides of central midfield we had formidable transition specialists. Three up top meant we couldn’t play out from the back, either. I reminded the players during a team meeting, and told them to forget about the one win we needed. The league will sort itself out; we just need to fulfil our fixtures. We will see.

Vaquero piped up that we shouldn’t be in the relegation battle at this stage of the season and even a young José Juan chimed in by saying that just because we were tipped for it in pre-season it doesn’t mean we can’t to better than that.  However, the rest of the squad were relieved to be able to play their game and not worry. We would all know by the time Saguntino played at midday whether we are safe or not. Barcelona beat Hospitalet 4-1 on Friday night to lift the title but there was still a long way to go in the play-offs. Could they afford to go so close against other top teams just as last week?

In front of a loyal 2 000 fans Gutiérrez kicked off, José Juan as captain receiving the ball. We had the radio on in the dugout to hear of any goals at Espanyol versus Saguntino. It felt like an end of season game except for José Juan’s rough tackling! Muniesa soon followed and with Roche we had three of the toughest men on the Costa Brava. We set about trying to limit Villarreal but Aketxe had hid away on our right flank and curled over a great cross for Ugarte to head in on seven minutes. We really did like making things difficult for ourselves. The rain began to fall almost immediately. Oh, how I wished for an inland side that didn’t have to suffer bouts of drizzle for six months of the season! A good turn and hit from Roche showed that we weren’t dead and buried. With our crosses not working, wingers were swapped and told to come inside. Just at that moment Saguntino took the lead on 18 minutes.

Just as we were finding out way back into the game Villarreal scored again. Another ball out to their left for Aketxe to swing in from wing-back and this time Coulibaly stabbed it home after Ugarte’s hit had struck Muniesa. We were playing well but they’d had two deadly shots. They’d score their third too, Agudo slipping in the rain and bringing down Coulibaly. He didn’t even try to play the ball there.

Garcíá made it three with a tame shot down the middle. He wasn’t going to risk a hard strike in this rain. Gutiérrez was at his bloodhound best, weaving this way and that chasing down a defender. The panic set in and with the defender desperately trying to give his ‘keeper an easy kick he played it too wide and into the goal for 1-3. It was a lifeline. We were having chances now and should have a goal.

Gutiérrez missed two one-on-ones soon after and the crowd was starting to get on his back. Was this one of his off days? We pushed up looking for more attacking chances – we still had more than they did – and again Gutiérrez was denied by Hernández. Five minutes from time we gave away another penalty, Moreno the culprit this time, and effectively signed our relegation papers. These are those litany of errors that drag a team down. Post! Lozano gathers at the second attempt and smothers it!

José Juan’s nerves were not helping now so off he trotted for Vaquero. This is what I was on about, I said as they both clapped hands. Espanyol equalised! There was a cheer from the stands that beat a radio signal. Diego was chucked on in place of Mendez soon after. Could we rekindle something now or was it too late? Baeza says its not too late! The winger cutting in and making a dummy run which carried on became the pass and he strikes it low and hard across goal for 2-3 with 25 minutes to go!

Those cruellest men of Villarreal worked a goal almost immediately. A breakaway goal breaking the hearts of our supporters. With Cisneros, all three strikers had now scored. Thankfully Coulibaly was off although his replacement Daoudi put on the assist from the middle, Agudo again losing his man.

After playing Daoudi onside by being ten metres behind his teammates, Agudo was off. Possibly to never return. Still we came at them, Gutiérrez striking the post from wide and deep inside the box.

Into the last five minutes and again a rare attack for the visitors resulted in Daoudi sneaking a ball between our defenders and Cisneros applying the finish. 2-5. Two penalties. An own goal. All that was missing was a sending off for this calamitous fixture where we had clearly been the better side.

Two minutes into injury time and we’d given away another penalty in the rain. What a joke this is.

Cisneros hat-trick. I don’t recall conceding six before. The final whistle came to a chorus of boos in the stands. We were mathematically safe from automatic relegation with the 1-1 draw in the other game but we could still play a play-off if results went against us. Fans and players alike rushed home to follow the results. Badalona and Atlético both suffered heavy defeats on the road to keep them waiting for the final day. We were safe. We’d done it. In the worst way possible but we’d done it.

Badalona had relegated Europa away, Saguntino had relegated Ebro away, and Atlético were the real unfortunate souls who travelled to Alzira – who were level on points with us. Badalona might just do it, then. They had a point on the other two teams but were the middle side in terms of goal difference. Valencia could still finish second if Mallorca lose to the final play-off spot winners from Alicante, Hércules, in the final fixture. We could not expect them to field a weakened side so that is what we will have to do too to honour the league. Realistically we couldn’t move from 14th in the league unless Alzira lost. It was a decent € 40 000 prize for us which just about covers my gamble with Baeza. Five goals and five assists in fourteen appearances so far. The kid has serious talent at this level but is categorically not interested in staying out east much longer.

[Diego Imposta]

249.

I called Baeza into my office on Monday morning. We’re sending you home, son. If your agent does not want to transfer you here then we’re not going to pay the fee and your wages to keep you here.

League status was secured and I needed to balance the books. It was simple as that. He took it well, as any mercenary would, and said his goodbyes to the squad on Tuesday morning. There was no bad feeling at training from anyone because they knew their work was done. Rivas would train with the first team again and places were up for grabs after that showing, although those who fared poorest had put in a shift on Tuesday. As the sessions wore on it was clear that their competitions dropped off and the only change was Serrano in for Baeza. We would sit José Juan deeper and try to counter.

Another evening kick-off to be played out in drizzle. Thankfully Orquín was on the bench for this one.

Top scorer Damián had taken a knock early on but wanted to carry on. His strike partner was harried and a long ball from the back sent Gutiérrez clear on goal on two minutes. His first-time shot ended up closer to the corner flag. Dreadful football. It looked a certain goal. Navarro was a menace up top, winning three corners in succession. The fourth was blazed over the bar and we could finally clear it.

The counter was harming our passing as Valencia closed down so well so we stepped out to get one in on goal, Serrano making the ‘keeper work. They were straight down our end for another corner in the first quarter of an hour and scored. A knock down from defender Badal rifled in by right winger Montes. Both sides continued to work half-chances as the half hour approached. Our terrible loss of possession continued as Gutiérrez lost it in a key area and it was simply fed back to Damián to slot it home for 0-2. It was embarrassing. The rain stopped and we were able to play, José Juan testing the goalkeeper with a rasping drive from outside the box. Gutiérrez then did fantastically well to spot a marauding Serrano who took a touch but couldn’t slip it past Rivero in goal, who was having a game.

A wonderful turn and shot from Gutiérrez still couldn’t result in a goal and we were finishing the half on top, here. A trio of viscous counter-attacks should have made it three but somehow we held firm.

Serrano was off at half-time with a tight groin, Agudo moving forward and Moreno wide. On came a raring to go Enríquez in central defence. An incredible from Agudo after five minutes took him all the way down to the byline but his cross was too close to Mendez who couldn’t steer it in. We needed to change it up so a double substitution of Álex Gracia and Mendez off for Gascón and Diego happened.

Another Gutiérrez passing error led to their third, Navarro teeing up Damián to strike low and hard across Lozano’s goal in a devastating counter-attack. Our young goalkeeper was having a great day in goal and three seemed unfair. Orquín was on now to torment Rivas, Damián making way. Roche and José Juan had both picked up bookings in the middle of the park, their frustration growing. We were into double figures for shots again but just couldn’t seem to get Gutiérrez beyond the last man now.

A lovely driving run for José Juan put Gascón beyond their right-back and with time running out he’d only picked out Agudo who headed tamely at the goalkeeper. We’ve had our chances today, that’s a hat-trick of good ones anyway. Gascón managed to at least strike the post from an angle after great play from Diego in and around their box. We finished the game with Valencia on the back foot and it could have been another result on a different, dry day. We are finished.

[Diego Imposta]

250.

Badalona drew 0-0 at Europa and it relegated them. Atlético pulled out all the stops with a 2-0 win at Alzira to give them hope but Saguntino beat Ebro 4-2 away to survive, meaning Atlético would need a play-off chance to do the same. We would give the players 12 days off at least and only bring them in on weekends to follow those games if they wanted to. We had an email from the supporter’s own spokesman to say that Lozano, Enríquez, Serrano, Diego, and Gutiérrez had been inducted into their hall of fame but it didn’t mean anything to me. Half of those players were largely poor for us. It was nice to see the Bloodhound’s form rewarded. 18 goals this season and he’s still not even consistent!

In the dressing room we also had the end of year awards and he cleaned up the lot, winning the fans player of the season, goal of the season for his powerful long range strike against Atlético just before Christmas and also young player of the season. The fans would be delighted to hear he’d signed on.

The players would have ten weeks to themselves as we looked to get in a good five weeks training or four weeks worth of games before the start of next season. Before we sent them packing, I needed a few words. Going into next season I think we’re in a good position to avoid being considered for the drop. We have quashed all talk of automatic relegation next time around with the finish this season.

They went off on their separate ways and I was still unsure of my own future. I went away for a long break on my own, travelling up into France and across to Marseille and Monaco for four or five days in each. It was a beautiful time of year for it and yet still I came back eager to hear of the B3 playoffs.

Real Madrid had sacked Zidane, a title lost on goal difference his crime. All five of their draws came in the last ten games of the season but back-to-back defeats to finish the season sealed his fate, the last a 0-1 home loss to Atlético too much to bear. The Champions League quarter final loss to Bayern had utterly derailed the squad and they only picked up four points from four games after that. Back at Barcelona, Ernesto Valverde was counting his lucky stars. Supercopa and Copa del Rey wins made it look like his side were successful but in truth it wouldn’t have been enough to topple a good Real.

All B3 teams won their first leg and after distancing myself from contract talk with Manzanares I sat down to watch the second leg results come in. Barcelona B survived a 2-1 defeat at Recreativo and were promoted on away goals. The match against Numancia, who had beat Castilla 1-0 and 2-0, was a formality. Mallorca suffered a shock 1-2 loss at home to Logroñes and missed out on away goals.

Hércules, 2-1 and 2-0 winners over Bilbao, and Mestalla were through. The latter’s 1-0 win at home in the first leg being so important as they drew 3-3 at Mirandés in the second. Atlético Baleares kept the fire burning for B3 survival with 2-1 and 2-0 wins over Granada B to send their opponents down.

The beginning of the month saw a meeting with Tarragó and managing director Rovira. The survival of the club in B3 had enormous benefits. The wage budget was doubled to € 200 000 a month next season and the transfer budget was € 175 000. I was gobsmacked. We had avoided a tax hit as the club was technically not running a profit but sustained B3 would guarantee it. We had earned much money in commercial aspects, such as television and retail. Our scouting budget would also increase to cover the Segunda División and Tercera in detail. It was incredible achievement to have all of this.

It definitely made me think.

[Diego Imposta]

251.

A home loss for Barcelona B gave the advantage to Numancia but in the real meat of the playoffs Valencia Mestalla benefitted from an early red card for Castilla, scored the penalty and eventually took the lead to win 2-1 at home. Hércules scored early and held on at home to Ponferradina to go and give themselves a chance of promotion. It was still crazy to think that Mallorca hadn’t made it.

Ancelotti was back at Real, having won everything at PSG for the last few years and taking them to a Champions League semi-final last term. It was the second time that they had poached him from PSG.

Barcelona B were crushed 3-1 away at Numancia to lose some pride and prepare them for the year ahead. A 2-1 win for Mestalla at Castilla and a 2-2 draw for Hércules at Ponferradina confirmed their participation in the third round. Logroñes and Melilla had both snuck through on away goals in 3-3 thrillers over two legs. The next week followed and the losses Llagostera were making were now of shareholder interest. The AGM was next month and people wanted answers as to what would have happened had we got relegated. Hércules snatched a 2-1 away win over Logroñes and Valencia had won 2-0 at Melilla – a very brave result in the north coast of Morocco. We were now not long from losing Manzanares and Sergio Alonso to their contracts, and Vaquero to retirement. Incoming Ruiz would sign with Gutiérrez. I would have to choose a new captain in the period between those days.

Hércules and Valencia Mestalla did the job at home and were promoted. It really showed the total strength of B3 and Mallorca surely had to run away with the title next season. The teams coming in had yet to be sorted, as B3’s catchment area would have to be increased to sort the ones relegated.

I completed my National A coaching licence on the same day that Vaquero retired. Manzanares and Sergio Alonso were released without fanfare the day before Ruiz signed on to be our number one.

The entire squad and staff had a year left on their contract and I would rebuild in earnest, chopping the B team staff entirely. I read with interest that Edu Vílchez resigned from his position as Mestalla manager. His assistant Juanjo Camacho had left the week before to take the reins at Albacete who’d survived in the Segunda División by a point. There was obviously something going at Valencia and I’d be a fool not to try and jump out of this league. I called the office of Peter Lim and demanded he call me back. We all knew he was a billionaire so I had to make myself heard. Nine days passed before an office call came back. President Anil Murthy would like to talk with you. I celebrated harder than I’d celebrated our last-minute winner at Mallorca. I had this. I got in the car and drove to Valencia, five hours of sweating. I headed to the airport to avoid the city, as Paterna where they played was out of the ring road. The training complex, for that is what it was for the main team, was a coaches dream.

Five grass pitches and one artificial to play on. Two stories of offices, first and second team changing rooms on the ground floor. It was state of the art. Ten lodgings for players to settle in the area. And a room for studying videos. A living room and dining room for the staff. This was La Liga at its finest!

Anil Murthy welcomed me and brought me upstairs to the office. Peter Lim was waiting. I didn’t get the chance to thank them for this opportunity before he started talking. He had considerable doubt about the short time I had spent at each club in my career. I decided to play the ambition card and I said the fact that I am here vindicates my approach. He nodded sagely to each answer without at all commenting on them. I told him that I would not let anything get in the way of my career prospects and how some of past chairman had ruined the clubs with their lack of financial controls. I was full of praise for Tarragó, though, and he appreciated that. We talked about how both his manager and the assistant had left. Would I have a partner to bring with me? Ortiz. I didn’t hesitate. The man had got his coaching badges ahead of me and the sky was the limit. He was the brains on the training ground and that would be useful while I further my own skills in this area. It was a raw discussion, full of the things I will bring to the club rather than what I had already done. They thanked me for coming and that was it. I made my way back to the Costa Brava, hoping that I hadn’t come across too arrogant.

Two days later Anil Murthy called. We would like to begin contract negotiations. I couldn’t believe it!

They were offering to triple my wage. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. Tarragó will receive € 80 000 as compensation for me and € 20 000 for Ortiz. There was no looking back. Ortiz would have to sort his contract out directly with director Kim Koh just as I had. I managed to wrangle a three year deal out of him. I was told that Ortiz had managed two, but had a clause inserted to release him for any manager position that he wished to apply for. He had done exceptionally well, too, and was now on half my wage which was four times his previous salary. We had made it. They would pay for him to continue his studies for a Continental B licence and I would take on the C equivalent. Between us we were headed for La Liga! A good performance here will put us both in good stead for consideration for the big job, should Vitor Pereira and Luís Manuel not perform. They had been airlifted from Braga in March and stuck together for nearly ten years at many different clubs across Europe. Finishing 7th in the league was a good finish but qualifying for the Europa League meant managing extra fixtures.

Marcelino, Jorge Jesus, Roberto Mancini… none had lasted more than a year. It was time for me and Ortiz to impress upon Peter Lim what we were made of. It wasn’t Catalunya, but it wasn’t real club either…