Sir Alex Ferguson once said, 'Attack wins games, defence wins titles'. However, for coaches like Alexander Blessin and José Bordalás, who are not in the ideal position to win titles with their current teams, the legendary quote can be changed to 'attack wins you games, defence keeps you in the...
La Liga has been known to throw a few curve balls in recent years regarding teams doing better or worse than expected. Currently, we are 13 games into the 2023/24 season, and Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atlético Madrid are all chasing the top spot — a rarity that someone other...
This month, Gennaro Gattuso followed in the footsteps of compatriots Claudio Ranieri and Cesare Prandelli, becoming the third Italian manager to take charge of Valencia CF. The former Napoli boss has signed a two-year deal to become owner Peter Lims tenth managerial appointment since buying the club in 2014. He has replaced...
Who Is Carlos Soler? Carlos Soler is on the cusp of a big career move. A born Valencian, Soler has spent his entire professional life at ‘Los Che’. Now 25 years old, the midfielder has become vital to the Valencia team, and his performances are attracting the attention of some...
Jose Bordalas was appointed Valencia manager at the end of last season. His appointment was intended to bring some much-needed stability back to the club. The Valencian-born manager was brought on after taking Getafe from the Segunda Division to a fifth-place finish in La Liga and then to the UEFA Europa League...
Not too long ago, four-man midfields were the norm. The classic 4-4-2 ruled the global football scene. The only question was whether the team would play a flat midfield or with a diamond. With that diamond, did they play narrow or wide? As systems evolved, the four-man midfield gave way...
In this La Liga midweek fixture, Valencia took on Sevilla at the Mestalla. The guests were without their head coach, Julen Lopetegui, who had COVID-19 symptoms on Wednesday, and also six players were out of the game due to injury. While Sevilla are chasing Real Madrid and establishing their top-four...
Brighton fans can collectively breathe a sigh of relief - they finally have competition for Solly March at left wing-back. His injury in February was a huge headache for manager Graham Potter, with Dan Burn, Jakub Moder, and natural centre-forward Andi Zeqiri all slotting in to cover. In their 2-0...
Valencia have undergone some incredibly turbulent form in La Liga in the past few seasons. Since the 2014/15 season, Los Murciélagos have managed to finish inside the top four on three separate occasions. However, they have finished in the bottom half of the table three times too, subsidised by one...
For the first time in many years, 4-4-2 has returned as La Liga's formation of choice in 2019/20. After years of domination from 4-3-3, which is still the case in the big teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid, only two La Liga sides did not use 4-4-2 as one of...
Getafe have once again proven to be the surprise package in La Liga in 2019/20, with much of the credit going to coach José Bordalás. One of the star men in Bordalás' system is 24-year-old Uruguayan midfielder Mauro Arambarri. Arambarri joined Getafe, initially on loan in 2017 as the Azulones...
The Estadio Coliseum Alfonso Pérez fell to tears after Getafe, one of the youngest sides in the Spanish top-flight, dropped to Segunda División, ending their 12 years of LaLiga action in 2015/16. Struggling on their return to the Segunda too, Getafe had other plans - a managerial switch - appointing...
