Modern football, a concept as hackneyed as it is abstract, is increasingly physical. Success in many cases comes through the boots of players who make their marvelous muscles their best weapon. Other teams, now in the minority, continue to give more value to the good treatment of the ball, to an idea of spectacle that is more appreciated by the fans. Manchester City is the main guarantor of this attractive proposal, more protagonist than reactive, and in Spain, with Barça in low hours, there are Girona and Real Sociedad, rivals today in Montilivi.
The good results of the Catalans and Basques are the merit of their coaches, Míchel Sánchez and Imanol Alguacil. “They are one of the best teams in Europe,” the Madrid coach praised the sixth team in the League yesterday, who adopted the Cholista formula, going “game by game,” to continue in the race for the title. “Get the most out of the team,” Alguacil complimented his counterpart.
The praise for Míchel and Alguacil is the result of years of effort and learning. Their ideas, very similar, require talented players, but the intensity and work, both physical and tactical, are non-negotiable, as modern football requires. They don't have a magic wand to capture good football. Their teams are the result of their careers, both journeymen of the beautiful game as players and coaches. They have polished their teachings with humility until they fight with the best with colorful and brave football. It is the conjunction between possession and verticality.
Míchel was forged in the neighborhood, in Vallecas, and after three promotions to First Division, he has completed his great work in Montilivi. Alguacil hung up his boots playing in Second B and before becoming a coach he worked as a salesman and created a courier company. He started in the band to teach the kids of the cadet from his town, Orio, but in 2018, after going through the lower categories, he took command of Real temporarily due to the dismissal of Eusebio. The following season, after Garitano left, he definitively took charge of Anoeta. The rest, a fairy tale: Cup champion in 2021 and this year in the second round of the Champions League after two decades.
“I'm in the best club. “I want to renew and make more history,” an Alguacil who already has the second best win ratio in the history of his beloved Real denied wanting to coach Barça. Míchel also has no intention of going to Barcelona, grateful to a Girona that is already his second home. They do not need the aura of a big club to be happy, just as satisfied as fans delighted with the football their teams play.
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