Almeria manager leaves job despite securing survival on final day of La Liga season

Almeria secured safety in dramatic fashion on the final day of the La Liga season, with Adrian Embarba netting his second from the penalty spot in the 87th minute to ensure they stayed ahead of Real Valladolid in the standings. It was enough for survival, but not enough to keep manager Rubi in situ.

The Catalan manager managed to keep Almeria up despite lacking a clinical striker and winning just once away from home all season. After the match he announced that he and his staff were resigning however.

“My cycle has ended,” he told Cadena Cope.

“We think that we have fulfilled all the objectives, permanence, promotion and increasing the value of players. Something that fills us with pride is the sporting growth of the club. When we arrived there was little to work with.”

However he stated that having done so, they ‘did not want to waste the club’s time’, and would be departing this week. Players remarked after the match that even they had no idea about Rubi’s plans.

One player who is highly likely to be there next season is Luis Suarez. The former Granada man signed on loan from Marseille in the winter window, and their survival means that they will likely pay L’OM €8m to retain his services as part of a buy clause.

Almeria will now begin the hunt for a new coach to look to improve on their 17th place finish. Given Rubi’s comments, it sounds as if he did not feel he either had the full confidence of the owner, or the resources he needed in order to continue doing his job to his maximum ability.

Tags Almeria Espanyol Luis Suarez Rubi
La Liga - Club News