When a club gets promoted to La Liga, they receive the world’s eyes on them. It’s easier to be noticed, and as a frequent shopping ground for the Premier League, you could be one good season away from a contract that would set you up for life. Yet if there is one person that has stood out from their season so far, it is manager Borja Jimenez.
It is easy to pay attention to Jimenez shortly after his side assaulted Montjuic, bringing a first ever win from the Catalan capital back to Butarque. His side sprung Barcelona’s offside trap in the opening minutes, and from the resulting corner, converted the winner.
Even if Barcelona had chances to get on the scoresheet, the sensation from the game was that Leganes were more likely to come away with a win as the game progressed, rather than the pressure mounting to breaking point. His 5-4-1 nullified Barcelona for the most part, with Dani Olmo and Pedri unable to progress the ball into dangerous places.
Those who have been paying attention will have noticed details of quality before that though. While they remain one of the favourites to go down this season, any bitcoin sportsbook might have softened their odds on Los Pepineros.
It’s natural that they are one of the main candidates to go down. Even in preseason, it was notable that they had been promoted as champions in without a lethal goalscorer amongst their ranks, with Diego Garcia and Miguel de la Fuente contributing 25 goals between them. Star signing on loan Sebastien Haller has not been able to show the lethal edge hoped either, and was not involved in their Barcelona win either. Looking across their squad, only a handful of their players have spent much time in La Liga before this.
That is natural too – Leganes have the third-lowest salary limit in the division and one of the lowest budgets. Standing 15th with three points on the relegation zone though, there is no doubt they are competing.
Jimenez’s hand has been obvious on several other occasions though too. At the Metropolitano, Atletico Madrid had to sweat until the final third of the match for their win, which came after a Leganes opener. Their biggest victory of the season, 3-0 over Celta Vigo came at the expense of new managerial darling Claudio Giraldez. And against Sevilla, their winner came from a mistake caused by their press – one that Jimenez had been captured coaching on camera, pinpointing the precise sequence of events that would win them three points.
Leganes have 20 more games to go, but in a battle they fight with less resources than arguably all of their competition, and without an obvious star dragging them through the toughest moments, they do have brains behind their operation. That much, whatever happens from here, Borja Jimenez has shown.
