La Liga has for a long time been a hotbed of coaching talent in European football. Beyond their obvious success in international and continental football, Spain is home to a significant chunk of Premier League managers currently, and a quick scan across the world’s leagues will provide connections back to the Iberian Peninsula more often than not.
Currently, the brightest talent making waves in Spain is perhaps Inigo Perez, who continues to impress on a shoestring budget at Rayo Vallecano. Perhaps the second-most intriguing manager in La Liga is Claudio Giraldez. A quick look at Celta Vigo’s budget and squad would have the Galician side struggling this year with many overseas betting sites, but Giraldez has them back in position for a successful season, despite a difficult start.
The Saviour
Giraldez was originally the emergency option for Celta. Still just 37 years of age, he remains younger than the iconic and the imitable Iago Aspas. His time at Celta Fortuna, the club’s B team, was the highest level of coaching he had experienced in Spain’s third tier before being appointed as the man to save the club from relegation. Coming into a dismal side under Rafael Benitez, Giraldez returned some of the joy to Celta’s play, and injected youth into it too, eventually staving off relegation on a wave of fresh enthusiasm from Balaidos.
The Success
After doing so, he was empowered by Celta to take the reins of the team permanently, and it was a decision met with stunning results. Managing the ageing legs of Aspas, his slow increase of minutes on the bench has been without acrimony, despite being a potentially tricky issue. With Oscar Mingueza and Borja Iglesias amongst the best in La Liga in their positions, Celta played an ambitious game that many sides struggled with, resulting in a seventh-place finish and a return to European football that was eight years in the making.
The Turnaround
The worry was that Celta might have trouble balancing European duty with La Liga, and without major investment. Initially it proved to be the case, and Celta were the last side to win a game in Spain’s top division, but an eight-game unbeaten run starting in October has Celta back up to 13th and just four points off Europe. In Europe, Celta are fourth and in position to qualify for the knockout stages.
Despite being exploited defensively, Celta’s players showed no sign of wavering on Giraldez’s plans, and persisted with the tasks handed to them. Neither has Giraldez, who has adapted minor things but stuck to his central ideas, hesitated during his first real spell under pressure for his job. La Liga’s youngest manager is certainly showing signs of being cut out for the top level for some time to come.
