A look at some of La Liga’s most captivating narratives from the week, exploring the positive, the negative, and the aesthetically pleasing aspects of the league.
The Good: Getafe’s Adopted Father Figure
While Luis Castro’s Levantine miracle has been celebrated, our attention now turns to the less glamorous Southern Madrid neighborhood of Getafe. Unlike Rayo Vallecano’s ironic chant, Getafe faces no risk of being perceived as a mere novelty in elite football. Comparisons are often drawn in the British media to Tony Pulis’ Stoke City of the late 2000s – a team renowned for their physicality, their resilience, and their ability to derive satisfaction from their opponents’ discomfort.
However, Bordalas’ remarkable achievements stand apart from Pulis’ Stoke. Getafe’s entire transfer expenditure during Bordalas’ second tenure is less than Stoke’s spending in their first Premier League transfer window. Over this period, Getafe has achieved a €38 million profit. Of the players acquired for a transfer fee, only Davinchi (€600k), Diego Rico (€1.5m), and reserve goalkeeper Jiri Letacek (€2m) remain at the club. As Bordalas himself noted, simply staying in the league was considered a miracle, and being comfortable with several games remaining was unthinkable just four months prior. Achieving a European spot is akin to a glitch in the matrix.
Imagine Bordalas, perhaps with tinted glasses and an overcoat, skillfully evading all obstacles. Getafe’s defensive record, conceding just 38 goals all season, was second only to Real Madrid and Barcelona. Only the bottom-placed Real Oviedo scored fewer goals than their 32. Extracting 15 wins from this tally defies statistical norms. A more fitting image might be bullets simply bouncing off the formidable players he deploys to dismantle opposing game plans. While individual matches can sometimes be tedious, with Getafe stifling the life out of the game, denying opponents space and rhythm, there’s a captivating, almost morbid, fascination in witnessing their approach.
This serpentine constriction of opponents, coupled with Getafe’s portrayal as La Liga’s villains, is hard to ignore. Tuning into a Getafe match is like switching from a typical football broadcast to a National Geographic documentary. Centuries of honed predatory instinct allow them to detect and neutralize any opposition movement, clamping down with their collective defensive unit.
Despite their cold-blooded modus operandi, Getafe was bathed in warmth at the final whistle after securing 7th place and a Conference League spot – their fourth European appearance and second under Bordalas. Fans and players alike flooded the pitch and press room, singing their adoration: “Bordalas, I love you.” While Getafe possesses talents like the skillful Luis Milla, the tenacious Djene Dakonam, or the powerful Martin Satriano, it’s clear that Captain Bordalas is the driving force, dictating the team’s strategy. On the day before their return to European competition, Bordalas was officially declared an adopted son of the city. He arguably deserves the title of adopted father – “papa” to those familiar with him.
The Bad: An Enormous Emptiness
This outcome should not have transpired. “Girona deserve to be in La Liga,” stated Michel Sanchez after they drove too close to the edge and plummeted to the Segunda División. With one wheel spinning in the air, it seemed as though Thomas Lemar might pull Girona back to solid ground when he struck the underside of the crossbar with 10 minutes remaining. As Sid Lowe highlighted on TSFP, the stage seemed set for Cristhian Stuani to perform his customary heroics once more.
However, the 39-year-old Girona captain had been struggling with fitness for weeks. Instead of entering the fray for the final push, he had been introduced at halftime. Following Artem Dovbyk’s departure two summers prior, Sporting Director Quique Carcel’s attempts to sign Bojan Miovski and Abel Ruiz proved unsuccessful. This situation should have served as a warning that Stuani would be crucial in saving Girona last year. Comparing Stuani to his contemporaries like Oscar Trejo, Iago Aspas, Dani Parejo, and Santi Cazorla, none carried such a burden of expectation at critical moments, instead contributing their craft and character to the squad.
To be fair to Carcel, Vladyslav Vanat was a success, scoring 10 goals in 29 appearances. Yet, when he was injured in April, Girona failed to win any of their remaining eight games, securing only four points. The Catalans scored more than once in only one of these matches, resulting in a nine-point swing between safety and relegation. Viktor Tsygankov, Azzedine Ounahi, and teenage loanee Claudio Echeverri also had spells in the attacking third, but not Ruiz.
Michel was left “feeling guilty and responsible” for “failing his people.” Two days later, he posted on Twitter/X about the enormous “sadness and emptiness.” Had La Liga continued for another two weeks, Girona might have salvaged themselves. Had Vanat been fit for two more weeks, or had Lemar’s thunderbolt gone in off the bar… The reason this relegation will be so difficult for Michel and Girona to overcome is that they possessed the quality to stay up. A series of minor twists of fate have sent Girona skidding out of La Liga, and there is no straightforward explanation for it.
The Beautiful: Dennis Bergkamp’s Adopted Son
Tucked away in the matches of little consequence on Matchday 38 lies an irresistible, gleaming jewel. There is something exceptional about witnessing footballers play with freedom, driven not only by a desire to win but also by a passion to remind us of their supreme ball control and the glimmer of genius possessed even by less celebrated players – genius that those in the stands dream of.
How many children have fantasized about executing that magical Dennis Bergkamp turn against Newcastle United? One such individual was a 33-year-old from the remote interior of Catalonia, a place where tourists are rarely found. When the ball is played to Pere Milla, with Igor Zubeldia behind him and Benat Turrientes poised to dispossess him, the Espanyol forward executes a marvelous turn.
His only real misfortune was the presence of other defenders, preventing him from taking a shot and claiming a goal-of-the-season contender. Instead, he displayed the presence of mind to split two more defenders with a pass to Roberto Fernandez, who converted the chance. Milla will have to settle for an assist of the season nomination instead.
