A whole life in one act

Many times an action speaks better than a thousand empty words, and this thing should have happened last Sunday in Son Moix immediately after the winning goal was scored by Merino in the last breath of the game.

Imanol, from the bench, could not prevent emotions from getting out of control, and his goal celebration was completely out of the canons of the Oriotarra coach’s response, usually, more restrained, both in his own goals and in others yet. What this gesture reveals is the load of tension, worry, anxiety, which has accumulated over the past few weeks, and which, finally, has found a way to channel itself and come out. And over the past two months, events have dangerously overlapped, with almost no respite, testing the response capacity of a team unaccustomed to these issues. Three open fronts, each more demanding, with a natural load of matches, and the logical corollary in the form of injuries.

Appearing in all situations without even suffering a scratch is something almost no one can achieve, and La Real will be no exception. From the skill of Imanol and on them to handle this kind of situation, the success of the campaign depends entirely. The last few weeks have been particularly difficult, with the team suffering a kind of curse facing opposing goals, which has logically penalized their progress.

Five consecutive games without scoring is a luxury few can afford, and it is urgent to remedy that deficiency. There are other incidents that are probably related to this particular context, such as, for example, the harsh remarks of the coach to one of his students after the game in Paris. That’s not normal Imanolnor the means to celebrate the purpose of Merinobut all these are closely related, in a context of competition and demands of the highest level.

FROM END TO END

Real Sociedad will face the final stage of the season with all fronts open, and there is a definite possibility of achieving some coveted victories. In the League, the poor results of the last few weeks have left Imanol’s team with no room for many more mistakes. In fact, before playing in Son Moix, they lost their European place for the first time in a long time. The alarms went off and the victory over Mallorca, along with the setback of Betis, temporarily corrected the “anomaly”. But there is no room for confusion, even if the elimination competitions are very attractive. In the Copa del Rey, a competition where the goal is closer, everything will be played with only one card, the second leg of the semifinals in Anoeta. And in the Champions League, undoubtedly the most attractive tournament, the chances of advancing to the round were seriously compromised in the first leg at the Parc des Princes, but Imanol has ammunition left in his room for the second leg. Nothing is certain to be lost, and the final stage of the performance has yet to be written. In other words, from this moment on, everything will be final, considering its immediate effects.

2

Pacheco, the bodyguard

I completely agree with my colleague Ángel López when he says that little has been said about Jon Pacheco. The Elizondo center, quietly, is building a reputation for being a reliable value, which can be used when one of the “important things” is not there. Their evolution was undeniable, and Imanol knew that Zubeldia and Le Normand were well covered.

3

Konde smiled again

Merino’s goal on Sunday in Son Moix ora richly on the horn, was a shot of oxygen for Txuri Urdin’s aspirations to continue fighting for a European place. And, at the same time, the pleasure of seeing the Navarrese hit the goal, something that seems to have been forgotten in recent times. We’re still waiting for its renewal, so it’s good to see the Count smile again.

DID YOU KNOW…?

– Villarreal’s league statistics at home are unusually bad this century for Real: four wins, five draws and ten defeats.

– The last victory of the Castellón team in Anoeta was relatively recent, in the 2021-2022 season (1-3, with Unai Emery on the yellow bench).

– Surprisingly, the San Sebastian team is better at playing in other people’s fields, because at El Madrigal they won up to seven wins this century.