A step back to gain momentum

The year is about to end, and it can be a good time to stop and reflect on what you are leaving behind, after a very eventful year, full of expectations, eager for certainties, and developing the occasional doubt.

We refer, of course, to the current period, we are not talking about the calendar year, but rather the section corresponding to 2024-25. This is the sixth season of Imanol to the captain of the ship Txuri Urdin and, perhaps, the one that caused the most headaches for Oriotarra. The erratic start of the team, far from its best version, and the self-flagellation every time it appears in front of its parish in Anoeta, makes us think that this season will not be like the previous ones .

The preseason, which certainly served that purpose, to lay the foundations for a new campaign, did not go according to plan, and the proverbial “pax txuri urdin” gave way to some truly chaotic weeks, in which we lost the team of two major parts in the machinery, and the damage could be even greater.

Compensation mechanisms in the form of contracts offer only a partial solution to the problem that has arisen, something that Imanol He felt alarm from the first moment.

The messages, both from the president, openly talk about a new chapter in the history of the team in terms of “a new book”, and from the coach, who postponed the integration of this group until a period of approximately two or three years, They invite us to suspect the present. The results encouraged fears and, accustomed to excellence, everything that did not exceed the standards of perfection was understood as mediocre.

The team progressed through the competition, sometimes more brilliantly than others, until reaching the end of the year without achieving universal approval. However, we must give him credit for saving furniture with dignity.

And sometimes it is necessary to turn back to gain momentum and move forward.

The sins of the past

A separate chapter on the considerations that must be taken into account, when explaining the decline in the team’s performance, deserves the noticeable lack shown by Real’s forwards last season. And it’s not because the attacking ranks aren’t well guarded; On the contrary, the club allowed its own license to have three specialists in this matter! Sadiq, Carlos Fernández and André Silva. On paper, a real luxury. Well, between the three of them they scored a total of ten goals throughout the season, with Oyarzabal having to change form for the occasion, who, with his 14 goals, saved the ballot. The sins of the past threaten to drag the team down a dangerous path if the long-awaited redemption doesn’t happen. So far, neither Oskarsson nor Sadiq are contributing what is expected of them, and the coach continues to bet on the all-purpose Oyarzabal, the most useful panacea. The winter market, the one that no one wants to attend, is presented as an opportunity to fix the deficiencies that have been detected, but not satisfactorily resolved, especially if there is a way out. Continuing to advance with disability is neither convenient nor sustainable.

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A test coach?

If we decontextualize Imanol’s situation at Real Sociedad, and pay attention to the coach’s own statements, it seems that the royalist bench is experiencing a temporary period, waiting for the club to decide on the coach’s future. But that turns out not to be the case. The ball has long been in Oriotarra’s court. Any delay in this matter only creates doubts.

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Karrikaburu, at the crucial moment

The debate about the forward position at Real is in full swing. Sadiq you can leave; Oskarsson not yet done with self-imposition. And, meanwhile, what is Zubieta’s great hope lately, Karrikaburucontinues to fight far from home to earn the right to return. At this moment, his career casts light and shadow in equal parts. It’s time to take the plunge.