Match-ball for the benches

Trial by fire for Óscar García and Sergio González this weekend in LaLiga. The bad results in this league start have put them on a tightrope and they will live a match-ball on the 9th day to continue in office, or at least until after the selection break. If one of the two falls after this weekend, he would be the first coach of the season to be sacked.. Of course, this year is being expected, since in the last seven seasons there had already been at least one change in a LaLiga Santander bench at this point.

The situation in Valladolid is tense. So much so that graffiti have already appeared calling for Sergio González to leave and charging against Ronaldo, the club's president. The pucelanos have only managed to add three points in eight games. They still do not know victory. The points came in three draws (against Real Sociedad, Celta and Huesca) while they gave up all the points on five occasions (Betis, Real Madrid, Eibar, Alavés and Villarreal). With these numbers, Valladolid is the red lantern of the League. Sergio and his players will have to get a good result this Sunday against Athletic (18:30) if they want there to be no new tenant on Zorrilla's bench. It's more, with more than three points in the locker at this point in the season, up to ten coaches were fired in the last seven years. This data shows the great confidence that the managers of Valladolid have in their coach despite the bad start, since Sergio has been the coach who returned the team to Primera and has maintained the highest category of Spanish football saving them from relegation both last.

Another of Primera's hot benches is in Vigo. Óscar accumulates six points and is outside the relegation zone (17th), yes, with one more game than Levante, which only has one point less. Oscar's problem is that he started LaLiga with part of his credit exhausted by the agonizing end of last season. In the eight games played, they have only achieved one victory (against Valencia) and three draws (Eibar, Valladolid and Levante); while he lost against Barcelona, ​​Osasuna, Atlético and Real Sociedad. Four teams from the upper-middle zone. Oscar is playing to continue in the position facing Elche this Friday.

Both Óscar and Sergio have enough ballots to be the first two coaches dismissed, unless they turn the situation around their teams. And more with a hiatus of selections for the next two weeks. This would give the directors time to look for a new coach and have several days to meet the squad and prepare for its premiere. But it is the first season in the last seven years that it has taken so long to see the first relief on a bench. Perhaps it is because of the atypical start of the League and the tight schedule or because of the economic situation of the teams, who want to avoid paying settlements and hiring a new coach and that is why they endure so much. For example, last season the first dismissal came on matchday three, when Valencia fired Marcelino. Although on that occasion it was more due to a problem with the directive than due to results, since he was in tenth position and after winning a Copa del Rey and qualifying his team for the Champions League.

Other early dismissals was that of Zubeldia at Alavés on matchday four of 2017-18. The team was last and with four defeats. Ayestarán, in 2016-17, also left on matchday four after falling four times in a row. Mendilibar, in 2013-14, stopped being Osasuna's coach even earlier, on the third day: three of three defeats.