The resounding defeat conceded by Málaga last Saturday against Ibiza (0-5) has left José Alberto López very touched. Few times, the stands of La Rosaleda had expressed themselves with such virulence against one of their coaches. To find similar precedents, we would have to talk about Juan Ramón Muñiz, another Asturian coach who did not enjoy the favor of the respectable despite getting a promotion and two stays (one in Second and one in First) against the odds. Phobias and hobbies are not always understandable.
In other stages, people took a dislike to Schuster. In this case it was due to a rudeness of the German. Ferreira was also not nice. Other coaches who ended up being legends such as Antonio Benítez, Joaquín Peiró or even Manuel Pellegrini have not been spared from popular anger. But the mania that José Alberto has taken on is worthy of study. It can be said that it has been from minute one beyond the sports results.
animosity in abundance
Nobody was spared from the accusing finger of the fans. The one who received the most was José Alberto with cavernous cries of “resignation!”. From there he went on to a message for the sports director: “¡Manolo Echalo!”. The executive also received his. The same as the footballers “This shirt, you don’t deserve it!” and even some other “drunks!”. Not even the judicial administrator was spared from the disapproval of the most angry sector of the stands. But it all leads to the same thing: a Malaga-style divorce from José Alberto.
What is Manolo Gaspar going to do? The maximum person in charge of the plot has always supported JAL, whom he signed for two seasons to, in this way, unite his destiny with his. It is true that the poor opinion that the fans have of the coach, expressed both in the stadium and on social networks, is quite worrying. The initial objective of the team, without giving up anything, was not promotion but “improving the results of the previous season” as explained by Gaspar. Things are going awry because Málaga have only added one of the last 12 points at their stadium.
The slap in the face of Ibiza has added salt to a wound that has not healed for a long time. The fans have sentenced José Alberto beyond the results. So the next matches in Miranda de Ebro and then against Almería at home could be decisive in considering a change of course… if it doesn’t happen before.