Mel will equal Oltra as the coach with the most Canarian derbies

Add and follow Pepe Mel in his statistics within Spanish football with a new figure under his belt in the most anticipated duel for the Canary archipelago. The Madrilenian will be equated next Sunday with José Luis Oltra as the coach with the most regional league contests directed from the bench.

The Madrid coach, who has played five games so far, is tied on this list with Juan Manuel Rodríguez, tHe is ahead only José Luis Oltra, who led six, without knowing defeat.

The Valencian, current coach of Fuenlabrada was, without a doubt, a black beast for UD Las Palmas during their time at CD Tenerife in the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2018/2019 campaigns with a balance of three wins and three draws. He never saw the canvas during his two spells on the blue and white bench, despite having suffered real heart attacks, like the one starring in Gran Canaria in 2018, with the penalty transformed by Suso Santana in the 85th minute so as not to leave the emptiness of the neighboring island. José Luis Oltra is also the coach with the most wins in the Canarian derby in the league, also alone with those three victories, beating Sergio Kresic and Álvaro Cervera, both with two wins.

On the other hand, it was difficult for Mel to see his first victory in the Canarian derby, since it took him almost 20 years to savor it. It was in the first round of this season thanks to the blunder of the CD Tenerife Ortolá goalkeeper at the Gran Canaria Stadium, “Three points and for the house”, as the coach would say, downplaying the future of the game and yes to the long-awaited victory against the eternal rival.

And it is that his balance in the derbies is two defeats, two draws and one victory. Its history as yellow dates back to May 2019, as it must be remembered that Yes, he had experienced it before as Tenerife coach in the First Division, when Las Palmas won at Heliodoro, 1-3, with goals from Tevenet, Josico and Nacho González.

Thus, shortly after his arrival in Gran Canaria in the second leg of the 2018/2019 season, he lost 2-1 at the Heliodoro against the players then trained, precisely, by José Luis Oltra. While last season there was a double scoreless draw.

In this way, in this sixth clash in an island derby, the Madrilenian could get his second victory in these duels and break a spell in which he was the protagonist: to win again in Tenerife almost 20 years later.

After the meeting of the first round, The balance of the Canarian derby is 23 Gran Canaria victories, 24 draws and 15 Tenerife triumphs.