Rubi, the architect of the ascent

He did not want to pronounce his forbidden word until the championship expired. And finally it has been that, the promotion, which has made him immortal in Almería, joining his name to that of Unai Emery and Javi Gracia, the other two coaches who took the Almeria club to a category that two decades ago was a utopia. Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia (1970, Barcelona), Rubi, wanted to tread on safe ground and The first thing he did when he landed in Almeria at the end of April last year was to establish a patience that had previously been lacking since the arrival of Turki Al-Sheikh. Almería was third classified and saw direct promotion to six points. However, the coach raised in Vilasar de Mar did not want his team to become obsessed with moving up in category, having some peace of mind when signing until June 2023.

The three victories and the two draws in those last six league games led to the second promotion in a row, again with a Girona that once again left the tie in Montilivi sentenced. However, Rubi asked for continuity in the squad and the club responded, keeping important pieces such as Akieme, Samu Costa and Sadiq, also reinforcing themselves with players with experience in Spanish football, in the case of Portillo or Pozo. During the pre-season, the architect from Vilasar de Mar made a lot of emphasis on defensive work to avoid the rude mistakes of years ago. In many of his press conferences he has recognized that the objective was not to concede more than one goal per game, making the rest of his team hit.

After a hesitant start with defeats in Lezama and Ponferradina, everything turned when they opted for César de la Hoz in the position of the midfielder of his 1-4-1-4-1, overtaking Samu Costa, who did the work of ‘box-to-box’, more liberated and stepping on the rival area. After the defeat against Amorebieta, Rubi asserted that his starting goalkeeper was Fernando, clearing up doubts about a possible rotation in the goal. And finally, the Murcian goalkeeper and the Cantabrian midfielder have ended up being key in the plans of a Rubi who has always had a clear idea of ​​his game: defensive forcefulness, De la Hoz to create superiority in the ball exit, bring together gamers in the center of the field to propose with the ball played and leave the lanes to the sides, regardless of the names that were.

The figure of Ramazani has also been of paramount importance in his plans, by providing the Belgian with remarkable versatility: overflowing on the right wing, look for the diagonal on the left, position yourself as a second striker to associate with Sadiq and press the rival ball out, forming the team then with a 1-4-4-2. Rubi’s Almería has evolved as the season has gone by, adapting to other schemes depending on the situation, also trying defense of five or joining Sousa with Sadiq. The depth of the bench has also allowed him other alternatives, such as those that Appiah or Ramazani have given him on the wing; not in vain, the bench has ended up being decisive, remembering, for example, that goal by Curro Sánchez ‘in extremis’ against Sporting. Rubi’s merit is that all his pieces have felt important without the extreme rotations of José Gomesalso turning into pillars once substitutes, in the case of Fernando or Chumi.

Another of the Vilasarense’s achievements has been that his team had their feet on the ground at all times. The more he won (he led the third-placed team by ten points on matchday 17), more caution asked the technician, knowing that bad times would come. Like the one in January, with the plague of coronavirus after the Christmas holiday, the one that his team faced with one less game when the duel in Lugo was suspended. Sadiq’s loss complicated the situation even more, but there appeared the mental strength of a group that had also been training the psychological part months ago; In this sense, Rubi has recognized on more than one occasion that he has had many private talks with Sadiq, a special guy.

Almería took flight again, but once again their coach had to deal with problems, this time with various injuries to their defense, some of them serious. The arrival of Ely was decisive, also contributing in the offensive aspect. In this sense, the improvement in set pieces in the last stretch of the championship He has ended up being key in an Almería that, unlike in the past, is no longer afraid of him in the last minutes; the other way around, taking profit from them, with up to five points in the discount. Much loved by the rojiblanca fans, This gentleman of football now has the difficult ballot to establish the Almeria team in the elite, returning to it after being struck down at Betis in the final stretch of the 19-20 exercise. At the moment, this week he has enjoyed his second promotion to the First Division. And he has done it with some dances that are already history of the Almeria province.