Sergio Pellicer: He came for “a game and a half” and will reach 50

Sergio Pellicer will add this Monday in Anduva against Mirandés his 50th match as coach of Málaga. He has directed 46 matches in the League and another three in the Cup. Counting only the matches directed in the regular tournament, he has already far exceeded the 29 of Víctor Sánchez del Amo and is the second that he has directed the modern Málaga Club de Fútbol the most after the 108 of Juan Ramón Muñiz. Marcos Alonso was 10 games (2006-07 season).

These are some of the most interesting passages from this period of work. From temporary to fixed. “I came for a game and a half and I've been here for a year.” This phrase was pronounced at the press conference prior to the previous game against Rayo. Thats the reality. After the controversial dismissal of Víctor Sánchez del Amo, after spreading his famous intimate video, Pellicer (then technical of the subsidiary, Atlético Malagueño) took over the first team, on an interim basis to face a vital duel against Ponferradina. January 14, 2020. Málaga won 1-0 with a goal from Antoñín. It continued on a provisional basis while Richard Shaheen, then obscure general director and vice-arm of Al Thani, negotiated the signing of Luis Fernández and a German sports director named Olaf Rebbe, in this case, to give a ticket to Manolo Gaspar. Fortunately, Al Thani was fired by court decision and the judicial administrator appointed to lead the club, José María Muñoz, the first thing he did was fire Shaheen.

Ratification. Without the long shadow of the horrible president / tweeter and his idle children, the Gaspar-Pellicer duo was able to work for the good of the team to obtain a very important permanence in Second against all odds. Pellicer was ratified and had to manage another complicated start to the season with a very low salary limit (3.6 million euros), the pandemic as a global scourge and several players included in an Employment Regulation File (ERE) and betting on young players. This season no less than 10 footballers have played at least one match with a filia file. A section where we do not include Luis Muñoz and Juande, homegrown players who have already earned the professional record.

A good balance. The balance of these 49 games of Pellicer is not bad at all. 18 games won, 16 tied and 15 defeats. Málaga is currently in a comfortable middle zone with nine points above relegation and seven from the playoff. As El Desmarque points out, Málaga is the third coach in the Second Division with the most matches directed at once, only behind Jon Bolo and Pepe Mel. Much merit in a season where up to nine teams have changed coach.

The renewal. José María Muñoz commented last Thursday that he agrees with Manolo Gaspar to renew Pellicer's contract. “We will wait to see what salary limit we have in order to offer you the best possible contract.” This renovation seems a matter of time.