On September 27, 2016, Jose Bordalás signed by him Getafe. At that time, the azulones were mired in the relegation places of LaLiga Smartbank. Four years and shortly after, what the ‘Geta’ has achieved by the hand of Alicante is history. A promotion, two 8th places, one 5th, and in the last two seasons fighting even to get into the Champions League. They also charged Ajax and fought one-to-one at Inter in the second round of the Europa League, which would be a finalist in the edition.
However, Among the complications that arise from facing a team as fierce as Getafe, there is a pending issue: winning a giant from Spain. That is, from the Top-3 of LaLiga (Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid), the azulones, with José Bordalás, have not been able to win once in their three (on the way to four) seasons since he trained them in the highest category of Spanish football.
Of the total of 18 games they have played against the three since then, Getafe has only scratched two points out of the 54 possible. Figures that reflect how difficult it is for Bordalás's pupils to get something profitable from the greats of Spain.
But it is true that, despite not reaping any triumphs, and registering a bad score, it always costs merengues, azulgranas and rojiblancos blood, sweat and tears to scratch something of your visit to the Coliseum. Or, on the contrary, receive the Roman army of Bordalás. Without going further, the heaviest defeat they have conceded was the 0-3 they received from Real Madrid last year. The rest, defeats by only one or two goals difference.
Precisely, Of the two points added, one of them was against the one who will be his rival this Saturday, Barcelona. A team that, due to its defined style, its taste for possession, has always been good for Getafe de Bordalás. Since, as is well known, the azulones feel comfortable without the ball, defending with the lines close together, a very advanced defensive line and exerting suffocating pressure. The tie was harvested on his return to the First Division, when they were 0-0 in the visit of the southern Madrid team to the Camp Nou.
To find Getafe's last victory over Barcelona, you have to go back to the 2011-12 season. On November 26, 2011, the azulones beat the azulgranas 1-0. The goal was made by Juan Valera with a header from a corner taken by Pablo Sarabia. A Barça that Pep Guardiola led in his last year, with an eleven that included Víctor Valdés, Dani Alves, Thiago, Xavi, Villa, Alexis Sánchez and, of course, Messi.
So, Getafe will look for that drought of victories against Barcelona and the greats this Saturday at the Coliseum. Even They have launched a curious campaign: change of name and shield for this party. It will be renamed as FE C.F., in addition to wearing special kits. The objective is none other than to appeal to the strength of the club and its fans in these difficult times.
Koeman snatched a Cup from Getafe
Paradoxically, one of the very few successes achieved by Ronald Koeman as coach of Valencia was the Copa del Rey that he won in 2008. His rival was none other than Getafe, coached at the time by Michael Laudrup, who had fallen dramatically days ago against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.
Ronald Koeman poses with the Copa del Rey that he won in his time with Valencia.
Alberto Iranzo (Diario As)
The almost more than 120 minutes that the Madrid residents had accumulated ended up weighing in the Vicente Calderón final. So much so that in less than a quarter of an hour Koeman's men were already winning 2-0. In the end, the Valencian team won 3-1 in which it meant the first and only -for the moment- title of the Dutch coach in Spain.