The Segunda Division common season is over and true to type, it was as tight as ever on the prime, with the highest 4 separated by simply 5 factors and simply ten factors splitting the highest seven.
Additionally true to type, Eibar narrowly missed out on promotion with a third place end. They head into the play-offs for the third season in a row the place they’ll meet Actual Oviedo who they beat 4-3 in a thriller at Ipurua solely final weekend.
Espanyol and Sporting Gijon full the play-off lineup, however they’re already on their summer season break on the Jose Zorrilla and Butarque with Actual Valladolid and Leganes sealing a return to the highest flight after one and 4 yr absences respectively.
Leganes hobble over the road to win the title
Like lots of the massive second tiers in Europe, the Segunda Division has continuously served as fertile searching floor for lately relegated groups from the highest flight, however sometimes it throws up a giant shock.
That was definitely the case this season with Leganes showing from nearly nowhere to guide the league from nearly begin to end.
Following third, twelfth and 14th place finishes of their three seasons since relegation in 2020, Leganes seemed to be a membership on a downward spiral, one that will more than likely see them settle again in to what could be described as their extra pure standing within the Spanish sport as a small city membership in Madrid’s southern commuter belt.
They have been certainly not seen as severe promotion candidates again in August and even much less so after they stumbled to a 1-0 house defeat towards Andorra of their opening fixture.
It was removed from the dream begin for 39 yr outdated Borja Jimenez, an interesting case of a coach who successfully bypassed taking part in skilled soccer to give attention to honing his teaching expertise all through his 20’s and 30’s.
He was simply 28 when he took cost of hometown membership Actual Avila and following spells at Mirandes, Cartagena and Depor, it’s at Leganes the place he has lastly earned his shot on the massive time.
After the Andorra loss, Leganes responded with six wins and a draw from their subsequent seven video games, assuming pole place by late September. An extra 5 sport successful streak within the autumn noticed them set up themselves as very a lot the staff that everybody was chasing with a rock strong defence that averaged simply 0.64 objectives conceded per sport their primary asset.
It hasn’t all the time been glowing on the different finish with Miguel de la Fuente prime scoring with simply 13 objectives. There have been definitely moments within the marketing campaign when it regarded like Leganes have been at risk of being caught, not least after they have been held to 4 straight goalless attracts within the spring.
Nonetheless, Los Pepineros held their nerve when it may need been simpler to choke, successful three of their last 5 video games and clinching the title on the ultimate weekend with a 2-0 house win over Elche.
Pezzolano overcomes rocky begin to ship in Valladolid
The one facet to briefly transfer above Leganes between matchdays 11 and 42 was Actual Valladolid who’ve endured a bumpy street again to the highest flight underneath the steerage of Paulo Pezzolano following relegation final yr.
The membership owned by Brazilian legend Ronaldo have been fifteenth within the prime flight when the Uruguayan changed Pacheta in April 2023. They have been 18th within the second tier by mid September with Pezzolano’s strategies failing to work and a fanbase baying for blood.
The writing seemed to be on the wall for the previous Cruzeiro boss however a 1-0 victory over Cartagena in September was the catalyst for a 5 sport successful streak that noticed Las Blanquivioletas rapidly climb the desk and into the promotion image.
Whilst outcomes picked up, Pezzolano was hardly Mr Common on the Jose Zorrilla which has been a poisonous place at occasions throughout the 2023/24 marketing campaign. But promotion was in the end clinched with a sport to spare and got here courtesy of a dramatic late comeback towards Villarreal B with 91st and 97th minute objectives sealing a 3-2 win of their last house fixture.
Pezzolano’s weird response to the boo boys was to aim to guide a chant calling for his personal resignation on the membership’s promotion parade.
He has since apologised and reaffirmed his dedication for subsequent season however even recent from successful promotion to LaLiga for the fifth time this century, these nonetheless really feel like unsure occasions in Valladolid and given his fractured relationship with the fanbase, Pezzolano’s future on the Jose Zorrilla will not be a protracted one.
2023/24 Segunda Division play-offs – A really Asturian affair
It has additionally been a reasonably turbulent marketing campaign for one more of the edges to drop out of the highest flight in 2023 with pre-season promotion favourites Espanyol failing to safe a prime two end regardless of a squad blessed with quite a lot of gamers who ought to actually be working at larger degree. That features 22-goal Martin Braithwaite who completed effectively clear because the Segunda Division’s prime scorer.
Espanyol sacked two coaches in pursuit of the automated promotion they so badly craved. The present incumbent Manolo Gonzalez is unbeaten in his 12 video games since taking on in March, however with eight of these ending degree, the Catalan membership have truly dropped a spot since firing Luis Miguel Ramis.
They have to now put together to face Sporting Gijon in Asturias which would be the setting for the primary legs of each play-off semi-finals this weekend.
Sporting are one other membership underneath the steerage of one in every of a brand new breed of Spanish coaches who haven’t performed the sport professionally with Miguel Angel Ramirez beginning his teaching profession as a youngster with Las Palmas earlier than in the end getting his shot at a prime job within the unlikely location of Ecuador in 2019.
Following spells in Brazil and the USA, he has returned to Spain to spark a revival in Sporting’s fortunes following successive seventeenth place finishes. Sporting are maybe the staff with the best sense of momentum heading into the play-offs with 1-0 wins over Eibar and Eldense making certain they completed within the prime six for the primary time because the 2017/18 season.
They’re joined by Asturian rivals Actual Oviedo who secured their highest league end since struggling relegation from the highest flight again in 2001. They dropped as little as the fourth tier within the years that adopted because the membership teetered getting ready to extinction, however there was rather more stability in recent times, with a repute because the Segunda Division’s practically males with six finishes between seventh and ninth since they received promotion from the Segunda B in 2015.
With Luis Carrion on the helm and the return of Santi Cazorla including to the feel-good issue on the Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo will likely be rocking this weekend as they try to beat an Eibar facet that additionally is aware of a factor or two in the case of close to misses on this league.
The Basques completed third for the second time in three years with their 4-3 win over the Asturian facet final weekend not sufficient for automated promotion. The play-offs don’t carry completely satisfied recollections for them and so they’ll must brush off the ghosts of current failures in the event that they’re to make it again to the highest flight.
Eibar will not be missing in firepower with their 72-goal return comfortably the perfect within the division and so they’ve rattled in 19 in a six sport successful streak at Ipurua heading into the play-offs.
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