REAL Madrid against Granada on Saturday afternoon is an unlikely top of the La Liga table clash, which shows just how quickly things can change in Spanish football.
Zinedine Zidane’s side have had a rollercoaster start to the 2019/20 campaign, but so have title rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, meaning last weekend’s ‘derbi’ draw at Atletico was enough to keep the domestically unbeaten Los Blancos top of the early Primera Division table.
The standout shock result so far has been newly promoted Granada’s 2-0 victory over Barca in mid-September, when Diego Martinez’s cleverly organised side were full value for their victory. The last few weeks have also seen impressive away wins for the newly promoted Andalusians at Espanyol and Celta Vigo, and they also scored four times at Villarreal on opening day. So Martinez's side will go to the Bernabeu second in the table and confident of springing another shock.
Real Madrid vs. Granada this weekend is, incredibly, a top-of-the-table clash after 7 games.
Found my ticket to the game that made me fall for Granada back in 2016: A 5-1 win ft. Abdoulaye Doucouré, Isaac Success, Adalberto Peñaranda + more.
❤️ #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/st5AidzOOO
— Sam Tighe (@stighefootball) September 30, 2019
Granada's last meeting with Madrid, in May 2017, came in very different circumstances. Los Blancos cantered to a 4-0 victory at the Estadio Nuevo Carmenes, while closing on their last La Liga title. Opposite Zidane on the benches that evening was Tony Adams, who lost all seven of his games as ‘interim manager’ while a woefully ill-prepared team finished bottom.
Former England international Adams had arrived at Granada earlier that season as an advisor to the club’s Chinese president John Jiang. He then became the team's fourth head coach of a horrorshow season, which saw 39 players from 21 different countries used over the 38 games.
“We will learn from our mistakes in order to move forward with more strength,” Jiang told supporters in May 2017 when relegation was confirmed. “I’ve described it as a man dying, and you’ve got to go and hold their hand,” Adams more colourfully put it a few weeks later.
The former England international has not been seen since around Los Carmenes, but the merry-go-round continued. Jose Luis Oltra, Pedro Morilla and Miguel Angel Portugal all had spells on the bench as the team finished 10th in the 2017/18 Segunda Division, with 29 players either coming or going.
Off the pitch, Jiang quite wisely decided to turn to more experienced operators in Spanish football. His advisors now include ex-Atletico Madrid adviser Ignacio Aguillo and former Villarreal executive Antonio Cordon, and over time a more rational approach to recruitment has prevailed.
Whoever had the idea to appoint Martinez in summer 2018, as the eighth coach of Jiang’s time in charge, has presumably been well-rewarded. On Celta Vigo’s books as a youngster, the Galician turned to coaching aged just 20, and got his big break when recruited by Sevilla sporting director Monchi in 2009.
Not hearing enough praise for Diego Martínez on Twitter. The current Granada manager led Granada to automatic promotion no player having more than 10 goals. The 38 year-old manager’s teams are centered on the TEAM and NOT a single player.
— Kevoni (@Sevilla4Life) September 21, 2019
After gaining experience in various background roles at the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan, Martinez made a more public splash when guiding Sevilla’s B team to promotion to the Segunda in 2016. After an okay year at Osasuna he was headhunted by Granada, and got them promoted in his first season in charge.
The Primera’s youngest coach, who turns 39 later this month, has stuck to the core of last year’s promoted team. Captain from full-back Victor Diaz and talented midfielders Angel Montoro and Antonio Puertas all arrived as free transfers and are now proving themselves now in their first top flight seasons. The biggest name arrival last summer was 34-year-old Roberto Soldado, brought back to Spain from Fenerbahce to add experience and nous from centre-forward.
Nobody expected Martinez’s team to have such a stunning start to 2019/20, especially after more turmoil last summer when La Liga intervened to drop their salary limit to €35.5m, the third lowest in the division. Amid the confusion, Jiang even felt the need to deny rumours that he was close to selling the club. But Martinez kept his head and his team are now the sensation of the new Spanish season.
Jiang’s conglomerate currently has a long-term plan called ‘HOPE 2030’ for its five clubs – Italians Parma, Portuguese CD Tondela and Chinese outfits Chongqing Lifan and Shanghai Sunfun. His mission remains to “unite Chinese and world football”. And presumably for all involved to make some cash along the way too.
A victory at the Bernabeu on Saturday could be another important step in that project. Granada have only won once in 23 past visits, back in 1974. But given their dramatic death and unlikely resurrection over recent years, nothing looks impossible for Martinez and his players.
