Spain is doing pretty well tactically. In recent years, several coaches from the country of Cervantes have emerged and shined in the four corners of Europe, like Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Xabi Alonso (Bayer Leverkusen) or Michel (Girona). And, although he is a little less known to the general public, Imanol Alguacil is completely legitimate in this list. The Real Sociedad coach has been doing excellent work for several years and has been receiving praise from across the Pyrenees. Facing PSG, he is probably facing the biggest challenge of his young career…
A man of the house
Imanol Alguacil is clearly what you would call a club man. A full-back trained at Real Sociedad during the 1980s before playing with the first team for many years and also defending the colors of clubs like Villarreal and Jaen, he quickly launched a coaching career after his retirement in 2003. And he started at the bottom of the ladder, before taking charge of the club’s U19 teams between 2011 and 2013. He then became assistant to the B team, before becoming coach in 2014. A position where he did an excellent job, and when Real Sociedad looked for a coach in 2018, they bet on giving him the keys to the truck for a few months. At the end of the season, he returned to the B team, before being promoted, and this time permanently, to head of the A in December 2018.
Since then, he has managed to stabilize Real Sociedad at the top of the La Liga table, and for example won the 2020 Copa del Rey (played in 2021, Editor’s note). More than the good results of his team, Imanol Alguacil managed to conquer the fans of the club and fans of Iberian football thanks to the game played by his team. If Girona is a bit stealing the spotlight from the Basques this season, everyone is unanimous in saying that in recent seasons, Real Sociedad was the team that played the best in Spain. All with young people trained at the club. A great game, young players used everywhere and a rather healthy club far from any controversies or scandals; inevitably, the team’s sympathy capital skyrocketed, and that of Imanol Alguacil did the same.
A fan
If he is so appreciated, it is also because any football fan, from Real Sociedad or elsewhere, can identify with him. Even though he had a professional playing career, he had to start from the beginning once his cleats were put away. He got up in the morning to go to work, like everyone else, and went to train the kids in the evening. Until he was finally able to say goodbye to this sales career and be able to devote himself entirely to football. Before being a coach, he is above all a supporter. When his team won the Copa del Rey in 2021, for example, he sang a supporters’ song at a press conference, which amused many people, but which also symbolized his love for the colors of the club he coached.
He also used a video sent by a 14-year-old teenager who was the victim of a serious accident to motivate his troops before a match in 2022. “I have to thank him for his video, for the energy he transmitted to the team and me. Let him know that he was an example for the team. Seeing a kid in these conditions with such energy and surpassing abilities pushed me to show the video to the players. We kiss him”, the coach explained. Behind this image of a friendly and caring man, there is a huge hard worker, who spends hours and hours working on his systems and who demands the same efforts from his players. And he’s also someone who doesn’t keep his tongue in his pocket all the time. Luis Enrique knows this well, since the two men had piqued each other a little by interposed statements in 2022, when the Parisian coached the selection, about Mikel Oyarzabal…
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