Granada

As the football season turns to winter, Europe's big leagues have some familiar names at the top of their tables: Liverpool, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Ajax. Except, of course, in Spain, where Granada—having taken advantage of the postponed Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid—surged ahead of the pack with a 1-0 over Real Betis on Sunday. Theirs is a fairy-tale story that has set the small, historic city buzzing.

"The people in Granada are ecstatic," says Jorge Azcoytia, a journalist with Marca. "The city is covered in the red-and-white colours of the team. Newspapers sold out [Monday] in the kiosks because people realise that history is being made. It's 46 years since Granada was leading the Spanish premier division, during the 1973-74 season.

"A lot of the team's followers have never experienced this before. It's a party for the whole city. Everyone is excited about the team. The last game against Real Betis, the stadium was sold out. Everybody was very happy. It looked like the team had just won a title."

It's only 10 games into the season, so Granada have a long way to go yet—only two points separate them from Real Madrid in sixth position—but already they have racked up 20 points, the same total they mustered from 38 games when they got relegated in 2017. (Bottom-placed Rayo Vallecano got 32 points last season when they went down.)

Granada were in a bad place at the time. Their coach, Tony Adams, a former England team captain from the 1990s, became a laughing stock when a clip of him trying to teach drills but instead looking like he was dancing in a nightclub went viral. 

As Tony Adams becomes the first Granada manager to lose his first 4 games, could his training regime be to blame?https://t.co/vs9mvnh3TI

— Jeremy Vine | Here, on Tiktok, Insta & Facebook (@theJeremyVine) May 6, 2017

Their sporting project was a shambles. More than half their squad—hoovered up from 21 countries across the globe—was on loan. In January 2018, their former, longtime president Quique Pina was arrested as part of an investigation into money laundering from the sale of football players.

Their new Chinese owner, Jiang Lizhang—who bought the club in 2016 and, at 38, is only a few years older than striker Roberto Soldado—took stock and decided on rebuilding the squad predominately around locally sourced players. Now, 15 of the squad are Spanish nationals. Lizhang also took a hands-off approach on the sporting side, letting his directors and coaches do their work.

"Jiang Lizhang has done something interesting," says Rafael Pineda, a journalist with El Pais. "He's in charge of the club's important financial decisions, but for the sporting part, he totally relies on Spanish directors like Antonio Cordon and the coach, Diego Martinez. He doesn't intervene in the football matters of the team.

"As you can imagine, the owner is very happy. The team has given back to Granada's fans the pride they lost and now people really buy into the team, and this transmits to the pitch. It's a team that only invested €7 million in buying players during the summer, but it has managed to become the league-leader.

"It's like the French comic books The Adventures of Asterix. Well, the Gallic village that stands alone is Granada—they're there in their small village resisting, with only a fistful of dollars, an aptitude for work and ilusion [hope, desire]."

The appointment of 38-year-old Martinez—who only ever reached the foothills of Spain's football leagues as a player before retiring prematurely because of injury, according to Pineda—was a key piece of the jigsaw. He took over in the summer of 2018. Extraordinarily, he was the club's 10th manager in two years. He's had an interesting journey since graduating with a sports science degree from Granada's 16th-century university.

Martinez started training teams in his early 20s before being plucked by Sevilla's legendary sporting director Monchi to join the club's coaching staff for several seasons. He then tried and failed as head coach at Osasuna for a season before Granada took a punt on him. It worked.

"Diego Martinez is a little genius. He's the youngest coach in La Liga. Monchi brought him to Sevilla and he did a great job there," says Pineda. "As a trainer, he's very versatile with his tactics. He works with several systems. He tries to teach basic values to his players, such as sacrifice, humility, hard work. He's a good communicator. 

"He thinks about football 24 hours a day. He's always checking on the players. He's a hard worker, who scrapped his way into the elite, because he wasn't a footballer with a good career behind him, but he has this group of players at Granada who are absolutely with him."

Martinez led the team to promotion last season built on the ethics of a tight-knit group. He does bonding exercises like taking the players, coaches and kitman for a day's hiking in Andalusia's Sierra Nevada mountains, says Azcoytia.

The esprit de corps has translated into a water-tight defence that only conceded 28 goals in 42 league games during their promotion campaign last season, and, as Azcoytia points out, they only lost by one goal in each of their nine defeats in all competitions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEdtJscphEs

"Diego Martinez maintained the same block of players from last season who won promotion from the second division," says Aimara G. Gil, a journalist with Diario AS. "The team's very compact. He's maintained this essence in the premier division. The club didn't go overhauling the squad like crazy. They did a few very specific transfers.

"The dressing room is like a tribe. Everyone plays for each other. It's the key to the success of this Granada team. They defend well. They work hard at pressing. He's made them very competitive. They're effective without having star players or the quality that Barca, Real Madrid or Atletico have. They're greater than the sum of their parts."

Soldado, 34, is their most well-known player, a former Spain international who was picked up on a free from Fenerbahce for one last tour of the battlefield, with the belief that he would add to the century of goals he's scored in Spain's top flight. Azcoytia singles out Rui Silva, their young Portuguese goalkeeper, whom he believes is destined to be capped soon at international level, and playmaker Angel Montoro, "the team's brain."

Alvaro Vadillo, who scored the winner against Real Betis—and who also scored in the team's unforgettable 2-0 defeat of Barcelona in September—was a prodigy. He's the youngest player in the history of Real Betis to play in Spain's premier division. He made his debut in 2011 as a 16-year-old but has suffered two career-threatening knee ligament injuries, the first in a clash with Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos at the Bernabeu. Martinez, who picked him up on a free transfer in the summer of 2018, uses him sparingly.

"Vadillo is technically gifted," says Gil. "He's had very bad luck with injuries, but at 25 he now finally has a bit of stability at Granada. He's one of the players with the most quality in the squad. He has to take care of himself or he could be back to square one with another injury. The manager has been careful with him—he's played all the games except one [against Espanyol], but he's only played 90 minutes once [against Valladolid]. He wants to protect him a bit."

Granada have the third-lowest salary budget in Spain's premier division of €35 million, which is about 20 times lower than Barcelona's, and wouldn't cover Leo Messi's wages, but it doesn't stop their fans from keeping Leicester City's improbable English Premier League title win in 2016 in their minds. The two cities are of a similar size. Leicester had never won a league title before. The best Granada have achieved has been a couple of sixth-place finishes in the 1970s (1972 and '74).

"Diego Martinez always repeats the same mantra—that he's only thinking about the next game, and that the team has to get 40 points, more or less, to guarantee their survival," says Azcoytia. "It's the only thing that the players repeatedly say—this objective to maintain their premier division status.

"But it's not so long ago that a team like Leicester City won the English Premier League. The fans here in Granada are excited. They want to keep driving the team on, but realistically the important thing after only returning to the premier division is to stay up."

Who knows? Pineda reckons it could fight for a Europa League place by the end of the season: "As people within the club are saying away from the media's microphones: 'It's free to dream.'"

                      

Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz

Week 23 of the 2016-17 La Liga season started with a bang on Friday, as Granada beat Real Betis 4-1 in a highly entertaining match.

The hosts entered the match as one of the most out-of-form clubs in any of Europe's major leagues but cruised to a 3-0 lead before half-time. Spanish Football Pod couldn't believe it:

Where have this Granada been all season?!

— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) February 17, 2017

There was more drama and spectacle after the break, including an odd incident in which goalscorer and loanee Andreas Pereira was sent off for getting slapped in the face.

Here's a look at the current La Liga standings:

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Real Madrid	20	15	4	1	54	18	+36	49
2	Barcelona	22	14	6	2	61	18	+43	48
3	Sevilla	22	14	4	4	44	28	+16	46
4	Atletico Madrid	22	12	6	4	39	18	+21	42
5	Real Sociedad	22	13	2	7	36	31	+5	41
6	Villarreal	22	9	9	4	29	15	+14	36
7	Athletic Club	22	10	5	7	28	26	+2	35
8	Eibar	22	10	5	7	36	29	+7	35
9	Espanyol	22	8	8	6	30	29	+1	32
10	Celta Vigo	21	9	3	9	33	36	-3	30
11	Las Palmas	22	7	7	8	31	33	-2	28
12	Alaves	22	6	9	7	21	28	-7	27
13	Real Betis	22	6	6	10	22	35	-13	24
14	Malaga	22	5	8	9	29	36	-7	23
15	Valencia	21	5	5	11	29	40	-11	20
16	Deportivo La Coruna	21	4	7	10	26	34	-8	19
17	Leganes	22	4	6	12	15	37	-22	18
18	Sporting Gijon	22	4	4	14	24	43	-19	16
19	Granada	23	3	7	13	21	49	-28	16
20	Osasuna	22	1	7	14	24	49	-25	10

Recap

As shared by Misterchip (English), Granada made La Liga history before the official blew the opening whistle:

Granada is the first team in #LaLiga history to start a match with players of 11 different nationalities.

— MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) February 17, 2017

The visitors were the better side for much of the first half, but Granada were ruthlessly efficient, scoring three very good goals.

First, Mehdi Carcela timed his run to perfection before beating goalkeeper Antonio Adan. Just 10 minutes later, Adrian Ramos added a second goal, heading home from close range.

At that point, Betis still seemed to be alive in the match, with better finishing the difference. Pereira added a third goal before half-time, however, and as shared by Sam Tighe of Bleacher Report UK, the Manchester United man showed great intelligence in converting his chance:

It's actually a really smart piece of play from Pereira. Focuses on staying onside in a situation so many would just lazily drift off.

— Sam Tighe (@stighefootball) February 17, 2017

The spectacle continued after the break, as Ramos doubled his tally in two tries and Petros scored for Real Betis.

In between those two goals, an odd incident took place. Matias Nahuel went looking for trouble after injuring a Granada player, and Pereira quickly intervened, pushing the midfielder away from his team-mate.

Nahuel retaliated with a slap, and the official inexplicably decided to send both players off. Andrew Gaffney of Yahoo Sport UK couldn't believe it:

Andreas Pereira is also sent off.. not quite sure why. He didn’t appear to do a whole lot wrong. #LaLiga #MUFC

— Andrew Gaffney (@GaffneyVLC) February 17, 2017

Granada held on for the win, however, their second in a row at home. The result leaves the team just two points behind Leganes and La Liga survival.

La Liga leaders Real Madrid will host Espanyol on Saturday, and as reported by the club's official website, manager Zinedine Zidane is aware of their solid form, as he said: “Espanyol are a team who have had great results recently. We know that tomorrow will be difficult, but that is how it is going to be every three days and we are focussed.”

Atletico Madrid will be on the road to take on Sporting Gijon, while Barcelona play on Sunday against Leganes.

Barcelona midfielder Sergi Samper completed his move to Granada on a season-long loan on Friday.

Granada's official website noted the transfer had been finalised, landing a player they describe as "the pearl of La Masia."

Although Samper has long been tipped to be a big star at Barcelona, he temporarily leaves the club after failing to live up to his potential.

As a holding midfielder with elegant distribution and strong defensive instincts, it’s only natural he's been compared to Sergio Busquets. Here’s a glimpse into some of his best moments in the iconic Blaugrana jersey:

Given Busquets has shown so much consistency in terms of performance and fitness, Samper never had a prolonged run in the side. Even in the instances when the former missed matches, Javier Mascherano stepped into the holding-midfield berth.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that Samper, now 21 years old, has opted to take his chances away from the Camp Nou for the time being. Indeed, Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez didn’t think the player had enough to oust Busquets without changing his style:

Still really think Samper has to become an interior. With Busquets at the club he won't start a lot. A modern day #4 midfielder.

— . (@xJude22) July 30, 2016

Granada will surely seek to use Samper both at the base of the midfield and in a more advanced position. The youngster, as well as possessing the attributes to be the link between defence and attack, can also carry the ball well, meaning he could flourish as a box-to-box midfielder in the future.

Having been at Barcelona for his entire career, it will take Samper some time to adjust to life under new manager Paco Jemez, you’d suspect. After all, the Catalan club are unique in the way they develop youngsters and the manner in which they play football at all levels.

But in his appearances for Barcelona B and the scattering of outings for the first team, Samper showed a maturity to suggest he’s well capable of adapting to the challenges ahead.

Granada boss Joaquin Caparros solved an age-old problem of dealing with an unsavoury headline. 

In the buildup to Granada's La Liga match with Real Madrid, Spanish publication MARCA (a notoriously pro-Real Madrid entity) published a headline translated by 101 Great Goals with Caparros saying, "I just ask that they don't walk all over us."

Caparros was not amused by the headline, so he ripped the publication to shreds. 

Literally. 

"I could never say these words," he said. "For my deceased father, I don't give anything away to anybody."

His shredding of the paper is far better digested in Vine form.

Muy fan de Caparrós por romper la portada del Marca en RDP. Apoyo al 100 % a todos los que vayan contra ese medio. http://t.co/kM0Fum7ErM

— Reporte Fútbol (@Reporte_Futbol) October 31, 2014

Granada (14th place) face Real Madrid (third place) on Saturday. 

Deportes LD, h/t  101 Great Goals]

Granada CF is the latest team to receive the B/R La Liga BBVA Team of the Week classification. The club received the award secondary to its recent victory over Real Madrid.

The second reason is the club’s illustrious history in Spanish Football.

Granada CF 1-0 Real Madrid

The two teams faced each other on February 2, 2013 at the Estadio Los Carmenes located in Granada. The match was the first one under the guidance of Granada’s new coach, Lucas Alcaraz.

Granada was at a disadvantage against a superior Real Madrid, yet they prevailed. During the match, Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid scored an own goal.

Real Madrid had possession of the ball, but they were disorganized. Granada was able to use this to their advantage, win and postpone the possibility of relegation.

History

The club was founded on April 14, 1931, the same day that Spain became a Republic.

Granada CF were the champions of the second division Group A in 1940/41, 1956/57 and 1967/68. They repeated their success in the second division Group B in 1982/83, 1999/00 and 2009/10.

Granada CF left their mark as champions of the third division in 2003/04 and 2005/06. They were once finalists in the Copa del Generalisimo (now Copa del Rey) in 1959.

During the 1970s, Granada CF were briefly in the First Division. In 2011, Granada CF returned to the First Division after a 35-year absence.

They achieved this feat in their match against Elche, which resulted in a draw. At the present time, Granada CF is in 16th place with 23 points in the 2012/13 La Liga BBVA Table, courtesy of ESPN.

The club currently has six victories, five draws and 11 losses within the current season. The club has 19 goals for and 32 goals against, resulting in a differential of minus-13.

Conclusion

The future of Granada CF under Lucas Alcaraz is only beginning. It remains to be seen whether the club can improve its future with a new manager.

My thanks to the B/R readers for their time in reading about the latest club selected to be the La Liga BBVA team of the week.