That somersault of Rodri before a Tartiere in ecstasy was not so much a cry of euphoria as of liberation. Because the victory of Oviedo, March 1, 2020, allowed the blues to raise their heads and not sink into the mud. He was the second birth of Ziganda in the blue club, Cuco was euphoric in the band as rarely seen, and served to warn that the coach was good at hot duels, the finals. Now that Oviedo is preparing for a to be or not to be in Las Palmas, the coach’s accurate hand at key moments is one of the Blues’ trump cards.
that end of the campaign 2019/20 showed an agile Oviedo as he advanced along the wire. And the coach, with duende in the games with more pressure. As he demonstrated in El Molinón, matchday 34.ª. Ziganda formed with Ibra and Rodri up front, leaving Ortuño and Borja on the bench, in a surprising decision. Oviedo won 0-1: Borja’s goal to Ortuño’s pass. A magic trick with a round ending.
The formula was similar in Zaragoza, penultimate day. Ortuño and Borja were substitutes again, the blues won 2-4 and the substitutes sentenced when they had the opportunity. That dangerous chapter for Oviedo closed on matchday 41, a 1-0 win against Racing with a goal from Obeng. For Ziganda, he recognized it on Monday, the most important clash since he has been in the blue club. There the permanence was closed.
Last campaign, 2020/21, somewhat bland due to the covid and the irregular blue trajectory, did have the most spicy duels in the Asturian derbies. The Ziganda slate prevailed on both occasions. At the Tartiere, with a penalty from Tejera. In Gijón, with a leading role for Diegui, the striking bet of Cuco that afternoon. Another rabbit from his hat.
That same campaign, the carbayones had left with the spoils of their visit to Las Palmas. They arrived there in an uncomfortable situation, matchday 10, in relegation after having lost at home against Logroñés. With the technician questioned, the blues signed one of their best performances of the course. The 1-2 victory, Nahuel’s double, showed a firm and sharp team with spaces.
In this course, 2021/22, Ziganda has gotten used to overcoming extreme situations. In Ponferrada, for example, when he arrived touched after the bad blue dynamic. He won 1-2. In Burgos he also smiled (0-1) when the team seemed to hesitate. And there is the victory in Cartagena, that 1-2 that dissipated the tremor away from home and put the team in the play-offs. The Molinón served to certify (0-1) that Oviedo del Cuco is doing well.
Now, Ziganda plans the most special week since directing the Carbayona ship. It is true that he does not have the significance of that epilogue of 2019/20; fighting for salvation includes larger doses of drama. But the appointment offers a unique opportunity, the one for which Oviedismo has been waiting for 20 years: to win the possibility of fighting to return to the First Division. The promised land. And Ziganda wants to collect another final on his glossy resume.
