Shielding El Molinón is a non-negotiable in Abelardo’s philosophy. Pitu’s career shows how strength at home has been one of the keys to his success on the bench. The good start of this season in the municipal Gijón (4-1 against Andorra) continues an enviable trajectory. As a local he has a 70% win rate and has only lost two games of the 27 he has directed so far in the Second Division. Burgos arrives on Saturday and yesterday a new conspiracy began over a slow fire. The squad held a barbecue at Mareo, which arose at the initiative of Gio Zarfino, in which the Uruguayan served as chef and, together with the Argentine Cali Izquierdoz, showed his skill with the barbecue. As guests, in addition to the staff, David Guerra, executive president; Gerardo García and sports director, as well as employees and assistants linked to the first team.
Four points out of six possible and a game idea that is beginning to take hold. Sporting is taking shape. To the change of ownership and, consequently, of almost every structure, we must also add the arrival of nine reinforcements. There are still Micevic and the expected striker to join. Abelardo has been fitting the pieces to build something similar to what was seen in his previous stage. The same in which, in the Second Division, they only lost to Betis -the season of the rise of the guajes- and the Las Palmas Sports Union -last May-. It would be necessary to add one more defeat, precisely against the canaries, if the promotion promotion that the rojiblancos played in the 2013-14 campaign were taken into account.
The victory against Andorra became number 19 of this particular statistic, which raises the win rate to 70% with Pitu at the helm -always speaking of the silver division-. The good functioning of a group in which two new leaders are beginning to appear: Izquierdoz and Zarfino are helping this. The image of the template around a barbecue goes a lot with them. The Uruguayan, in addition to the promoter, was one of the first to stir up the coals and take charge of putting the meat on the grill. It had been a long time since there had been a meeting of this type within the facilities and in full view of the whole world. Before, during Preciado’s time on the bench, there was one with a certain frequency.
Izquierdoz comes from leading a complex group as is always a great as Boca Juniors. In Gijón, the central defender has not only become a fixture, he has also scored, precisely against Andorra. Something that, after dedicating it looking at the sky, he ended up celebrating with the bench. Specifically, hugging Mario Cotelo, with whom he has a good relationship. To all this we must add his past linked to the Orlegi Group, having been a Santos Laguna footballer. He knows perfectly what new owners are looking for on and off the field.
In the case of Zarfino, his competitive nature has forced Sporting’s talented midfield to take another step. An objective that Sporitng also pursued in the market, that of increasing competition between Pedro, Gragera, Christian Rivera and Nacho Méndez. He became the starter last matchday and it remains to be seen if he will repeat against Burgos. The game will be different from last day. Sporting will be obliged to have more of the ball against an opponent who is also a counterattacker. What will continue to be non-negotiable for Abelardo will be the courage to defend the importance of El Molinón with fire.
