Orlegi’s first months from the strictly sports scene are full of contrasts. On the one hand, Abelardo’s project has earned the credibility and respect of the fans for its competitive ability; but the poor background in the opposite area has led him to a current gray position: after a very mediocre last stretch of the league, the rojiblancos are thirteenth and have just lost (again) in the derby, so the disappointment is double. Of course, he is still alive in the Copa del Rey, where he will face Rayo Vallecano. The sports area is looking for a 9 to remedy the lack of success of its forwards, especially Djuka, the project’s attacking star who only has 2 goals in the league and 1 more in the Cup. The club’s first goals for 2023 are climb the table, get closer to the playoffs and, incidentally, lay the foundations of the new model that Orlegi implements.
The best thing for Sporting is that -from the sports scene- this 2022 is over. Back, a horrible year. Evil. Very bad. So much so that the team was close to falling for the first time in its history to Second B (now First RFEF). The margin achieved by David Gallego in the first ten days of last season (still in 2021) and the reaction with the arrival of Abelardo, with the victory over Girona at El Molinón, were enough to avoid a historic blush. The disappointment, in any case, was enormous. The situation from a more institutional than sporting point of view was marked by changes. The death of José Fernández, who was the club’s largest shareholder for decades, marked a turning point in the entity’s sale process. The sports crisis of the project, the wear and tear of a very hard year and the death of the club’s owner led Javier Fernández to open up for the first time to transfer the majority package to Orlegi Sports. The Mexican group had been close to reaching an agreement to take control of Zaragoza months before. The sale took place in a very particular context: LaLiga’s historic agreement with CVC caused a change of scenery in Sporting’s chances. Months ago, Fernández even went so far as to buy a huge plot (La Marruca) to increase the dimensions of Mareo and carry out a great sports and economic project in the rojiblancas facilities. The plans of the man from Gijón were ruined by the events that followed. The arrival of Orlegi Sports has caused a wave of changes in the entity.
The movements have occurred gradually and at all levels. Orlegi has appointed David Guerra, a journalist with extensive knowledge of marketing and business and well regarded by the group, as CEO. The sports reins are a matter of Gerardo García, a man from Gijón who had been involved in the world of football for years as an agent for the firm You First Sports. They have also made important changes to the Mareo Soccer School, where a major renovation will take place. In any case, Orlegi’s star project is known as “El Molinón 2030”. The Mexican group got involved from the first moment in the race to take Gijón (and all of Asturias) to the 2030 World Cup.
