UD Las Palmas is from the First Division and it’s time to celebrate. The explosion of joy in Gran Canaria last Saturday after the final whistle of the game that the yellow team and Deportivo Alavés drew 0-0, a result that allowed the island team to return to the top flight five years later, was followed by the cavalcade from the Stadium to the Plaza de España for the enjoyment of the fans, the speeches on the stage set up in the emblematic place and the generalized party, which lasted until the wee hours of the morning. For their part, the squad, coaching staff and other club personnel dined at La Marinera, from where many went home and others continued with the celebrations. Yesterday the soccer players extended the festivities with a meal just for them; managers, on their side, have some immediate challenges.
Beyond possible renewals and signings, the starting point of the new 2023-24 project is the signing of Xavi García Pimienta’s new contract. Miguel Ángel Ramírez took it for granted as soon as he found out from Primera that the Barcelonan would continue next season. The technician, for his part, also expressed his intention to continue, so that, as the cliché says, both parties are condemned to understand each other.
The idea of each one, therefore, is the same, that of maintaining the link, something that, on the other hand, they have reiterated in recent months every time they referred to the matter. However, beyond the guarantee of continuity set forth by the yellow president, there are still things to negotiate to definitively close the new agreement.
statements
On Saturday, minutes after achieving the objective and after being blanketed by the players, García Pimienta once again referred to his renewal when he was questioned by her. “I think I’m going to continue. The club wants me to continue and I would love to continue and now it is a matter of both the club and my agents to come to an agreement”, commented the coach in the press room at the Stadium.
Right after that, the one who sat in front of the media in the same places, together with his grandson Hugo, was Miguel Ángel Ramírez, who provided some more information. «The coach knows that we have him to be in First Division. We understand that we believe in a long project for the category, not for a season. We need a long relationship to consolidate this project with people who give us consistency»declared the maximum yellow president.
He therefore hinted that the fringe to close lay basically in a matter of years of contract. While the Catalan wants to sign for a short time, UD wants to do it for more, always according to the president’s version. Therefore, it would not be a question of money, at least according to the testimony of both parties. In any case, the Ramírez sentence suggests an imminent announcement of the renewal of García Pimienta.
It is not for less. The UD coach returned to the team an identity that he had lost for a long time, specifically since Quique Setién left at the end of the 2016-17 season. After him, up to seven coaches arrived and none except Pepe Mel, his predecessor, left their mark. But he did it more for the fact of taking out homegrown players and laying the foundations of what would be the team that would be promoted a year and a half after his dismissal than for a specific style of play.
Last season, García Pimienta’s UD was two steps away from promotion – they were eliminated by CD Tenerife in the playoff semifinals – after completing the best end of the season in their entire history, with nine wins in the last 11 games when in March it looked like a dead team. We only had to wait a year for Las Palmas to make the definitive jump to the highest national category.
Recognizable
He did it in a fair way, although the quality of the Second Division left much to be desired because the five candidates for direct promotion lost countless opportunities to escape as a result of their disabilities. In any case, UD was the second most reliable – Levante, third, had the same points, but in general goalscoring the yellows finished with a better difference in goals for and against – and for that they had a prize.
In some way, UD have once again become recognizable for their way of playing, with possession of the ball, high pressure and advanced defense as flags of a philosophy with which the club has almost always lived well. A merit also from Luis Helguera, renewed for the next three seasons and the one who brought García Pimienta.
Due to all these virtues, together with the good results – the UD with the Catalan coach has added 28 victories, 23 draws and only 11 defeats – both the entity and the coach must understand each other, something that everyone takes for granted. The strategist made it clear since the end of last year, when the team was winter champion, that he wanted to stay, but that it was not the time to talk about his future. The president, on his side, revealed a few weeks ago his intention to renew the coach whether or not the team went up. The time has come to talk and close the deal. It is the immediate priority for the project to start.
2023-05-29 04:42:12
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