Javier Aguirre orders Valencia to switch dugouts at Mestalla

Javier Aguirre has ordered Valencia to switch dugouts at Mestalla, breaking a tradition ahead of Saturday’s fixture against Athletic Club, Tribuna Deportiva reported.

The manager requested that the home side abandon the left-hand dugout, viewed from the Tribuna stand, which the club has occupied since the stadium opened in 1923. Valencia will instead use the right-hand bench. Both dugouts possess identical dimensions and seating capacities, meaning the alteration stems from managerial preference rather than functional necessity. Aguirre implemented an identical switch during his tenure at Mallorca at Son Moix.

Logistical Roots of a Setup

For generations, the home team’s technical area remained fixed on the left side due to straightforward stadium logistics. The primary locker rooms sit directly beneath the Tribuna stand on that side, creating a natural pathway for players and staff to step onto the turf without crossing paths with visiting personnel. Vicente Guillot, born in 1941 and a first-team player from 1959 to 1970, confirmed that the left-hand bench was already the established home dugout during his era and he did not remember it ever changing.

Longtime club employees, historians, and journalists consulted by AS could not recall a single match where Valencia utilized the opposite bench at the venue. Even when the Spanish national team played at Mestalla as the designated home side, they occupied the left-hand technical area.

Superstition, Strategy, and Precedent

While El Desmarque highlighted the move as a personal superstition for the 67-year-old coach, others pointed out several potential tactical advantages. Operating from the right bench places the home manager closer to the assistant referee assigned to that touchline, removes the opposing manager from immediate earshot, or offers comfort to the coach, who viewed the pitch from that same side during his 11 career visits to Mestalla as a visiting coach.

Precedents exist. Luis García Plaza requested a comparable bench relocation upon taking charge at Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium, a configuration that Carlos Bilardo later reversed the following season. Víctor Espárrago also promoted a modification of this type at the same venue years earlier.

The adjustment also creates a logistical puzzle regarding one of Mestalla’s modern tributes. Since the passing of legendary kit man Bernardo España, “Españeta,” his traditional esparto-grass chair has been stationed next to the home dugout on the left side, which will now house Athletic Club on Saturday.

Stakes on the Pitch and the Future of the Venue

The decision arrives as Valencia navigates a turbulent sporting period, seeking a spark under their new manager following an opening draw in Santander, as detailed by El Desmarque. Every fixture at the ground carries added emotional weight as the club counts down the final months at Mestalla, though the club’s intention was to maintain the home bench on the left side at the Nou Mestalla.

Whether that design preference holds permanent depends on the manager’s tenure. Aguirre has a contract running only through June 30.

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