After twenty-six matches, Claudio Giráldez returns to square one: the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium. Established as Celta coach, he boasts enviable statistics and declares ambition for a team that appears firmly in the comfort zone of the table and eager to achieve more.
The Porriño native’s story began with a victory at the Sánchez Pizjuán, and since then he has won more than he has lost, which is rare these days for a team like Celta. Sevilla, his first victim, will be the eighth team he faces for the second time during his short tenure in La Liga. So far, Las Palmas have been a favored rival with two victories, accumulating four points against Betis and Valencia, while obtaining a victory and a defeat against Alavés, Villarreal and Athletic. Currently, their Achilles heel is Atlético Madrid, who beat them in both matches by a slim margin.
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In these nine months since his debut on March 17, Claudio Giráldez has built an author’s team, full of local talent, reclaiming the DNA of Celta and earning unanimous credit from all sections of the club and the footballing community in the broad sense. During his previous visit to Seville he arrived with the label of emergency coach for ten matches, and today he returns renewed and with authority.
“It’s a great game for us to go back to where it all began, especially considering how special this day was,” said the Porriño native about his debut. Giráldez also believes his philosophy has taken root: “I think it’s important, when you walk into a place, to make it clear how you feel, who you are, and what you we want the team to be. And I think the team has accepted this very well; we have, both last year and this year, a very healthy locker room, with the idea of contributing, of helping each other, and above all, to believe in what we I’ve felt this way since day one.”
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Throughout this journey, he equipped the team with a strong force in Balaídos, supported by a dedicated fan base, but the team lacked consistency away from home. Since this return to the Nervión stadium, Celta have only won two other away victories: last season in Granada, achieving a mathematical survival, and this season in Las Palmas, on a day where they finished with nine players. “I think it will be a different battle, a different match, with performances very characteristic of what Sevilla is this year, in a setting that I believe will evoke good memories, which is positive to play a match at the “outside considering what happened this season,” commented the coach.
This afternoon, as he steps onto a familiar lawn, a test awaits him. One of many in a footballing world predicting a long career on the bench.
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