It all started with the famous individual mistakes from a couple of months ago that seemed like they weren’t for a headache. The alarms did not go off. The sick man did not worry. Now, a few games later, it has taken a good tumble to show that this Elche is KO Unfortunately, Betis was Kiko Martínez and Elche, his Elche, was Kid Galahad, knocked out on the canvas in just half an hour.
At that time, the franjiverdes gave the worst feeling one can remember. Surely because they are not well. Perhaps because, on top of that, they had a very good rival in front of them, with a lot of quality and with a clear idea of the game. Three goals, somewhat annulled and a save by Edgar Badia was the summary of the gloomy first third of the match in Elche. After each blow there was not a single attempt to react. More hits. More anxiety. Until finally Elche fell to the canvas, surrendered to a much superior Betis.
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The end of Escribá. Fran Escribá decided to vary the slate little with respect to the Mallorca match. He sat down Fidel to put Josan in, which gave him the option of varying the system from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2 depending on the phase of the match in which he was. The reality is that there was only one proposal, the one that Betis ordered and before which Elche could not or knew how to do nothing. Neither the players nor their coach. Gumbau left Raúl Guti on the bench and neither knew how to read what it was necessary to do at all times nor physically could he beat the midfielders who yesterday wore blue. The defenses looked like “six hundred” to the Betic planes. And even Mojica and Boyé were infected with the general pessimism. The Colombian erred again in a pass that ended at 0-1. And the Argentine, on the edge of the break, could not finish the only glimpse of quality that Elche was able to show amid so much darkness. Nor did he see a door in a heads up. It wasn’t the day. Not even for him.
Escribá did not use his pristine service record in the past to save the present situation. Bragarnik did not want to think about it, although he had already suspected the option of changing coach for some time. The first half hour of the team against Betis gave him enough reasons not to wait any longer. He had an hour to think about how to tell Escribá that his love was over. In your case, not so much use. The dismissal, painful for all those who have experienced the successes of Escribá as Elche coach, is still just another executive decision for someone who bought a company almost two years ago and who vaguely recalls the “Elche de los records” of the 2012/13. This is football. The sentiment is for the hobbyist. Owners are guided by today’s results, not tomorrow’s or yesterday’s. And Bragarnik acted as owner more than ever. Time will give (or take away) the reason.
And now that? That is what the Elche fan should be wondering right now. Without Escribá, what will come. Or rather, who. Bragarnik has had at his command the two best coaches in the recent history of the club (Pacheta and Escribá) and a personal bet that came out frog (Jorge Almirón). In the market for unemployed technicians, there is an Argentine possibility, that of Hernán Crespo, which draws powerfully attention, since he is a man close to the owner of Elche. In Spain there are other options with more experience and weight in the League.
Without Escribá in office it is clear that Bragarnik’s media exposure returns to the first order. Although that is something that the Argentine has never cared too much about. He feels comfortable working in the shadows, no matter how much people talk about him, in the media, on the street and in the stands. It is clear that it is easier to change to one than to 25, although that one has a record in the club infinitely superior to that of the other 25. But Bragarnik, a soccer man, knows that he has made a decision of weight and depth. Even more so with the messages (direct to the chin) that Escribá left in his farewell. It is up to the owner to find the ideal man to manage this situation and build an identity with the staff he has. And, after firing someone from Escribá’s profile (defensive), everything indicates that a coach should arrive to express the quality that, by name, Elche has on its payroll.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.