Jose Bordalas turns water into wine as Getafe and Osasuna celebrate in La Liga finale
· Yahoo Sports
Getafe 1-0 Osasuna
Neither Getafe nor Osasuna expected to be in the position they came into in the final game of the season, with the former in control of their own destiny to reach the Conference League. Osasuna manager Alessio Lisci even admitted that he was caught out by Los Rojillo being involved in the five-team scramble for the last three spots in La Liga on the final day of the season. Both sides knew there was a high chance that only one of them would be celebrating come the final whistle though.
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Osasuna certainly began the happier, with early set-pieces applying the pressure, and Raul Garcia de Haro escaping in behind for the first chance, following a brilliant take and ball over his back and the defence, David Soria was equal to the shot. As Los Azulones so often do though, they manage to take a fire extinguisher to any momentum that was being built.
Like two boxers practicing their footwork, neither got close enough to the other to throw a punch that could connect for the rest of the opening period. Whether conscious or not, results elsewhere were keeping Getafe in their Conference League spot, and Osasuna in La Liga, and the half-time whistle went, a goal felt like an impossible outcome.
Getafe: A side that enjoys defending
The start of the second half seemed to be following a similar pattern, but as the hour-mark arrived, Getafe struck from nowhere. After Mauro Arambarri failed to get a shot off on the edge of the box, Luis Milla made sure he did, and Alejandro Catena’s deflection made sure that Sergio Herrera could get nowhere near it. In what is likely to be his final game at the club, ‘Milla, stay’ rang out after the initial wild celebrations.
With 20 minutes to go, Osasuna were still above the drop zone, but Los Rojillo were duty-bound to seek an equaliser. Lisci became more and more irate though as he watched his side fail to find rhythm, or even force the home side back on a territorial basis. Meanwhile Getafe fans grew increasingly excited as spaces began to appear on the break.
Into the final ten minutes, and Osasuna still showed no sign of troubling Soria, as Getafe read their every intention. The highlight was a last-ditch challenge from Enzo Boyomo on Arambarri. That finally seemed to wake Osasuna, with Javi Galan curling a cross in for Asier Osambela to power home. Now Soria was alert.
Los Rojillo did have the ball in the net from a quick free-kick, pulled back by the referee, but finally signs of desperation were on show. Garcia de Haro curled a free-kick over with three minutes to go, and the reaction of the Getafe crowd betrayed the tension. Their side were just moments away from Europe. By this point Rayo Vallecano had taken the lead against Alaves, meaning an Osasuna goal would bring that dream crashing down.
The defining image was of Allan Nyom though. The 38-year-old has been, along with Djene Dakonam, perhaps the most loyal soldier of manager Jose Bordalas. He has spent five of the last seven years at Getafe, and when Bordalas returned, he instigated his signing. Osasuna had finally found some pressure, with Garcia de Haro finding another header to trouble Soria, but their best opening came when Ante Budimir was released one-on-one with Nyom. Getting a challenge in, drawing the foul, he sprung to his feet, and gripped the ball like a maniac, roaring to the crowd. And the crowd roared back.
Often Bordalas has praised Nyom publicly, and in days to come, he may well show those images as It might be the very image that Bordalas shows to induct others into his methods. That and the results. Los Azulones are back in Europe for the first time in six years, since the pandemic, but under painful limitations. Already he had referred to just surviving as a miracle. That time they finished 5th and went to the Europa League, but under the circumstances, Bordalas may deem this his most skilled masterpiece. Starting the season with just 13 players, they finished it with thousands of fans on their pitch, hoarse as they screamed ‘Bordalas, I love you’.
Somewhere in the melee, the Osasuna players managed their own bouncy celebrations. Minutes after they had been given confirmation that other results had kept them in La Liga. Rarely does everyone get a happy ending, but maybe theirs was more relief. In Getafe, the party will continue long into the night.