WTF?, Or: Chaos at Zaragoza

By: Martha | January 23rd, 2008

Just over a week ago, Real Zaragoza put former player and then-youth team coach Ander Garitano in charge of the righting the proverbial ship, after the the resignation of Victor Fernandez, who left the team 12th in the La Liga table, and without a win in nine matches. The 39-year-old took the job full of optimism, saying that, despite his inexperience, “I don’t have the slightest doubt that I am capable of taking over.” And, based on his first match in charge, Garitano was right: His team beat Murcia while only conceding one goal, a step in the right direction for the second-worst defensive team in the league. But, less than 48 hours after that win, Garitano resigned, describing himself as “not strong enough” for the position.

Wow. There have been rumors in the press that Garitano’s resignation stemmed from a row with club officials over transfer policy, but he insists his decision was strictly personal and, based on the agonizing frankness of his words, it’s hard not to believe him.

“I am not going to continue as I am not with the spirit. I have an important cause which prevents me from being manager and I hope that you respect it. … I do not see myself psychologically tough enough to confront the challenge. I prefer that another person comes in because the team needs someone who can psychologically give them one hundred percent.”

Call me a sucker, but that doesn’t sound good — it reminds me of when Cesare Prandelli resigned from the Roma bench without coaching a game because of “family problems.” He was pilloried in the press, until it was discovered that his wife was dealing with a fatal illness — hopefully Garitano’s “important cause” is something much less severe.

Barely pausing to take a breath, meanwhile, Zaragoza quickly announced the hiring of Javier Irureta for the rest of the season; he’ll be formally introduced to the press today. Though he’s been out of football since leaving Real Betis two years ago, Irureta has buckets of experience in La Liga, including seven very successful season with Deportivo La Coruña, and he’ll need every bit of it to sort of Zaragoza’s sieve-like defense.