Osasuna wants to do another ‘First’ season

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Osasuna and Rayo Vallecano fight to reach the first third league as a revelation team. The rojillos are signing one of the best starts in their history in the First Division, only surpassed by the historic year in which they qualified for the Champions League qualification at the hand of ‘Basque’ Aguirre where, on the ninth day, it was solo leader with 18 points, one more than today. The Navarrese occupy the fifth position just three behind the leader Real Sociedad and tied with their immediate superiors Real Madrid, Sevilla and Atlético de Madrid; although it is true that the three have played one less game.

Osasuna completes its third season in First division; achieving comfortable saves in the two preceding seasons after a promotion to the top flight with a historic Second Division championship. And all of them with Jagoba Arrasate leading the team. This is the first of the keys to success:

CONFIDENCE IN ARRASATE: The idyll between the Biscayan coach and the Navarrese club seems to continue in his fourth season. Faith in Arrasate has been total. It did not even weaken when Osasuna equaled the worst streak in its history in the First Division. It happened last season. The thirteen games without winning left the rojillos in penultimate position in January 2020. It was precisely then that the sports director, Braulio Vázquez, publicly showed his support: “The ship is piloted by the captain who is Jagoba and the crew is the rest. The ship will arrive at port or not, but with the same captain. If we sink, we all sink”, were his words. And patience in those delicate moments had its prize. Osasuna won the following day, precisely against Granada – this Friday’s league rival – and the Navarrese starred in a ‘European’ second round that allowed them to celebrate their permanence with days in advance. Arrasate and his coaching staff, as well as the sports management, end their contract at the end of this season.

Jagoba Arrasate is the captain of this ship called Osasuna.
Jagoba Arrasate is the captain of this ship called Osasuna.Doménech Castelló

STAFF MAINTENANCE: The good performances of Osasuna in recent campaigns have caused that not a few clubs, from LaLiga and abroad, have noticed their players. Some who have been linked to more powerful teams this summer are: David García, Moncayola, Torró or Sergio Herrera, among others, linked to teams such as Betis, Sevilla, Atlético de Madrid or Atalanta. AND Osasuna has not only managed to maintain the block but has strengthened its ties with some of them with important renovations such as the first two or others such as Nacho Vidal, Javi Martínez, etc.

David García is one of the pieces that is giving the best performance.
David García is one of the pieces that is giving the best performance.Dani Fernandez

DEFINED GAME SYSTEM: The thirteen games without winning last season forced Arrasate to look for alternative tactics. The rojillo coach went from his usual 1-4-4-2 to a 1-4-1-4-1. A system that took effect and that has continued from the first day of this championship thanks to the continuity of almost all its important pieces.

HIGH PRESSURE: With Torró as the sole pivot, Osasuna exerts strong pressure on his rival, which makes it difficult for him to play the ball. He does it with the line of four midfielders in which, usually now with Moncayola and Brasanac, they pressure help the center forward to put pressure on the centrals. Something that allows to recover many balls a few meters from the opposite frame and induce the rival to make a mistake. This was the case in the victory against Villarreal in the last league game where the high pressure in the 87th minute allowed a mistake by Mandi in the transfer to his goalkeeper that Chimy Ávila took advantage of.

ATTACKING SIDES: The continuous rises of Nacho Vidal and Manu Sánchez allow Osasuna to attack with at least half a dozen troops. Something that, without going any further, was also evidenced in Villarreal. On this occasion in the first goal when a center to the far post from the right-back went to the left-back who, almost on the baseline, gave head back to the arrival of the defensive pivot in the second wave.

VARIETY OF SCORERS: Osasuna’s way of playing makes it one of the teams with the highest number of scorers in the nine games played. Up to ten footballers have seen a rival door. The forwards do not concentrate the entire percentage since they have scored three of the thirteen achieved to date. There is not a player who stands out in this facet but he is very distributed: Kike García, Roberto Torres and David García add two to one from Manu Sánchez, Torró, Moncayola, Ávila, Javi Martínez, Cote and Íñigo Pérez.

Chimy Ávila scored the winning goal against Villarreal.
Chimy Ávila scored the winning goal against Villarreal.Doménech Castelló

GASOLINE TO THE END: Merit of physical preparation with Sergi Pérez at the helm, Osasuna is a specialist in the last minutes. Not in vain, the Navarrese have added more than half of their points from minute 87. Specifically, the rojillos have added nine of their 17 points from that minute: both goals from Torres and David García, in 91 and 95, came back from the clash in Cádiz on the third day, providing the first victory after two draws at El Sadar in the first two commitments. A goal by Javi Martínez in 88 unbalanced the 2-2 in Mallorca. Manu Sánchez’s goalscoring debut in ’91 gave Osasuna his first home win of the season. It was against Rayo Vallecano just before the last league break. And on the last day, a goal from Chimy Ávila in 87 gave Villarreal victory.

PLENARY AT HOME: Precisely those last minutes of the games have allowed Osasuna to count by victories all his games away from El Sadar: four out of four. The Navarrese are, along with the Napolés of Serie A, the best of the main European leagues in this facet. A spectacular dynamic that contrasts with the numbers at home where they did not reap their first win until the fifth game on the eighth day as they had tied their first two – Espanyol and Celta – and lost the next two – Valencia and Betis-. Another victory, the fourth in a row in the League and second in front of his audience, would balance the balance.

The last to fall away from home was Villarreal.
The last to fall away from home was Villarreal.CARME RIPOLLES

ROJILLO ‘TOURMALET’: Osasuna climbed last Sunday the first mountain of his rugged calendar by winning at the La Cerámica stadium. After Granada, the Navarrese face the candidates for the league title and European positions: Real Madrid, Seville, Real Sociedad and Atlético de Madrid are their next rivals. Osasuna will seek to maintain its solidity and not deflate although, just in case, it already has a good amount of points in its locker.

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