The first round in Second B, with the new format, a ‘guillotine’ of coaches

This season Second Division B is crazy. Until now, except for very specific changes for reasons of adjusting the number of teams, in recent history the category had always been divided into four groups of 20 teams each. With the pandemic and the stoppage of the last quarantine campaign, the Spanish Football Federation decided to increase the number of teams from 80 to 102, with five groups, divided into two subgroups each and several phases to play.

With this new distribution, which we explain in Diario As at the beginning of the season, and with the illusion of all the teams to be part of what will be the First RFEF or stay at least in the current one (it will be the Second RFEF), the demand is maximum.

What does it translate into? Where does the scale tip when a team sets an ambitious goal and is not competing accordingly? Indeed, towards the coach. And this campaign that rises to the maximum power. Up to 22 coach changes have occurred so far this year (with the first round of the first phase finished), not counting interim, and ten of them even in this first month of 2021.

The earliest, for suffering below or falling from above

No matter the objective, no matter the position, no matter the budget. The competition rules and a slight deviation in terms of points, coupled with bad results or bad feelings has a consequence: the change of coach is assured.

The first team that had to go to the technical market was CD Badajoz, that even before starting he was left without a coach for the march of Munitis. After a first match by José María Cidoncha as interim, Fernando Estévez arrived.

On the high side, four sets were not meeting expectations. After matchday 5, Extremadura replaced Manuel Mosquera with José Antonio Ruiz, who happened to be replaced again by Mosquera a few days later. After matchday 6, Pablo Alfaro (by Juan Sabas) and Iñigo Idiakez (by David Cabello) arrived at Córdoba and Cultural Leonesa. And finally Racing Santander, before the end of the year, signed Aritz Solabarrieta by Javi Rozada.

In the lower zone, SD Ejea bet after matchday 4 for Javi Moreno instead of Jaime Molina, and on that same day Iván Helguera was fired from Las Rozas, who signed Manolo Cano. After matchday 5, a classic in this change of coach, Salamanca UDS, kicked Sergio Egea, left Rafa Dueñas a few days as interim, and bet after day 8 for Lolo Escobar.

Finally, the dismissal of the year 2020 closed, after the eighth day too, andl Atlético Levante changing Luis Tevenet by Alessio Lisci, Lorca Deportivo throwing Iban Urbano to sign Juan José Asensio, and the Barakaldo with the signature of Germán Beltrán by Aitor Larrazabal.

The start of 2021, a carousel of coach changes

The first three months of competition were only an appetizer of what has come in this month of January 2021. Between the end of the short first round and the start of a decisive second in this first phase, there have been many (ten) teams that have opted to play their last bullet before the next.

The most surprising thing is that they have seemed to agree on the coincidence of days. After Christmas and a first week of trial and error, on Monday, January 11, everything exploded. The ex-footballer from Cádiz or Betis, Oli, he left his post in the Marino de Luanco, being replaced by Manel Menéndez. AND Deportivo de la Coruña fired Fernando Vázquez, betting on Rubén de la Barrera.

The next day, on January 12, it was Melilla that announced the departure of Aloisio, being replaced by Ángel Viadero. A week later, there were four changes. On January 17, Numancia dismissed Manix Mandiola in exchange for Álex Huerta, and on January 18 Andorra did the same with Nacho Castro by Eder Sarabia and the Portugalete too with Ezequiel Loza by Asier Santana.

The last to fall were Pablo Álvarez, in the Izarra, on January 19, the one who was the youngest coach of First, Second and Second B, with 26 years. Tito García Sanjuán, on the CD El Ejido, January 22. Claudio Barragán, at Recreativo de Huelva, January 24. AND David Cubillo in the Hercules January 25.

What has changed compared to last season?

If we put a limit on the first eleven days and we wonder how was the situation on the benches of Second B after the eleventh, that is, in order to face the twelfth, there had been 14 dismissals (not counting interim) or changes of coach. That is to say, there has been an increase this season.

The technicians who left their position free after eleven days were Enrique Martín (Córdoba CF), Rozada (Oviedo Vetusta), Luis Miguel Areda (Pontevedra), Manolo Cano (San Sebastián de los Reyes), Víctor Cea (Melilla), Estévez (Burgos), Unai Jáuregui (Izarra), Roberto Aguirre ( Unionistas), Pablo Cortés (Salamanca), Planagumà (Hercules), Juan Manuel Pons (Badalona), Miguel Ángel Villafaina (Orihuela), Santi Amaro (Mérida) and Rubén Albés (UCAM Murcia).

Without being able to know what would have happened if the competition for the pandemic had not stopped, in total there were 42 actual changes (no interns) of coaches. 31 sets from the 80s finished the season with a different coach. At the end of the season, a comparison can be made with this total figure and the final incidence of the format can be seen, although just look at the dismissals in the First and Second Division to see that this year in general is being different.