Elche: Fearless & Fun

Elche have been one of the stories of the season with their refreshing style and lack of fear in LaLiga regardless of who they play.

On Sunday, Elche ran riot over Girona winning 3-0, pressing the Catalan side into submission. Girona were not so long ago once everything Elche are now, that newly promoted side playing mesmerising football with a charismatic coach who you can’t help but like.

Now Girona are in the battle to stay up while Elche have come up showing you don’t have to bore your way to survival in much the same vein as Girona did in 22/23.

The Alicante side defend through control of the ball and the tempo of the game not allowing their opponents to dictate the game. Elche rank third for average possession in LaLiga with only Barcelona and Real Madrid averaging more than their 58.9%.

For those of us who love LaLiga it’s become part of the weekend routine to ensure you tune in for an Elche game, for myself having been bigging them up since last season due to being a Segunda anorak it feels like welcoming people to a secret club only a few have the pleasure of knowing about.

Many clubs coming up a division either play conservatively and hope to grind their way to safety or stick to their principles and end up barely making double digits in points for the season.

Elche though are something different, they’ve been a breath of fresh air playing fearless yet controlled football. They’ve stuck to their principles but not to the detriment of points with the Alicante club having picked up a solid 19 points from 15 games.

Elche could have had more points as well, they were the better side against Real Madrid but had to settle for a draw, they dominated Real Sociedad and Athletic in draws against them as well.

The man behind their rise and style is Eder Sarabia, the son of former Athletic player Manuel Sarabia.

I wrote late last season when Elche clinched promotion about the background of Sarabia and Elche and how they’d clicked but this season with eyes on them they’ve been one of the most impressive sides in LaLiga.

Elche don’t have a star, they have good players but their strength is down to how well the team is drilled. Julian Calero the former Levante coach said of Sarabia last season that no coach has more of an effect on their team tactically than Sarabia.

Players like Aleix Febas have gone from being relegated to the third tier with Malaga to one of the best midfielders in LaLiga topping the charts for fouls against and scoring amongst the highest in Europe’s top 5 leagues for progressive carries.

A campaign has even started for Febas to be called up to the Spanish national team so good has his form been since coming up to LaLiga.

Alvaro Nunez was signed from Amorebieta on a free transfer who had been relegated to the third tier and he’s become alongside Febas one of the most eye catching and dynamic midfielders in Spain.

David Affengruber has made the step up effortlessly from Segunda to LaLiga and his ability to control the tempo of the game and progress Elche from defence is a crucial cog in the teams dynamic. I am no Austrian football expert but the fact he’s not a regular in the Austrian national team seems a miss.

Even Rafa Mir who appeared on a downward trend has appeared revitalised under Sarabia with six goals although he still has a legal case hanging over him for sexual assualt.

Elche are doing this without spending big money, in the annual squad cost limits only Sevilla and Levante both clubs in financial difficulties have a smaller budget and in reality Sevilla will be spending more money. In the summer they sold two of their key midfielders to raise money and Jose Salinas their first choice left back left for Espanyol on a free.

While Elche like to dominate the ball it’s far from the Tiki Taka stereotype, they use it not only to control opponents but to attack fast and vertically stretching teams in their 5-3-2 formation.

The level of tactical acumen Sarabia has is shown in how Elche effortlessly change starting elevens without much of an impact in terms of style of play or performance. Sarabia is one of the only coaches who rotates his goalkeepers based on the opponents they face.

Sarabia is also astute to not always look to dominate possession, in games such as against Atletico and Real Madrid his side have given up the ball and adjusted their style while not sitting back.

When things have gone wrong at Elche in the past, the Martinez Valero has felt a tough place to play with large swathes of empty seats and frustration directed at the pitch but under Sarabia its been a fortress with Elche having yet to taste defeat in the top flight at home.

The atmosphere is one of the best in LaLiga right now with the average attendance jumping up to over 27,000, the last time the club were in the top flight that average was just under 20,000.

Both Levante and Real Oviedo have come up trying to contain opponents and both have already dispensed with their coaches with Real Oviedo rumoured to be close to getting rid of Luis Carrion coach number two.

Both sides sit in the bottom three right now having picked up a combined 19 points the same as Elche have got in ninth.

Typically clubs coming up have just tried to grind their way to safety with clubs such as Cadiz having less than 20% possession at times and aiming for clean sheets.

Last season two of the promoted three went down with Espanyol surviving on the final day, while Leganes played bravely in going down, Real Valladolid were completely blown away while offering little going forward picking up just 16 points and conceding 90 goals.

Elche from the off haven’t looked close to being dragged into the battle to stay up. European football certainly seems a stretch and there have been times where their style has been picked off but mid-table looks a solid goal.

The only worry Elche have is keeping hold of Sarabia, having grown up in Bilbao as an Athletic fan and with election year coming up at San Mames many have linked the coach to the managerial role expected to come up at the end of the season with Ernesto Valverde’s contract running out.

Whether his style would mesh with a club such as Athletic who have historically played a more English style of play with physicality and work rate around Basque players appreciated more than the style Sarabia would implement.

Sarabia and his controlled yet exciting possession based style feels ready made for a big club and having been able to turn players relegated to the third tier into established LaLiga players it feels like the sky is the limit for the talented Basque coach.