“Boring” Getafe entertain their audience at the Coliseum with center-forwards overloading the channel and wing area

“Defensive”, “Boring”, “Stone-age football”. Labels, labels, labels. It’s easy to talk the talk. How about “Effective” ? That’s a nice one.

Getafe’s rise is ethereal. You look at the team sheet, and you find Damian Suarez and Allan Nyom. Names that are probably past the 2019–20 footballing train. Then you look at the table, you find them 3rd. Ahead of Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and this week’s opponent Valencia.

Jose Bordalas took Getafe from bottom of Segunda (Spanish second division) to 3rd in La Liga with a bunch of players you would only find in a relegation quiz on Sporcle. All the 1s and 0s forming characters in an online article wouldn’t do them enough favor. However, if there’s one person who summarized their rise beautifully, it would be Sid Lowe.

As Sid elaborates, “They didn’t just defeat Valencia, they took them to pieces; in doing so, they took the cliches to pieces too.” The 3–0 scoreline could have been four or five, while still neutralizing Valencia.

Perhaps you see last decade’s Atletico Madrid in them. Compact, tough to play and most important of all, effective. Getafe’s intense pressing denied Valencia any form of build with Nemanja Maksimovic and Mauro Arambarri man-marking Dani Parejo and Geoffery Kondogbia aggressively. As well as using the opposite winger in the midfield press by moving Nyom inside when the ball is on the other side. Something akin to Southampton’s pressing scheme, but not entirely identical.

The result was that Jaume Domenech played most, if not all of his goal kicks high up the pitch. Ready for them was Getafe’s defence who were well positioned outside of the box to meet these long punts from the Valencia goal-keeper. Getafe’s vertical compactness squeezed the Valenica players in the mincer. That’s all of the “boring” stuff people talk about. Yeah, “BoRiNg”.

So where did the 3.18 xG come from ? From being effective. Offensively, Bordalas used Jaime Mata and Jorge Molina to overload the channel and wing area. Dragging Valencia’s center-backs out of position and enabling Marc Cucurella with combinations on the left wing.

It was all clear from the beginning of the game. Mata’s overload on the left in the 5th minute occupied Alessandro Florenzi and attracted Parejo. With Ferran Torres far alongside Getafe’s left back Mathias Olivera, Cucurella was free to attack the space between Valencia’s right back and center-back.

He did so. What was more important though was that Cucurella’s current position and threat on his left peg attracted Gabriel Paulista, Valencia’s right center back and Kondogbia. The latter who’s marking Molina alongside the center-back pair. Furthmore, Mouctar Diakhaby, Valencia’s left center back was far away from Molina, who was in prime position in acres of space.

Cucurella played the pass and Molina’s shot was the first of many crucial saves from Jaume on the day. The movement of Mata to overload the left wing caused a domino effect by enabling Cucurella and dragging Paulista out of place.

The avalanche continued throughout the first half and in the second it was reaping season. Seven minutes into the second half Molina moved to the left channel to collect the ball dragging Paulista outside the penalty box

Meanwhile Mata was making a run into the box towards the far post, Molina dribbled past Paulista grabbing the attention of Diakhaby.

The pattern was similar, moving one center back out of position then playing a splitting pass between the midfielder and the other center back.

Mata should have scored from 8 yards out but Jaume yet again with another save.

Three minutes later, Molina dropped into the left channel to present himself as a passing option. Suarez didn’t hesitate and found him with a pass taking out three Valencia midfielders.

Molina who had Diakhaby breathing down his neck then moved inside the field dragging Diakhaby and vacating the left center back space in Valencia’s defence. As Kondogbia was concered with Molina, Maksimovic made a run into the aforementioned space.

Paulista had to change marker and go with Maksimovic which meant leaving Mata free.

Here, Maksimovic probably should have squared it back to Mata to round the move but he opted for a shot and as you predicted Jaume Domenech saved it !

Overload after an overload. Chance after chance. Save after save from Jaume, it was probably time for Getafe to score. In the 57th minute Molina dropped to the left channel which was at the same time occupied by Mata. Similar to Maksimovic’s chance two minute earlier, Suarez fed Molina who was completely free.

An aerial view best illustrates Mata and Molina’s positioning. Both center-forwards occupying the same vertical strip — the left channel — causing problems for Valencia.

After Molina collects the ball, Mata changes his direction to move inside the penalty box between Paulista and Diakhaby. Meanwhile, Jose Luis Gaya is pinned at left back because of Nyom’s threat on the wing.

Tricking everyone — even the ones watching, Mata took another detour and attacked the space behind Diakhaby. Gaya’s body orientation was focused on Nyom, so he couldn’t react. As for Paulista he was far away and Diakhaby was in no man’s land.

Mata’s shot was saved by Jaume again ! However this time there was a rebound. It was Molina, the game’s best performer and undoubtedly the man of the match. 1–0 to Getafe and the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez erupted.

“Boring” is the circulated term amongst people who don’t enjoy this Getafe side. A tweet from a Valencia fan stating that Getafe are a team that doesn’t know how to make two passes in a row got some reaction from Getafe’s left-back.

Vitorino Antunes who is out injured replied to the Valencia fan telling him he either haven’t seen the game or have no idea what football is.

Getafe’s next two games are away to Barcelona and home to Ajax. A clash of philosophie, none more prestigious than the other. Getafe’s might be boring for some, but what eventually matters is its effectiveness.

Getafe’s stadium felt more like a car-park instead of a coliseum in recent years. Bordalas and his crew changed that. It now lives up to its name and to get any point here you would have to face Getafe’s gladiators.