Coaching Carousel in Spain

It was always bound to be an interesting off-season for coaches in La Liga. Atletico Madrid head Quique-Sanchez Flores had been falling out with players and with club functionaries since practically the season started. All this for the coach that had brought the Europa League trophy to the Vicente Calderon. At Sevilla, Gregorio Manzano on the other hand was quite the square peg at a club full of round holes. Even at Athletic Bilbao there were rumblings that the club were looking towards other people to head the project despite Joaquin Caparros's masterful period there rivaling his stint as the architect of Sevilla's recent golden age of players. Presidential elections were also coming and candidates were sounding out potential replacements. There were some good rumors there: Caparros to Sevilla. Ernesto Valverde returning to coach Athletic where he played six years and Rafa Benitez taking over at Atleti. It all sounded right, but could anyone have realized the chaos that has ensued?

Besides the sure openings at Atleti and Sevilla, Almeria lost Jose Luis Oltra as they were sent down and Esteban Vigo was let go at Hercules in a desperate attempt to stave off relegation and his replacement Dukic was fired when they didn't. Depor lost their coach at the end of the season, and not to be outdone, Real Sociedad fired Martin Lasarte, Getafe fired Michel, Levante lost Luis Garcia and now Racing has lost Marcelino. Even Barcelona's B-squad were primed to lose Luis Enrique when La Liga Adelante stopped.

With so many openings and so many potential candidates flooding the market it is difficult to keep it all straight. Where were they all going to go? Who were the clubs going to offer the jobs to; hire a retread or bring in someone new? Here's a break-down.

Deportivo La Coruña: Jose Luis Oltra, who guided Tenerife to promotion before they were relegated in 2010, and then couldn't keep Almeria from relegation this year, has been hired as Miguel Angel Lotina's replacement and almost as quickly as Lotina handed in his resignation.

Sevilla: after being turned down by ex-Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa and the uncertain position of Caparros at Athletic, Del Nido quickly moved to put in Marcelino Garcia Toral from Racing. The club tried to negotiate with Racing but were turned down. Marcelino will be introduced on Monday after paying out the rest of his contract.

Getafe: Luis Garcia-Plaza took Levante to promotion and finished 14th with one of the lowest payrolls in the Primera. He will pay the Valencia side one million euros to leave for Getafe. Taking over a side with new Middle Eastern money, one of the most active youth-teams, and an historical "agreement" with neighbours Real Madrid to train their young-players on loan, Getafe are a much better bet for an ambitious young coach than at lowly yo-yo club Levante.

Real Sociedad: the Basque club had fostered some delusions of grandeur, looking towards Bielsa and Marseilles coach Deschamps, but instead have hired Philipe Montanier from French club Valenciennes and for 500,000 euros in compensation.

Levante: Paco Lopez was Levante's first choice to replace Garcia-Plaza but signed for FC Cartagena this past week instead. On the expanded list was former Cartagena coach Juan Ignacio Martínez, former Hercules coach Miroslav Djukic, Eusebio Sacristán who will instead take the Barcelona B position and ex-La Real coach Martín Lasarte.

Almeria: 30 year old Argentine coach Luis Zubeldia, who was the youngest coach ever (at 27) to take the reigns of a first division club in Argentina with Lanus, will now guide the Andalusians next year in Segunda.

Hercules: rather than hire a new coach, the club from Alicante have instead hired a new Sporting Director Sergio Fernandez who guided Real Murcia. The club have not made it official as of yet but it is pending. The club have stated that they will place a higher emphasis on their youth-team, foregoing foreign imports and the manager will be chosen directly by Fernandez.

Racing Santander: Martin Lasarte's name was mentioned for a time as the first name on the list to replace Marcelino if the Asturian ever left the club. Apparently that is still the case.

Atletico Madrid: apparently the colchoneros are looking at one of three names on very short list. Joaquin Caparros is first. He has done an excellent job at San Mames but is not as well liked as people outside the club seem to think. Luis Enrique, the former Barca B coach was set for AS Roma with Ivan de la Pena as his second, but he would prefer to stay in Spain especially if Atleti come calling. Gregorio Manzano is also in the mix as is Diego Simeone.

Even with all the openings, I am still left disappointed. The best and the brightest Spanish coaches, Rafa Benitez, Quique Sanchez-Flores and the like, those that wind up with no jobs after the SUmmer, should be practicing their game at big clubs in Spain. It is a shame that the league cannot afford them. Even so, next year will be an exciting time with all these new tacticians guiding new clubs in Spain.