Unwatchable or irresistible? The manager purists love to hate

“This isn’t football. My blood starts to boil because of something else.

Jose Bordalas, the team’s manager, was not surprised when Quique Setien said in 2020 about Getafe’s play style.

He has been accused of being a merchant of negativity throughout his managerial career, a coach whose football suffocates rather than inspires.

After his Barcelona side became frustrated by Getafe’s intensity, Xavi once said, “Normal people don’t want to watch football like that.”

Other managers, from Mallorca’s Jagoba Arrasate to Marcelino at Villarreal, have criticized time-wasting, dark arts, and tactical cynicism, while Athletic forward Inaki Williams also criticized Bordalas after a stormy night in Bilbao.

The fact so many high-profile figures rail against Bordalas is proof, though, of his impact. Getafe was impervious to his orders, awkward, and inconvenient.

The 61-year-old Spaniard has spent five successful seasons with the Madrid club and will make his second appearance with the club in April 2023. He last spent time with Valencia before returning to the club in April 2023.

You won’t hear too many complimentary voices about him from the Barcelona camp when they meet on Sunday but, despite all the ‘ anti-football ‘ criticisms, his record speaks for itself.

The top three divisions’ managers have won the third-highest number of victories in Spanish football history, behind Bordalas.

And despite having a consistently low wage in the lower third of La Liga and having little squad investment, he has helped getafe enter European football, which has resulted in 83 million euros (£72 million) in player sales.

The positional game and possession-heavy ideals descended from Johan Cruyff, and the pragmatists who place value on structure, intensity, and results have long been the norm in Spanish football.

Bordalas was unapologetically inspired by the latter camp, but he does so in vain.

It is simply that he has not been given the chance to put it into practice, because the clubs he has managed in the three tiers of Spanish football have not had the players to perform such football.

His direct and unwavering style of football is unwatchable in the eyes of aesthetes. It is irresistible for both his players and supporters.

Beyond the caricature, Bordalas ‘ methods are rooted in structure and detail.

Three hours of training is typically required, which is twice the length of a typical session. Every morning, players are weighed, and those who return from a holiday must carry extra kilograms with them.

He once challenged his players to kick a ball far enough to reach Madrid’s M-50 motorway, offering 500 euros (£432) and a starting place to whoever succeeded.

He attempted to head the ball out of the stadium at his former club Alcorcon, putting in a similar test. It reinforces his adage of constant effort, competition, and pushing boundaries.

Players often admit to feeling suffocated by his demands – and yet many confess they experienced the best football of their careers under him.

Juan Cala, who played for Getafe from 2015 to 2018, said: “He made me angry, like a father does, but he made me live the highlight of my career.”

Prior to the development of high pressure, organized defense, and a physical aptitude in the players that allowed them to take up a lot of space on the field, Bordalas noticed three things.

He demands a high, aggressive press that forces opponents to go long, as well as compact defensive lines and immediate transitions. Steady possession is not tolerated.

The proof is in the numbers. Getafe consistently rank among the teams who defend furthest from their goal, catch teams offside the most times and commit the most fouls.

The outcome ? The fewest shots are fired at the target, according to them. The sacrifice of aesthetics is the price of security.

Bordalas recently updated his arsenal with an AI tool that he hopes will give him insight into how to position the team with the ball, without the ball, and how to force errors.

Bordalas places a lot of emphasis on improvisation and finds solutions in areas that other people find challenging.

Take Christantus Uche. He was renamed to help fill a squad shortage after being signed from Ceuta by Getafe in the summer of 2024 for 500, 000 euros (£430, 000).

The Nigerian made his debut with a goal and six assists, and he was then sold to Crystal Palace for £17 million as a forward.

Critics call his approach reductive. Bordalas describes it as realistic.

He said, “I’d love to have more control over the ball.” “I’m a lover of good football, but you have to adapt to the players you have”.

Getafe under Bordalas is a triumphant overachieving story that is filled with frustration.

On the one hand, the club has endured and actually thrived, operating with a budget that would only serve to fund its eventual survival.

On the other, the realities of La Liga mean constant fire sales. He would prefer a deeper, more competitive group, and he is the only squad in Spain’s top flight with six slots left, not by choice.

He is adored at Getafe. He is the leader. Fans chant his name, paint banners, and support his anti-resistance philosophy.

He might never be seen having coffee with supporters in the club cafeteria, something that is unheard of at almost any other club.

It is an open secret he has helped, and continues to help, many people financially, and he often says that with so many people going through bad times his profession is a privilege.

Some of his peers respect his methods, like Diego Simeone, the manager of Atletico Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, who both understand and have learned from Bordalas, are his best friends in football.

Others may dismiss him as a spoiler, but even they know preparing to face a Bordalas team means 90 minutes of discomfort.

Faced with him, Joaquin Caparros, the former Sevilla boss, once said it was “like going to the dentist.”

A tale of survival, graft, and improbable ascent, Bordalas’ own story echoes those of his teammates.

He worked summers picking melons and watermelons to afford a bicycle and was born in Alicante, one of ten children.

These days he is keen to point out his main duties were helping a company sell their products to shops.

However, Bordalas’ true love was always football. A modest playing career in the Spanish lower divisions was ended by the age of 28, and coaching beckoned, starting with Alicante in 1994, followed by a number of lower-league clubs from the Valencian region.

His managerial career spans 12 different clubs and countless promotions and rescues.

He led Alaves into the top flight in 2015-16, but he was let go at the end of the season. Getafe called a few months later.

He joined them in the relegation places in Segunda, but ended the campaign with promotion to La Liga. He had them playing European football within two years.

Owner Peter Lim at Valencia decided against keeping him for a second year despite the team’s best league record in a long time and reaching the Copa del Rey final.

Perhaps his most famous phrase sums up the defiance of his career.

He said, “Esto es futbol, papa]This is football, dad,” before a game against Villarreal, in the midst of a barrage of criticism for his style.

He resisted making amends for his actions, which led to the creation of a meme. Where others see ugliness, he sees truth.

Spanish football frequently defines itself by its beauty, including the tiki-taka legacy of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi’s artistry, and the elegance of possession.

But there is a reality beneath that surface. Football is not always beautiful. There is a Getafe for every Barcelona.

Bordalas represents the aggressive, unwavering football that endures despite grit, unlike other Spain. He is a reminder that the game is broad enough for many styles and success does not always look the same.