Andorra, author team

There are times when life forces you to move away from the neighborhood you were born in to grow personally and professionally.

This is the case of Eder Sarabia, who did not hesitate to accept Quique Setién’s invitation to land in professional football after a formative pilgrimage through the country’s main youth academies and who celebrates his 100th game in charge of Andorra in today’s game.

The life prescribed to the Basque coach so far could not have been different. On the day of his birth, Papa Sarabia was concentrated in Almería to give Argote the assist that was the equalizer and his first gift to the newborn. Then would come his two leagues won by a team full of homegrown players; his goal in the unforgettable match against Malta, his faithful defense in an environment hostile to the way football is understood, which led us to become world champions or to be part of the most famous side of Logroñés.

And it was in these conversations about sports passions that are shared under the sky of Logroño, between a nine-year-old boy and his father’s friend and partner, that the beginning of a relationship of trust that years later would lead to one of the most prosperous high-level sports in our sport began to solidify. it could only put an end to the egomania of athletes who consider themselves false gods far from the personal values ​​they should manifest.

With an unalienable commitment to combinatory play, great pressure after defeat and the belief that the best defense is possession of the ball, Eder landed in Andorra to promote the team from the category and solidified it in the Second Division with a brilliant season, which is confirmed by the leadership in the ranking of the percentage of accurate passes and satisfactory dribbling, the least cautioned team in the category of recent seasons.

With a balanced workforce, more hungry for fame than experience, and up-and-coming players that we’re sure to see featuring at higher levels in the near future, Eder has managed all aspects perfectly. He has maintained excellent physical condition throughout the season, which is confirmed by the large number of matches decided in his favor in the last few minutes.

And all this with constant rotations of players within that 1-4-3-3, in which Ratti and Lizoaín are often in goal in recent days; defensive line with Altimir on the right, Adriá Vilanova or Álex Pastor and Mika Mármol in the center of defense and Diego Pampín on the left. The line of creation with Marco Aguada or Jandro Orellano as the defensive staff, with Héctor Hevel and Iván Gil or Sergio Molina as interiors. In attack, Mustapha Bundu or Germán Valera, Sinan Bakis and Christos Albanis seem to be the best option for a coach who is bold and decisive when it comes to introducing modifications derived from excellent reading of matches.

At the offensive level, the Andorrans show excellent offensive mobility to facilitate the creation of support and the creation of space, showing at this level effective and very well-developed mechanisms both in the search for numerical superiority on the wing and in filtering inside the passes, where the excellent technical quality of his players makes the difference.

In defense, there is a certain lack of defensive strength and inconsistency in defensive transitions, very evident on both flanks, which is a consequence of advanced positioning and high block pressure carried out by the Andorran team.

We who love this sport want the life that Eder dreams of to coincide with the life that fate intended for him. His dream of retiring with the honor of coaching Athletic is not his only, it is the dream of Manolo, Oihane, Mónica and all of us who want football to be fair to those who deserve it.

Other coaches, with much less merit in our football, are already leading top European teams.