It's been two long seasons since I was last present at La Romereda. Real Zaragoza spent the first battling out of hell. The second was largely spent fighting not to slip back in. You would have thought one season in the second division for one of La Ligas 'historicos' would have been enough to learn a few hard lessons. Yesterdays horror show against Malaga proves otherwise. It reminded me very much of a game I witnessed during the 2007/2008 campaign against Real Valladolid. A team, like Malaga, many were predicting to be part of the relegation scrap come the end of the season. An easy three points were on the cards. One devastating counter attacking performance from Valladolid later and 'Los Maños' were planted firmly on their way towards 'La Segunda'.
Trouble at Zaragoza, is that nothing is easy. Not one win or draw comes easily. Every match is a battle of attrition. A downright struggle. And when things often go all curveball, we get to see a goalfest. And Real Zaragoza are more often than not on the wrong end of it. Think the opposite of Keegans Newcastle United! Malaga at home is really a game they need to be getting three points from. But they were systematically ripped apart in a whirlwind opening 35 minutes, which saw the away side storm into an unassailable 0-5 lead and had fans leaving the stadium before the half-time whistle. Defeats of this nature will more often than not lead to relegation. So where have lessons not been learned?
Success starts at the back. For the comedy centre backs of the 2007/2008 elect, Sergio and Roberto Ayala, read Matteo Contini and Jiri Jarosik. Simply not good enough. Diogo is a liability, not to mention a maniac, whilst Leo Franco is a joke. Tough times ahead in that department. Don't sign for the sake of signing. When it comes to summer transfers, Agapito Iglesias is a poor mans Florentino Perez. It's quite astounding how many players Agapito gets through, with very few actually making any difference. Two that did make a difference last season, Humberto Suazo and keeper Roberto, were not kept on the books. Utter lunacy. Mr Iglesias is one of those businessman presidents that has no idea about football, and he simply needs to go.
Get a decent manager in. Real Zaragoza supposedly had a good manager when I first set foot in La Romareda. Victor Fernandez was his name. Lead the team into the UEFA spots the year before and he was even being touted as a future Spain manager. A few shocking results later and his was packing his bags. They've never replaced him since. The current incumbent is the unfortunately named Jose Aurelio Gay. And what's clear to me is that he's not up to the task. Perhaps Agapito is hesitant to start the manager merry-go-round that took place in 2007/2008 when four came and went, but if Fernandez wasn't good enough, neither is Gay. Get a proven, seasoned pro in there. Time to trust in youth. The 2007/2008 elect was ridden with players on a downward curve, counting down the years and the pay cheques. Leo Franco, Gabi (a truly shocking excuse for a midfielder), Diogo and Jarosik all fit that bill. Time to get youngsters like Laguardia, Kevin, Borque or Alex Sanchez in there to help out poor Ander Herrera. Kids that will fight tooth and nail for the badge.
It's sad for me to see a team like Real Zaragoza slip into this mess once more. I can only imagine what it's like for those who have been fans since the glory years of the 60s and 90s. I hope for the sake of the club and their loyal set of fans that this season doesn't turn into the nightmare that I was part of two seasons ago. Only time will tell. Next up: Racing Santander.