Alaves should build a statue of Abelardo outside their stadium, so important was he for their 2017/18 season. They started the season terribly, but won 13 and drew two of their final 25 matches once they turned to Abelardo.
Alaves lost their first six matches of the season and only scored one goal in the process, which was the worst start ever. 13 matches into the season they’d already gone through three coaches – Luis Francisco Zubeldia, Javier Cabello and Giovanni Di Biasi – but they remained bottom with just six points.
That was when they turned for former Sporting Gijon coach Abelardo and their fortunes immediately changed, with Abelardo winning three of his first four matches and ultimately leading the side to 14th position, while also taking them to the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, where they lost to Valencia on penalties.
The January arrival of Swedish striker John Guidetti was important too, as his arrival helped Alaves to play a 4-4-2 formation with two strikers up front, with Guidetti partnering Munir El Haddadi.
Before Abelardo, Alaves had played much more defensively, but they started to play with two attackers, even if they still regularly played counter attacking football.
The good news for Alaves is that Abelardo is set to stay and Guidetti too, but Munir and Alfonso Pedraza, who was also very important, are both set to return to Barcelona and Villarreal respectively now that their loan spells have ended.
Alaves will need to replace these players well if they’re to make the most of a full season with Abelardo.
