This move should come as no surprise to anyone: Almeria, currently last in Spain and still winless, have parted company with coach Gaizka Garitano (48). An experienced successor is already in place
The 2:2 draw against Sevilla on Monday was Gaizka Garitona’s last game as coach of UD Almeria. The bottom club in La Liga announced on Monday that they had parted ways with the 48-year-old.
Of course, this move comes as no surprise. With 31 games without a win across the season and 28 games not won since the start of the season, Almeria hold the negative records in Spain’s elite division. Garitano only took over the team at the beginning of October 2023 and is already out of a job.
Almeria already have a successor in the coaching position: the experienced José “Pepe” Mel Perez is now set to take over and has signed a contract until the end of the season.
The coach worked for OF Iraklion in Crete, Greece, until mid-February and has a wealth of experience in the coaching business. His CV includes spells at Real Betis, West Bromwich Albion, Deportivo La Coruna, Las Palmas and Malaga. This shows that the 61-year-old knows his way around Spanish soccer extremely well and shouldn’t need much time to get up to speed
Mission of staying in the league almost hopeless
His mission in Almeria, however, seems hopeless. Mel takes over the team in last place in the table with just ten points. They are already 14 points off the safety margin. After all, there are still ten match days to go in Spain. But of course it will take a miracle to somehow stay in the league. The new man will make his debut on Sunday (17:15) at Las Palmas.
