Ciao Chacho: Nothing if not honest
“La crónica de una muerte anunciada” - that’s how Eduardo, or Chacho as we all know and many love him, Coudet described his sacking in a farewell press conference on Wednesday. Literally, the story of a death foretold, it’s a popular refrain in Spanish and was further popularised by the eponymous book written by Gabriel García Márquez. It has also come to be a useful manner of describing managerial sackings that everyone saw coming.
Celta Vigo chose to dispose of Coudet after just four points from the last eight matches and from the sound of it, not even the Argentine saw things getting better. President Carlos Mouriño was seen earlier that day, wearing a chequered suit and a big smile as he accompanied new manager Carlos Carvalhal onto the training pitch, but was conveniently absent for the final adiós.
“If he is not here, it will be because of some situation that he could not be so, but I am surprised that he is not here,” kayfabed Coudet.
There is no doubt that the football team’s problems have flowered, but the roots were present nine months ago. The period of gestation began when highly-respected and undoubtedly talented scout Luis Campos was appointed as a sporting advisor last February. A sporting director with all of the power and little of the responsibility, the removal of Coudet’s authority was the consequence.
Over the summer Celta Vigo brought in nine players and sold one of their best in Brais Méndez, currently Real Sociedad’s top scorer. Of those nine, only striker Jørgen Strand Larsen and goalkeeper Augustín Marchesín have become regulars. In addition, Mouriño’s dispute with Denis Suárez reached boiling point and the talented midfielder was exiled for good. With the exception of Iago Aspas, Suárez was Coudet’s best and most crucial player.
Coudet was less accomplished at hiding his frustration with the summer recruitment, hinting at the beginning of the season that the process had occurred entirely without his input. In that final press conference, he admitted that his job had not been the same since Campos had arrived at the club.
"That is undeniable, but I do not want to look for scapegoats. Not in Luis Campos nor in anyone else. This is football. I wish the best to everyone, nothing more.”
Even with the power struggle behind the scenes, the results on the pitch have been mirrored by flat, jaded performances, including the end of last season. Not to the same extent, his side began to remind of the ghost of disappointing Celtas past. Perhaps Coudet’s ability to inspire was too far down the law of diminishing returns anyway.
Regardless of the reasons, regardless of who was right or wrong, you didn’t have to arrange your tea leaves to see this coming. It was being advertised on a big campaign bus.
Chacho took over Celta in the relegation zone, a side that were limp. Os Celestes were practicing stale, lifeless football, the sort of performances that left Balaídos devoid of morale.
He electrified them. Dressed like a mid-2000s heartthrob with his trusty scarf present come rain or shine, Coudet quickened the pulse of every game. All of a sudden Celta were a bundle of kinetic energy, constantly moving, pressing, attacking. That first season they finished eighth and would have made Europe over his first 38 games. By the end of it, fans from other teams were tuning in just to see them play.
There is an old video of Coudet back in his days as Racing manager in Argentina. Being interviewed at the side of the pitch, forced to shout over the deafening noise of the hinchas.
“The message is clear, you have to play well and to play well you have to have huevos [balls]. Having balls does not mean kicking someone though, it means having the balls to ask for the ball, to play with it, to link with each other.”
Not many managers in LaLiga had the balls that Chacho did, not many saw the game the way he did. His Celta brought fun and diversity to La Liga, and regardless of the reasons, the absence of that Celta is a loss.