Sun. Beaches. Fiestas. The Canary Islands are known for many things, but few are fully aware of quite what a football mad population they have sitting in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast. And now, with a Catalan touch, they will have a LaLiga presence again after Las Palmas’ promotion.
It was a project started by a journeyman, Pepe Mel, who ultimately failed to achieve the objective but blooded the likes of Pedri, and left the team in midtable, looking down rather than up, when he was dismissed in January 2022.
Some felt that the decision was “harsh” and “rushed”, and they were not convinced any further when Las Palmas turned to García Pimienta. His 20 years of coaching experience had all come at Barcelona, and not a single day with the first team, before Jon Laporta unceremoniously dumped him in favour of Sergi Barjuán.
García Pimienta had worked his way up in Catalonia. His first day at the club was as far back as 1986, joining as a player at the age of 12, and it would be 13 years until he left the club permanently, making just one first team appearance in a 2-2 draw with Deportivo in May 1996.
His far from glamorous playing career took him on a tour of lower division Catalan clubs before retiring at 29 to return to La Masia as a coach. He had already been working with the club’s youth teams for three years before retirement, and would work alongside the likes of a young Lionel Messi during his early days at the club.
It wasn’t until 2015 when he would step up to be involved with the B team, then successfully leading the youth team to the UEFA Youth League title in 2017/18 with a side featuring Real Betis’ Juan Miranda, Celta Vigo duo Óscar Mingueza and Carles Pérez, Villarreal’s Jorge Cuenca and LA Galaxy’s Riqui Puig.
In 2021, by the time he left Barcelona, he had led the team to two consecutive promotion play-off campaigns, being narrowly beaten both times and consigning the reserve side to another year in the third tier.
His style was one that caught the eye of Las Palmas. The high pressing style has seen the team’s opposition average only 7.38 passes between Las Palmas losing and recovering possession in Segunda this season, lower than any other side have managed in the top two tiers of Spanish football.
“We know how we play,” he reflected in the run up to promotion. “But it’s not enough to play well, we have to win too.” Only Éder Sarabia, disciple of former Las Palmas coach Quique Setién, and his Andorra team have registered more than Las Palmas’ 523 passes per 90, compared to a league average of 357.
It wasn’t always easy though. His first seven matches in the Canaries saw Las Palmas pick up just one win, but a late surge, and a run of nine victories in the next 11 matches, saw Las Palmas make it into the play-offs last season. Rivals Tenerife went on to beat them in the semi-finals with defeats at home and away for García Pimienta’s side, upsetting the odds after finishing below a Las Palmas side who came into the play-offs unbeaten in 11.
This year, the baile of teams at the top of Segunda helped Las Palmas. They can arguably feel hard done by, having led the league for 15 matchdays this season, more than any other team, and having been in at least a play-off possession from matchday two onwards. Eventual champions Granada, in comparison, were top for just six matchdays.
Even during a blip in March and April which saw one win in nine, they only dropped to fifth. Ending that streak with a Sandro free-kick against then leaders Eibar at Ipurua was a statement of Las Palmas’ intentions. Even as it went down to the final day, they showed their steel again, keeping a clean sheet against Alavés in a 0-0 draw to end the season as Segunda’s best defence and second best team, earning automatic promotion.
Celta Vigo sniffed around García Pimienta, but Las Palmas have now secured his future on an extended contract, and at 48 it feels as though his best days lie ahead of him in the dugout. Las Palmas will be hoping that will be Estadio Gran Canaria, where he has brought back top-flight football after five years away.