Different Look To LaLiga As Las Palmas Become Unlikely Early Leaders
There’s something different about LaLiga right now, and that something is Las Palmas.
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By David Cartlidge (@davidjaca)
There’s something different about La Liga right now, and that something is Las Palmas.
Not only is there a time difference between them and mainland Spain, the boys from the Canary Islands are showing their football is a little different too.
This weekend a 5-1 hammering of Granada had a particularly sweet taste to it. It was against a coach, Paco Jemez, who many people like to eulogize about but has frankly contributed little lately - other than a relegation. Quique Setien, the coach of Las Palmas, has done a lot in the same time. But he’s not in-vogue like Jemez, so people don’t really talk about him.
That is until now. Las Palmas lead LaLiga for the first time in 38 years. You’d have to go all the way back to the 1978/79 campaign to see the Canary Islanders sitting on top of the pile.
The win against Granada came off the back of an impressive 4-2 win at Mestalla on the opening weekend. While Valencia are something of a stricken club at the moment, Las Palmas didn’t hold back and pounced on all the frailties Los Che are currently experiencing.
They did the same against Jemez’s team too. They weren’t content to sit and protect their lead, a trait of too many teams in LaLiga. Time and time again Las Palmas cut Granada wide open. Their football was careful, but at he same direct brutally direct. The passes were well placed, weighted to perfection and penetrated Jemez’s side at will. It was one of those games when the team looked like it would score on every attack.
“Just like Brazil of old…” they said after the game. And they possess a player nicknamed Romario too.
Setien encourages his players to express themselves in attack, but with the prerequisite of not negating their defensive contribution. Setien and Las Palmas are balance personified and that is what makes them such a rare quantity.
Few teams find such a healthy medium, they are either one or the other to the extreme. Jemez’s teams for example are very much focused on the attack, with little to no awareness when it comes to defending. Setien’s shaping of this team started when he replaced Paco Herrera as coach back in October 2015 - and finished in one sense with an unprecedented 11th place finish in 15/16. By the end of the season they were closer to Europe than relegation - where they were heading...and fast.
Herrera himself was similar with his approach play to Setien, but he didn’t have the defensive nous of the 57-year-old. And therein lies the difference. It’s why Herrera was moved on, with Las Palmas playing attractive possession-based football - but with no real defensive system in place.
Nor was there a steel, a grit, an edge. The team were soft, often gave up leads and all too often squandered chances that came their way. It was pretty, but it didn’t have substance. You only need to look at Jonathan Viera to witness the change.
Viera, the player monikered Romario, is back at Las Palmas in his second spell with the club. He went away while the club was in Segunda, striving for his shot at the big time. At Valencia he was never coached properly, nor did he receive the continuity his game needs to truly flow. Jemez then had him at Rayo Vallecano on loan, and there he showed he was worth more than his Valencia spell suggested.
Under Herrera meanwhile, he only showed his talent in glimpses. Viera was easy on the eye, but he lacked the strong material to go up another level. One of Setien’s first tasks since taking over in October was to make Viera the chief attacking outlet of this team. But to do that, the player had to acknowledge his other duties too. Now Viera is more rounded after just under a year with Setien. He tracks back, he helps his midfield and full-back out - there is even the odd tackle and interception. He optimizes the turnaround and values of the team under Setien’s tutelage.
The effect is rubbing off on Kevin Prince Boateng too. Largely seen as a bad boy, on par with Mario Balotelli if you will, Prince was welcomed by 5,000 fans on his presentation. He's not come for the night clubs. He's come to play a part in this team.
Behind him lies Roque Mesa. Perhaps the chief conductor of the team. If Viera helps with the finishing touches, it’s Roque Mesa who lays the foundations. LaLiga lost Ever Banega in the summer to Italy, but at Las Palmas there is a player daring to match his ability to dictate a game at the pace he views fit. Indeed, Sevilla tried to prise the player away from Las Palmas in the summer but were denied in their pursuit. Talk persists they may try again for a player who is now one of LaLiga’s best midfielders, yet remains sorely underrated. Those that flock to the Estadio Gran Canaria will be no doubt be sweating until the transfer window closes.
Somewhat fittingly Las Palmas’ first game after the International break will be Sevilla. Again, it will be against a coach, Jorge Sampaoli, held in high esteem for his attacking values. Will he be able to hold off Setien’s yellow swarm? It will no doubt be a fantastic meeting of the minds.
In a league that often feels too predictable at times, it’s nice to have something different. Viera, Roque Mesa, Prince, Setien…they are the difference right now.