It is possible that there has never been such a short contract in the history of Spanish football as the one signed by Juan Ramón López Muñiz with Deportivo Alavés. It started last Sunday, July 5, and will end next week, July 19, just 15 days that hide two major challenges for the Asturian coach: sealing the permanence in the First Division of the Basque team and convincing their superiors of who is the right person to lead the project for the next course.

Contrary to what happens in other cases, there is no automatic renewal clause if the objective is achieved. It could happen that Muñiz saved Alavés but that the club entrusted the future to another coach. And he assumes it naturally, at least for the moment. "Any coach looks for stability, but right now my only goal is to achieve permanence . Later, we will already assess the situation we are in," he settled in his presentation.

Although the challenge seems accessible, given that Alavés started this day with six points of advantage over the relegation places , no one in Vitoria trusts. The streak after confinement, one victory and six defeats (some with terrible feelings and a horrible staging), has set off all the alarms and, in fact, has led Asier Garitano ahead, anticipating his departure from Mendizorroza, yes or yes, it was going to be produced in summer.

To the concern for what has happened is added the calendar that Alavés has in these last four days. This Friday he visits Real Madrid in Valdebebas with full victories since the restart of the championship and on Monday he receives in Mendizorroza a Getafe who needs the points so as not to jeopardize his position in the Europa League. In the last two days, he visits a Betis with nothing at stake but with the desire to vindicate himself (on Wednesday he beat Osasuna 3-0) and at the end he receives Barcelona, ​​who knows if with the League still at stake for the azulgrana.

"I had no doubts"

"When I saw the calendar I had no hesitation in coming. It gives me the opportunity to face rivals like Madrid and Barcelona," says Muñiz, surely with a small mouth, with better will than faith, since he would surely sign up to alter the payroll of rivals and eliminate, at the very least, this Friday's visit to the leader, as much as Zidane accumulates more than due the losses in defense.

For Muñiz, despite the obstacles, this is the opportunity to reenlist in the First Division. He debuted in the category in the 2008/09 season at Racing and repeated the following course at Malaga, achieving both times on both occasions. After a few years as an assistant to Juande Ramos in the Ukrainian Dnipro, he returned to Spain with Alcorcón and Levante. With the granotas he ascended but did not complete the 2017/18 season. His return to Malaga, last season and already in Second, did not go well either, stopping with eight days to go before the end of the championship.

That is why this challenge is so important for a Muñiz that it can hardly leave a great seal in these four games in Vitoria. You cannot expect an Alavés radically different from the last few weeks, at least in tactical terms. He has barely had a handful of days to work with the players and it is no time to turn the team around. "It has been based on the main thing of his idea of ​​football and he has put a lot of emphasis on the mental and mental aspect, since the team is touched after these 5 defeats", commented Víctor Laguardia, one of the captains and strong men of the albiazul dressing room .

The recipe is as simple to explain as it is difficult to put it into practice: recover defensive reliability and return to good goal situations for Lucas Pérez and Joselu, 21 goals between the two so far in the championship. " I want a happy and daring team that enjoys what they do," says Muñiz, before starting a series of four all-or-nothing matches, both for Alavés and, above all, for him.

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