On Saturday, in the heat of battle, LaLiga’s second-youngest manager — who played no professional football and has no trophies to his name — yelled at Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone, who has made 1,500 professional appearances as a player and coach, won 21 trophies, and is a four-time LaLiga manager of the year. The younger coach made “crybaby” gestures and insulted the feisty Argentine about his “whining” to referees.
Mere moments later, Antoine Griezmann screwed a 90th-minute penalty wide of Marko Dmitrovic‘s left-hand post to practically ensure that Atléti’s record-breaking 15-match winning streak would end, and that Leganés would become the only team in the division to twice beat Spain’s league leaders this season.
Post-match, that same 39-year-old whippersnapper coach, Borja Jiménez, preceded his victory analysis by apologising for insulting Simeone with “words which don’t represent me.” He did so without being able to wipe a huge, smug grin off his face while pretending to repent.
That Griezmann couldn’t tuck the ball past Dimitrovic from 12 yards was pretty shocking, but nowhere near as shocking as the events of Leganés’ past five weeks.
It began in mid-December when this tiny, south-Madrid club — now owned by Blue Crow Sports Group, overseen by former St. Louis Cardinals VP of scouting and player development and Houston Astros president and GM Jeff Luhnow — won 1-0 away to Liga-leading Barcelona. It was the first time this cucumber-loving outfit have ever achieved that. Admittedly, that’s partly because Los Pepineros (The Cucumbers) have only spent four previous seasons in Spain’s elite division.
Make no mistake: this is an upstart club we are talking about.
Lega then qualified for the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, for only the second time in their history, via an absolutely thrilling 3-2 away win against Almería, the second-division side who’d made it that far by thrashing Sevilla 4-1.
Before their match at the Butarque, Atléti were top of the table and could have guaranteed staying there with a win over humble neighbours Leganés from the agricultural, unfashionable cucumber-farming southern suburbs. But a header of the same quality that had defeated Barcelona (the first coming from captain Sergio González, this most recent one from Matija Nastasic) brought more history: Lega’s first LaLiga win over mighty Atléti.
Finally came the cherry on the icing.
Monday’s quarterfinal draw not only paired Luhnow’s club with the biggest name in world football, Real Madrid. Lady Luck (who’s been making eyes at Leganés for some months now) ensured that this one-off knockout match won’t be at Los Blancos‘ 81,000-capacity, roof-enclosed, intimidating, historic Santiago Bernabéu but, instead, 13 miles south at Lega’s largely uncovered, 13,000-capacity, local council-owned Butarque.
Two interesting details about that tie, to be played in a fortnight, are that the Butarque was actually built by Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez’s behemoth ACS Group construction company in 1997-98, and that the last time Pérez took his mighty team there in La Copa, six years ago, they were beaten 1-0. The previous time this Madrid-based David vs. Goliath was drawn together in Spain’s knockout competition, a year earlier in 2018, it was Leganés who went through, on aggregate, having lost at home but then winning 2-1 at the Bernabéu.
Jiménez might have been out of order for his aggressive poking at Simeone on Saturday, given their relative histories and achievements, but he is patently a young man of energy, talent and determination.
“[Luhnow] told me that this was a humble club and one which was going to have to reduce its financial outgoings when I was offered the job, but he made it clear that he was looking for somebody with ambition … which I have,” Jiménez has explained.
He’s won promotions with Cartagena, Mirandés and Leganés, while only missing out on doing the same with Deportivo La Coruña because of defeat in the playoffs. Almost everywhere he’s gone, his team posts miserly goals-against numbers. Now Jiménez has the glimpse of an opportunity to knock out Real Madrid and reach Leganés’ first ever cup semifinal.
Jiménez looks about 25 but actually turns 40 this week — Tuesday, to be precise. Absolutely no chance of a midlife crisis for this fella — maybe a cucumber sandwich, perhaps even a small beer.
But keep your eye on him. He seems talented, likely to keep on achieving, and showed against Simeone that he’s no respecter of reputations.
An interesting character at an equally interesting club.
