In the past decade, Osasuna has been from the gates of the Inferno to the threshold of the football sky. Just a few minutes from the likely dissolution, a debt of € 50 million saddled on their backs, only saved a 96th minute Header Los Rojillo from relegation to the third layer in 2014. Nine years later they were in a Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid. Even before the final it was something of a miracle to be back in La Liga. When they made the film, no second football was shown because of La Liga TV rights. For 15 days in 2019 it sold more tickets in Pamplona than Robert the Niro's The Irishman, Charlie's Angels and the Two Pauses – they had their own fixers, their own superheroes and their own credo.
For a long time general director Fran Canal calls the people who have taken them to that point 'delinquents', and the five years who succeeded that film as the happiest period of his life. The way it is spoken, sometimes you could mislead yourself by thinking the defeat in the Copa final, but an anecdotal detail in the celebration of Osasuna, which means health in Basque. The goal, a cascade of Navarrese Ruis, is still played as a happy memory. Canal does not miss the chance to point out that Osasuna had more fans in Seville than Real Madrid. In scarce justice, the brace of Ante Budimir against Girona would give them the last European place on the last day of the season.
Ten months later the tears flowed. In August 2023, Club Brugge Osasuna played in the play-off of the Conference League “A Bucket of Cold Water” and In March 2024, Jagoba Arrasate announced his departure after seven years. A cornerstone of the house they had rebuilt, said President Luis Sabalza that he was 'destroyed'. “I will not find any other club like this, I will not find any other support like this,” Arrasate Rasped. Osasuna lost five of their next six games and won only twice in their last nine, although it was comfortable in the 11th. If missing in the Copa did not exactly match the defeat, the Arrasate separation left many shortage of that shell for life that flees so quickly when sadness beats at the door.
“It is difficult for the team, for the club, after a period of success with the club, with Jagoba,” says Target Man Budimir, as much as he is long. “To switch to a new coach. To continue the same, knowing that the competition in La Liga is huge and that you have to be at your level every weekend, “he admits.
With the extra European stimulus disappeared, financially and competitive, with Arrasate on the way out, the fear was probably further departure and De Gier (funds) that stray on the carcass of success. Even after the Arrasate split, the only starter was to go, Captain David Garcia, leaving the club behind for the first time at the age of 30.
“Osasuna is really unique,” explains Budimir. “It's the only club in Navarre. They support Osasuna, no other teams, and they have a very special identity. I have been very grateful. “Nicknamed 'The Swan', it is an apparently peculiar name for most 6'2 (190 cm) Balkans forward, but is logical alongside its soft way. The Croatian hit is a 'rare bird' as they say in Spain, here, here Pause, thinking there, what would he tell another player who asked for Pamplona?
“I would say it's a really nice place to be. You have everything. But on the other hand it is not that big. Everything is very close. You feel a family atmosphere in the city, on the street, it's safe, everyone is nice. Everyone is respectful. They love the club, they love it, but they also give you your time, they give you space. '
“So I really like that combination. The club is very well organized. It is not a club where you work 200 people, it is not that big, but very well organized. It is a club that can offer you to play in the biggest stages. “
The family atmosphere enters every room and is included in every greeting at El Sadar. Pamplona is vast by cycle and dedicated jogging paths and is a medieval city of 200,000 people, in a region of only 650,000, the third of the third of the population of Spain. Every Tuesday afternoon a Senior Osasuna player spends time helping the Academy players. Save for one session per week, training is open: for fans, media and young football players. If Spain is synonymous with heat, Pamplona, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, is more northern warmth of the fire than burning sun.
How do you follow such a prosperous run? Boom tends to make way for bust. Valencian coach Vicente Moreno arrived last summer, after success at NASTIC, RCD Mallorca and Espanyol, but recently a loaded enchantment in Almeria who lasted only 7 games -with the Titanic task to be the man after the man. When mentioning the name of Arrasate outside El Sadar, it is quickly understood that his legacy goes beyond the results, which are hardly mentioned by the fans.
“Arrasate was Basque. He felt the colors. Even when he came from Gipuzkoa, he was very rooted here, so he understood better. Eventually Moreno comes from outside, he has to come to a new club and understand how it works, adjust himself, “says Javier, looking at his child for confirmation. A solemn shadow falls on the forehead of Beatriz. “Jagoba, I was a big Jagoba person. Moreover, he was very rooted here. It cost us all surprised when he left, and we understood it, but it made us sad. '
How do you switch from 26 players after the fans? All belonging were signed or spent by the predecessor of Moreno, and in most cases Arrasate brought them to the peak of their career.
“You have to handle it with naturalness, accept that this is the case that it is not easy, it is a handicap, for every manager who would have come to Osasuna,” says Moreno by a silver beard and penetrating eyes.
“Football is very fickle and we cannot separate the work from the results, you need them by your side. We must be respectful for what came earlier, give continuity to many of the things that were done earlier, and have the humility to do this. And then, work hard. The more and the better you do this, the more people you accept, the more they get to know your work. Then get the results to deal with, that is the icing at the top, and that is what we are working on. “
“But the truth is that he has done very well, and so far no problems,” Javier argues with himself. “You can see that he is a good worker, he is a good guy.”
“We are not very demanding,” Chirps Patri, Patricia. “Well, that's us. If they are not [good people]We go for their throat, “intermediary inma. “But not light,” says Patri. “It has been centuries since we won a game, and it's no problem.”
“We are a small team, we know that we have to fight for every game. As Diego Simeone says – Game by Game, ”Soften Inma. Left-back Juan Cruz is positive, but it seems to indicate that the transition has not been easy.
“Well, I think we've all done our bit from the start. Both the staff and the players, to adapt to it, because we know how difficult this is. We came from a long term with Arrasate. I think we have adapted well. “
That is perhaps the other big obstacle to negotiate. Osasuna has been over -performed for years. Canal explains that ignoring the sale, Los Rojillo every year has a budget of the soil has-garcia's sale of € 8.75 million bumped them up to 14th this season. Yet Osasuna has not ended under the 11th since they returned to La Liga. Logica dictates that after tasting European cuisine, the sampling of the Copa Euphorie and 5 consecutive comfortable finishes, the expectation of the river would rise.
“No, no,” says Canal who wags a finger – he distracts the question from the pass, with a touch of satisfaction. “The first for us is to have our feet on the ground. For us that is the most important thing. The goal is to survive. “
If Budimir is a rare bird and Osasuna is a miracle story, the peculiarities also extend to the fans. Those with whom football spoke España were disturbingly wise to support a football team. Players, coach and managers can be informed about a message, but fans live for excitement and dreams.
“Get a good competition position, and that's it. I don't strive for much more. I am very much a realist, 'Bluster Beatriz.
“The most important thing is to survive in La Liga and end in the top 10 if we can. If we do well for a year, and we finish as sixth, well, very proud of it. But our place is there, “says Javier with a touch more optimism.
Osasuna has survived the offenders and the 7th is with a Copa del Rey quarterfinals to come, looks good on course to survive success. They will certainly not go bankrupt quickly. If there is one thing that might be incongruent with the idea of the family atmosphere, this is the lack of conflict.
“I have a friend who says that if you look at the top, and you will not get there, the next nearest thing grasp,” says Moreno. “The priority objective – very clear, survival. From there to dreams. We have the next game, which is the most important thing of my life, and then there will be the next game. And that will be the most important thing of my life. You always squeeze everything you can do. “Results that allow him to be fine. Eighteen months after the success, eleven months away from the collapse, Osasuna is a picture of health.
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