2 June 2023 - 2:05 PM
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IMAGO | CA Osasuna midfielder Lucas Torró celebrating his goal in a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao 25th June.
Osasuna almost never buy or sell players, have the smallest budget in LaLiga - and on Sunday could qualify for Europe
- Just nine years ago, Osasuna were flirting with bankruptcy and relegation to the Spanish third tier. Then Francisco Canal joined the club and now the debt situation has almost been resolved. On Sunday, the Pamplona side could qualify for Europe.
- Osasuna is a peculiar club in European football with hardly any transfer deals, long-term injured players rewarded with contracts due to their loyalty, and with both CEO and sporting director or head coach having been at the club for more than five years.
- Why it matters: Osasuna are probably the biggest surprise of the season in Spain. But they appear so much more than a one-season wonder, having been building both their business and squad since 2017. Now all the hard work is paying off.
- The perspective: The football industry is full of impatient owners signing coaches and players in large numbers every time results are below expectations. Canal doesn’t get it. “The team’s structure will fall apart if you make instant changes,” he says.
Pamplona. How do you describe a club, or a business, in a just a few words? Sometimes the easiest way is to describe their counterpart.
Using that method, it would be fair to say Osasuna are the opposite of Nottingham Forest.
The English Premier League side added 21 new players to their squad last summer after being promoted from the Championship.
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