Football Season Guide

Alaves spent most of the 2019/20 campaign flirting with relegation, while they suffered some humiliation in the Copa del Rey as they were the first top-flight side to get knocked out. In the end, they did stay in LaLiga after bringing in Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz to coach the final four matches. Lopez Muniz was not kept on, however. Instead, the club opted for former Girona, Sevilla and Espanyol coach Pablo Machin to come in. It’s an intriguing appointment since he usually plays with a back three and it means that either the coach or the squad will have to adapt. The squad has been shaken up quite a bit, but mostly with on-loan players leaving and those who were on loan returning. The one really exciting signing, though, is that of feisty Brazilian forward Deyverson, who adds much-needed depth at the striker position. The strength of this Alaves team is the fact that most of the key starters from last season have remained at the club, with several players having been there for many years. On the other hand, this strength could turn into a weakness if the new coach tries to change up too much. There is a need to improve in both defence and attack, but Alaves also won’t want to move too far away from their counter-attacking roots that have generally served them well over the years.