After missing out on last season’s Champions League in heartbreaking fashion, Pepe Bordalás’ Getafe again sit in fourth place in La Liga after 21 matches played as they aim to take their Cinderella story one step further.
The Getafe story was supposed to end last season, when against all odds the Madrid-based club qualified for the Europa League with their best-ever 5th place finish in La Liga.
Although they were in pole position for Spain’s final Champions League spot for much of the season and were ultimately unable to hold on after heartbreak on the final day, it remained a massive achievement. From there, the club even managed to qualify from the group stage and will face 2018/19 Champions League semi-finalists Ajax in the Round of 32.
Manager Pepe Bordalás and his side have not stopped there, however, with another brilliant start to the league campaign putting them once again in fourth place on 36 points—ahead of traditional Spanish power Atlético Madrid on goal difference through 21 games. This is no fluke; Getafe have been one of Spain’s most consistent and stable clubs since winning promotion back to the top flight via the playoffs in 2016-17 (their first season under Bordalás) and have finished 8th, 5th, and now sit in the top four across the last three seasons.
What was once a Cinderella story has transformed into a true contender, and one possibly worthy of knocking one of the big boys out of Europe’s elite club competition. La Liga has now had a 39 game sample size on this Getafe team, who appear just as consistent as the side who nearly made the Champions League a year ago, and they look poised to take it a step further in 2019-20.
The club have been a traditional mainstay of La Liga, having spent 15 of the last 16 seasons in the top flight, but they had only previously finished higher than ninth on one occasion, in 2009-10. With traditional mid-table to lower-league clubs such as Leicester City, Atalanta, and Borussia Mönchengladbach all making significant domestic impact, Getafe are Spain’s underdog story.
Given a lack of consistency from traditional powers Sevilla, Atlético, and Valencia, there is no reason to believe Getafe cannot take their dream one step further: to the stage of the Champions League. In my opinion, this will be an enthralling second half of the season in La Liga, from a hotly-contested title race, big clubs in danger of relegation, and an intriguing battle for European places. Once again Getafe will have a massive part to play in this story, and by the looks of things, they are here to stay.