Castellón football is back! The first game of 2023 sees the Albinegres travel to Irun to face Real Union on Sunday, with a new man in charge. Following the sacking of Ruben Torrecilla, Alejandro Jimenez (aka Jim) has been placed in temporary charge of the team, at least for Sunday’s game and possibly longer, depending on how quickly the manager search comes to a conclusion.
Previously (and technically still) the coach of the B team, Jim spoke of continuity and personality as the two important factors for him as he takes charge of his first game.
“It would be a mistake to try and change everything in one and a half weeks. There will be some changes, but it terms of the reasoning and strategy it won’t be too different”, he said.
“We want to do things well, and victory will be the reward. We want to dominate the game and impose what we want to be”.
Jim also confirmed that Castellón were almost 100% healthy, with only Cristian Galas missing through injury. Iago Indias, who didn’t play at all in the run up to Christmas, should be back and in the starting line up on Sunday.
Real Unión, meanwhile, are coming off three wins in their last four games, despite losing the last time out in the league against Barcelona B. The Basque side also recently underwent a coaching change, with David Movilla taking charge in early December. They are still in the bottom half of the table, but only four points from the playoffs, which could still be an achievable target for them this season.
Their danger man is without a doubt Nacho Sanchez, who has scored almost half their goals (9 in 17 games). Chema Nuñez is often the man pulling the strings in the midfield, while Antonio Montoro has been the mainstay at the heart of their defence, not missing a single minute this season.
It feels like a fresh start for Castellón after a difficult run of form before Christmas, and getting the three points will be important even away from home, as Eldense are two points clear. Any slip up could open a real gap to the automatic promotion spot.