It’s a totally new Elche CF compared to three years ago, with Eder Sarabia now in the dugout and overseeing a special brand of football.
Sarabia made a name for himself as an assistant coach to Quique Setién at UD Las Palmas, Real Betis and then FC Barcelona. When he decided he wanted to step out on his own and become a head coach, he started out at FC Andorra.
The fact that the Andorran club’s president was Gerard Piqué, a player who’d seen Sarabia up close at FC Barcelona, was a major demonstration of confidence in the Basque tactician’s methodology.
Inspirational Sarabia
It worked as Sarabia led FC Andorra to LALIGA HYPERMOTION, before taking over the Elche CF job in the summer of 2024 and immediately achieving a promotion there too, this time to LALIGA EA SPORTS by finishing second in the second tier.
In the 2024/25 campaign, Los Franjiverdes finished the season with the highest possession percentage in the division, with 62 percent, and the lowest goals conceded record, with just 34 goals let in across 42 games. It makes sense that those two statistical categories went in parallel, as Elche CF’s strategy was to prevent their opponents from having the ball and to believe that they’d score just enough goals at the other end to rack up points.
Some analysts doubted that Elche CF could keep this up following the step up to LALIGA EA SPORTS, but they have been able to. Their possession rate of 57 percent is only surpassed by FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, while the Valencian Community side’s tally of four goals conceded is only bettered by Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Put simply, Elche CF are in very good company in the two categories that matter most to this team.
Meeting expectations
They’re also undefeated through their first five games. They’ve drawn three games (1-1 at home to Real Betis, 1-1 away at Atlético de Madrid, 2-2 away at Sevilla FC), while they’ve won 2-0 at home against Levante UD and then earned a 1-0 victory at home against Real Oviedo this past weekend. In that game, Portugal international André Silva scored the only goal in the ninth minute, before Elche CF masterfully saw the game out to keep a clean sheet and all three points.
In the view of coach Sarabia, he admitted he’d have liked his team to be even more effective in attack, but he was content with the solid defensive performance. As he put it: “We’re creating something beautiful and that should be one of our strengths that translates into points. I’m happy with the defensive work and the high pressure."
Now, Sarabia and the fans of Elche CF are wondering how long this unbeaten run can last. The team currently sit fifth in the table, in the European positions, but the coach knows that difficult games lie ahead. That includes the trip to face CA Osasuna on Thursday night in a midweek Matchday 6. “There will be changes in El Sadar, where they’re going to press us like crazy,” Sarabia stated, “CA Osasuna will bring an earthquake on Thursday.” It won’t be easy, but Elche CF haven’t lost an official match since May and don’t plan on giving up points any time soon.