Villarreal Fires Coach Pacheta: Struggles and Departure

MADRID (AP) — Villarreal fired a coach for the second time this season, announcing on Friday the departure of José “Pacheta” Rojo. The Spanish team has only won five of 12 games in all competitions since Pacheta took over after replacing to Quique Setién in September, after Villarreal lost three of the first four games of the season. Villarreal is in 13th position out of 20 teams in the Spanish League, after winning three games. They were fifth last season under Setién and reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2022 under Unai Emery. They have underperformed this season despite having a talented attacking team with forwards Gerard Moreno and Yéremy Pino and midfielder Álex Baena (all occasionally selected from Spain) along with right-back Juan Foyth. The club reported that sports director Miguel Ángel Tena will be the interim coach for Sunday’s match against Atlético de Madrid. Pacheta’s departure comes a day after the team struggled to a 2-1 victory against Maccabi Haifa in the Europa League. After the game, Pacheta acknowledged that his team was not working. “We are suffering a lot. “We are not enjoying playing,” he admitted. “We feel pressured to get a win and we are playing tight. “We don’t finish our opportunities and we end up feeling the stress.” The club did not reveal the conditions of Pacheta’s departure but thanked him for his “work, dedication, professionalism and commitment.”
2023-11-10 16:21:45
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