Is Getafe really the toughest team in the League? The figures that call into question the fame of the most 'hated' team

“You're going to destroy football,” the Celta de Vigo coach, Rafa Benítez, ruminated angrily after his match against Getafe on the last day of the League. “It's impossible,” he added, to no one in particular, as he wandered from one player to another until he met Jaime Mata and told him: “We're ruining football like this.”. Meanwhile, the Getafense player reminded him that he complained a lot, but that they had only added one point at home before the 2-2 draw with the Madrid team.

In that match between Celta de Vigo and Getafe, 50:58 minutes of 106:48 had been played, 47.80% of effective time. These figures represent 6 points less than the LaLiga average (53.64%), and eight points below the average of the Vigo team in these nine days of competition, which rises to 55.73% according to the data collected by Opta Sports Stats Perform and consulted by ELMUNDO.

It has become a tradition that teams that do not get what they want against Bordalás' pupils complain bitterly about their game.. Xavi did it on the first day after tying at the Coliseum, Iñaki Williams magnified it on the seventh with a new tie at San Mamés and Benítez finished it off on the last. “It's normal that people don't want to watch football.. “This has not been a game, today's product is a shame,” said the culé coach.. “I know it's his [Bordalás] thing.. In First Division we all have an appreciation for it. We know what his team plays, it is legal, but many of us don't like it,” said the Athletic forward after the hookup they had in the San Mamés match.

There is one thing that Getafe's rivals are right about. When they play against the Madrid team, they play less effective time than they accumulate against other rivals. Alavés did 6% less; the Royal Society, 5.75%; Girona, 5.7%; Athletic, Osasuna, Real Madrid and Barcelona, 4% less and Villarreal, 0.15% less, without forgetting the eight points below the aforementioned Celta.

Bordalás and Williams, facing each other in San Mamés. EFE

These are the cold data that seem to agree with those who consider that what Getafe does “is not football”. Statements that, whether they play more or less, are not made by rivals who do get a positive result against Bordalás' team. Or, going into detail, they forget how in the second half in San Mamés, when the Bilbao team was ahead on the scoreboard, it was not the Madrid team that lost time. Not in Villarreal either, after Baena sent himself off for elbowing Mitrovic. In fact, the yellow goalkeeper was reprimanded for delaying goal kicks.

Returning to the general figures of the Spanish competition, Getafe is not the team that plays the least amount of time. This statistic is led by Sevilla, until now by Jose Luis Mendilibar. The Seville team plays an average of 49.9% of the time. Second in that classification is Cádiz with 50.05% and then Rayo Vallecano and Getafe tie for third place with 50.3%.

Interruptions

There are several ways to lose playing time, although the most common are voluntary interruptions: fouls and other actions that stop the ball, but not the stopwatch, and this is the main accusation against Getafe: that it interrupts the game a lot.

Well, those from Bordalás occupy sixth place in that section, tied with Valencia with 104.2, according to the figures provided by Opta. Fifth is Granada, with 104.66 and fourth is Athletic with 106.1. The podium, that is, those who interrupt the game the most, is occupied by Alavés, with 108.4 in the third step; Rayo, with 110.5, in second and again Sevilla, with 118.25, is the one that leads the table. The average number of interruptions in the national competition is 101.3.

Discounts

Bordalás expressed that this sambenito that they have been given weighs heavily on the referees when it comes to judging their games.. Which causes greater extensions compared to other LaLiga teams. “We have been in the League for five days but we have played six. They have added 86 minutes of injury time. We will have to lengthen the training sessions so that the players get used to it because it is not very normal,” he said before their match against Real Sociedad, in which 15 minutes ended up being added.

The Getafe coach is not lacking in reason. His team is the one that plays the most minutes in the First Division with 105; Granada is second, with 104; while Cádiz, Mallorca, Almería and Barcelona tie for third position, with 103. The LaLiga EA Sports average is 101.5 minutes per game. Almost five less than those of the blue team. Thus, doing a quick operation, we can affirm that Getafe has played a part more than the average LaLiga team. Like everything, it's quite a bit, but not crazy.