A club legend gambles—and saves Zaragoza from disaster | OneFootball

When Gabi Fernández agreed to take the reins at Real Zaragoza in the midst of a perilous relegation fight, few in Spanish football circles considered his appointment anything other than a gamble. Fernández left behind a stable post at Getafe B—where many assumed he was biding his time for bigger opportunities—in order to answer a personal call to rescue a club that shaped his own playing career. Even those closest to him counselled against the move. The reality facing Zaragoza at the time was bleak: a squad low on confidence, having slipped into the Segunda División drop zone, and a fanbase bracing for the unthinkable.

The risk, for Gabi, was significant. A failure to steady the ship would have tagged him to one of the lowest points in Zaragoza’s modern history. Yet, against these odds, Fernández achieved what sceptics dismissed as little more than a romantic gesture—he ensured Zaragoza's safety in Spain’s second tier.

Getting there was anything but straightforward. The team stumbled into relegation territory mid-season and endured stretches where their shortcomings—particularly a lack of attacking punch and unaddressed weaknesses not sorted in the January window—left even the most optimistic supporters doubting survival. The revitalised runs from rivals such as Eldense briefly pushed Zaragoza closer to the abyss. Reflecting on the pressure, Gabi admitted, “I have suffered much more now as a coach than as a player. This is taking years off my life.”

The turning point came thanks to consecutive victories against already-doomed Racing de Ferrol and Cartagena, capped by a crucial win over Deportivo. These results, alongside fortunate slips by rivals, clinched their place in the division for another year. Fernández’s most immediate achievement was restoring belief and morale to a squad many considered beyond repair.

For Gabi, though, this escape is only a foundation. The former club captain made clear his ambitions run deeper: “If we want the club to keep competing and raise the bar for bigger goals, we have to start from scratch and build the Real Zaragoza everyone wants to see.” The prospect of fully reshaping the squad and instilling a hardier competitive edge now looms over a crucial summer.

Fernández’s reputation—built first at Zaragoza during his playing days before joining Atlético Madrid—was risked for his old club’s sake. Delivering safety under these circumstances has, at the very least, bought him the authority to push for more profound changes. Whether the club’s board will match his appetite for renewal remains the open question as Zaragoza plot their next steps.

Source: Marca