Eder Sarabia and Andorra's second act

A seventh-place finish marked an impressive debut season at second tier level for both, but what comes next will be more telling.

One of the stories of the season in Spanish football, Andorra ended their first ever second tier campaign just one place outside of the Segunda play-offs. The newly-promoted side, led by former Barcelona assistant Eder Sarabia, not only performed beyond expectations, but did so in debuting a style of play that was essentially unprecedented in Segunda.

While working on one of the smallest budgets in the league, and doing so while stepping up a division, Andorra’s performance in 2022-23 was the product of a club whose project is driven through a specific way of playing.

Since Eder Sarabia was hired in 2018 — a choice taken by owner Gerard Piqué — the club’s ascent has been propelled through a distinct way of playing, executed by a manager’s long-standing idea and supported by the accumulation of players to fit that, where they’re then developed internally.

For a squad that started the season with a dearth of experience at Segunda level or higher, they ended the campaign with their overall value transformed in the way of assets. The football on display and the roles played within it saw the reputations of many take off, and Andorra are already feeling that squeeze on retaining their players in the face of competition.

The bad news is it’ll be difficult to do that; the good news is that their project is functioning on all fronts, and they’ll be confident of replenishing what is lost.

What comes next will be instructive of both Andorra’s staying power at the upper end of Spanish football, as well as the capacity of their leader Eder Sarabia — a coach already being touted with bigger openings. Now that their idea is planted, the new season is one they can look to with real confidence.

The idea that drives Andorra

It’d be no exaggeration to describe Sarabia and Andorra’s approach as revolutionary, when considered in the context of Spain’s second tier. As the headline figure, their 68% share of possession last term was the highest on record in a Segunda campaign. And quite simply, no side have seen as much of the ball, or conditioned the game through that, quite as much as Andorra have in the second tier’s recent history.

From their 4-3-3 system, Andorra play a game of provocation. They do it by crowding the ball in the initial phases, with full backs tucked in on both sides, the pivot typically no more than 10 metres away from the centre backs, and the interiors balancing whether to support close by or hold the space in front of the opposition’s defence. Meanwhile, the two wingers stretch the pitch as much as possible on both sides, and are typically used to accelerate the play once the team have made headway through the opposition, rather than figuring too much as out balls in the construction.

Andorra want short connections before the longer ones arrive.

If an out ball is needed, that typically comes through the lone number nine – a player who starts by occupying the centre backs, but can drop deep into midfield when the opposition has latched on man-for-man and short options are closed. 

The principal idea behind Andorra’s build-up is to both control the game positionally and create the conditions to attack at speed. It begins slow, where the deliberate patience is used to attract markers, and is then intended to finish fast once Andorra have taken players out of the game and opened up space in the opposition half.

For the opponent, it becomes a problem of managing distance. By populating their build-up with short connections and inviting pressure on the ball, Sarabia’s side are constantly asking their opponents to weigh up how much they can sit off (without giving Andorra a free ride) and with what amount of conviction they can commit to their pressure, knowing that if their teammates aren’t co-ordinated with them, they present a real point of attack for Andorra.

Particularly for opponents that don’t usually press from the front, getting to grips with those repeated short passes and being in position to actually rob the ball presents a real challenge. Without comitting man-to-man and trying to completely break Andorra’s rhythm, that balance of closing gaps without renouncing pressure on the ball is one of the most difficult tactical challenges in Segunda.

Andorra have weaponised the short pass. And even for the most reticent sides, there comes a point when waiting is no longer an option.

“I love dribbles, but not long passes, because I understand that while the ball is travelling, the opponent is as well. But if I dribble, I generate and provoke things…”

Eder Sarabia, El País

Of course, the same 4-3-3 system and the same movements within it aren’t viable every week and against every opponent. Opposition teams come prepared, and even more so against Andorra, knowing that their assignments against them are unlike anything else they see in Segunda. Most of the time, however, the adaptations that Andorra make within their central idea are pretty subtle, and made depending on the opposition’s shape and intent.

In the example below away to Eibar — one of the best and most aggressive out of possession sides in the division, no less — a slight tweak in the positioning of their interior was all it required in responding to Eibar’s approach and preserving their strength in the build-up.

In the image below, we see Andorra in their typical 4-3-3 shape, but well covered by Eibar’s 4-4-2 for the moment. Mika Mármol — as he does — tries to provoke some indiscipline in Eibar’s pressure by standing on the ball, but finds no takers. And so back to the goalkeeper it goes.

Eibar squeeze up, and their 4-4-2 is changed by Matheus Pereira (pictured in the centre) pushing onto Marc Aguado in the pivote role. The home side shift into a 4-1-3-2 shape, with the wingers tucking in tight and Peru Nolaskoain staying back to keep an eye on Sergio Molina.

Andorra respond by moving to a 4-2-4, with Hector Hevel on his way back to form a double pivot alongside Aguado.

With Hevel in position, and Matheus Pereira now having to shuttle between two pivotes, goalkeeper Nico Ratti sets the ball in motion. Andorra are happy with the distances, and confident in the security of their short connections.

On this occasion, defender Álex Pastor decides against the short pass into Hevel, and with the dribble on the outside of Jon Bautista he provokes the movement of striker Sinan Bakis towards the ball. Hevel might not have received the pass but his move into the double pivot, attracting Matheus Pereira, frees up Marc Aguado in the centre of the pitch.

With a touch and quick release, Andorra find Aguado free in the centre of the pitch — the player they originally wanted to find.

Aguado receives the pass and knows that the space will be found out wide, with his winger stuck to the touchline. And when the run from Sergio Molina comes between Eibar’s right back and centre back, dragging the former inside, Andorra arrive at their winger in ideal conditions to accelerate towards goal.

For Andorra, their game is the constant pursuit of having the necessary number of players in a certain zone of the pitch at the adequate time. Not too early — and of course, not too late — but right on time for optimal effect.

If that can be achieved by their standard 4-3-3 and most habitual positioning, then they can focus merely on their rhythm of play. The majority of the time, however, Andorra will have decisions to make about what to add and what to take away.

In the case against Eibar, they brought an interior in as an extra pivote to combat Aguado being man-marked. On other days, it can be shifting to a back three in position and using a full back higher up (there’s Iván Gil using the free space left by the left back).

As ever, there’s much debate about who’s responsible for which particular innovation in football, and who has taken what from others. Within that respect, and without specifically attributing it to a single source of inspiration, the tendencies we see from Andorra are similar to those used by Roberto De Zerbi and Pep Guardiola (the latter being Sarabia’s self-confessed reference as a coach).

Namely, it is the encouragement of opposition pressure to be able to open up space to attack. Andorra hold the centre of the pitch and play short passes across the ground, where one and two-touch football creates angles to remove opposition players from the picture. One of the products of that is the creation of artificial transitions — quite simply, the act of building up play from deeper areas so that you can pull the opposition up the pitch and then capitalise on the space behind, providing you can surpass their pressure.

In what was their first season in Spain’s second tier, Andorra’s methods created a sustainable platform for performance. They were the fourth-best team for xG per game (1.12) and ranked ninth in the league for xG conceded per game (0.9). From open play, only Granada (+22) and Las Palmas (+14) — the two teams automatically promoted — had a better goal difference than Andorra (+12).

As it stands, the club have a very dependable looking process given the speed of their rise. Given how balanced LaLiga Smartbank is from top to bottom, a fine margin is a much bigger margin than in most other leagues, and Andorra were comfortably on the right side of those in 2022-23.

So, what to improve on?

Like many possession-based sides, their shortfalls usually come in trying to stand up against direct play and the other side of the game. More than a third of Andorra’s goals conceded last term came from set pieces (38%), while they conceded eight goals from crossing situations — one of the higher totals in the division.

In a recent interview, midfielder Marc Aguado was asked what he’d choose if he could change one rule in football. “I’d remove set pieces,” he replied. Without ruling for the team overall, it might perhaps speak to a group of players who are conditioned by the play to a heightened degree. Sarabia’s team are good at playing football — very good, in fact — but there are details across a Segunda season that have to be taken care of too (their coach will be very aware of that, of course).

If Andorra are to go one better next season, they’ll have to continue to learn to love all that happens outside of their ball circulation. For all that they do well, it could be the difference between play-offs and mid-table.

A unique approach to rotation

Andorra made a staggering 200 changes to their starting line-up in Segunda last term – or if you like, not far off half of their outfield players every game. On five seperate occasions, Sarabia made 9+ changes to his starting XI from the previous game.

With reference to the idea that embedding a specific style of possession play is most easily done when giving as much continuity as possible to the same players, Sarabia has essentially enacted the opposite so far.

You might be wondering why.

Well, there’s no catch-all answer for the moment. The educated guess, reading between the lines, is that Sarabia wants his entire squad to know that at any moment they will be called upon to perform. The star midfielder had a 9/10 performance last week? Well, he’s on the bench this week. It was a theme throughout the 2022-23 campaign that players considered to have been in good form were subject to rotations, and that’s just how it was.

From Sarabia’s perspective, it’s an approach that looks to keep every member of his squad on their toes — the pursuit of every player staying game-ready. That an individual knows a starting spot is always attainable — more than it would be anywhere else when beginning the training week on the fringes — Andorra want to drive the standards in the day-to-day across the board.

Substitutes aren’t really substitutes in this team, but if you do find yourself there for weeks on end without an opportunity, then it’s probably your problem.

“And when I’m annoyed for not having played, because I came from playing in [the last game] and now it turns out, “how am I not playing today?”… well, because I understand that someone else has to play.”

Eder Sarabia post-match press conference (30th April)

It should be said, there are some patterns within the rotation policy. Four of the top six minutes leaders for Andorra last season were players with significant roles in the build-up. Mika Mármol (CB) and Marc Aguado (DM) were their two most-used players, while the inverted full back pair Adrià Altimira (RB) and Diego Pampín (LB) weren’t far behind.

The brunt of rotation in the team tends to come outside of the initial build-up structure, which is telling of Andorra’s approach too. As long as the team have that initial platform in place, and are confident of managing the ball effectively from point A, the room for experimentation is more viable further up the pitch.

Particularly with respect to the two wingers, Andorra work heavily towards finding them in space and generating 1v1 opportunities. And when those opportunities do arrive, they need their wide men at their inspired and motivated best.

Squad overhaul, and what it means for Sarabia

Going into their second season at Segunda level, Andorra have plenty of work to do this summer. As it stands, they only have 12 players under contract at the club. Their loan players have returned to from where they came, most are unlikely to re-join, and a handful of key players from 2022-23 have already either left or are expected to leave.

That was the (fairly) bad news. The good news, meanwhile, is that Andorra is a wholly different attraction now to what it was this time last year. Sporting Director Jaume Nogués might have a lot of work to do in terms of numbers, but his pitches will be enhanced this time round, as well as aided by a better economic state.

If players are attracted to the football ideas that are embedded in Andorra, then they also know that last season’s class had plenty of examples of players furthering their careers individually from within them. The balance for the club and Jaume Nogués is to assure some degree of continuity, while also being able to explore that new horizon of possibilities following Andorra’s impressive debut season.

If you’re a young winger looking for game time, or possibly dropping down from a Primera club, then heading north is about as attractive a proposition as it gets in Segunda at present. Your team has the ball the majority of the time, you’re not spending large periods games tracking back or in defensive shape, and the team work to generate advantageous conditions in your favour.

It’s a context which favours the attraction of talent, and not just for fleet-footed wingers.

Of course, the ideal scenario for Eder Sarabia would be to retain the key elements of his squad this summer. The loss of Marc Aguado for example — since returned to parent club Real Zaragoza — presents a problem given his importance in the pivot role and how that relates to Andorra’s wider performance levels. Jandro Orellana is a viable alternative that the club have ready in-house, but Aguado’s act will be a tough one to follow all the same.

In view of Sarabia the individual, the summer generates an inflection point that will either enhance or limit the ceiling of his team next term — whatever the case, the context will be altered to some degree.

Perhaps Andorra can simply run it back and continue their line of ascent. It’s not unrealistic to think they’ll punch through another level, after taking advantage of their new capabilities in the market. Or maybe, the summer exchange of players doesn’t go to plan, and Sarabia has to change tack in view of the reality once they’re locked in for the season.

Whichever scenario comes to fruition, the 42-year-old coach stands at the foot of another season in his young coaching career, with further challenges and pressures to contend with, and perhaps new ideas of his own to safeguard Andorra’s path.

Sarabia’s side dazzled in their first season, but their second act will show us just what the two entities might be capable of in the coming years.