Former Barcelona assistant coach Eder Sarabia has rebuilt his reputation at Elche, leading the newly promoted side with a clear identity, brave football and impressive results in LaLiga
Elche might not be the most glamorous club in LaLiga, nor do they possess standout stars. But under Eder Sarabia, they have become one of the division’s most distinctive sides. Brave and intricate in possession, aggressive in the press and stubbornly committed to their ideas, the newly promoted side carry the clear imprint of their eccentric coach.
From a figure of ridicule years ago in the Camp Nou dugout, the coach from Bilbao has come full circle ahead of Elche’s meeting with Barcelona on Saturday.
The assistant who overstepped
Sarabia’s name still carries baggage from his brief and turbulent spell as Barcelona assistant manager in 2020.
As Josep Maria Bartomeu’s disastrous presidency was approaching its well overdue conclusion, Quique Setién was chosen to replace Ernesto Valverde. It was a symbolic attempt to restore an impression of a Barça with a clear identity. After a decaying tenure that had long abandoned the club’s values, the job was doomed to fail.
Setien – a confessed Cruyffista despite no prior links to Barça, obsessively focused on high pressing and controlling possession, with dynamic systems – was well-known in Spain, with successful prior spells at Las Palmas and Real Betis. But the assistant he brought with him was not known at all.
He quickly made a lasting impression, but not for the right reasons.
Sarabia introduced himself to the wider public during the Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu just two months into his role. TV footage captured him furiously berating Barcelona’s own players for not doing things as he liked.
He was captured yelling expletives from the dugout, questioning individual choices on the ball, and singling out global superstars for criticism.
Eder Sarabia, un no parar en el banquillo del Barça. #NoticiasVamos pic.twitter.com/7QstSIphB3
— Vamos Movistar Plus+ (@VamosMPlus) March 2, 2020
Unapologetically intense
Yet while he apologised to the players after the game for his outbursts, he was unapologetic about his style.
“I’m proud to be this way, living football intensely,” he told La Sexta. “My essence isn’t going to change.”
One of the players he particularly berated that day, for not giving the pass he saw suitable, was Gerard Piqué. At the time, Piqué was a seasoned veteran – one of the greatest centre-backs in the club and country’s history, having won everything there was to win in the game.
Sarabia, by contrast, was a coach just starting his journey at the highest level, and so his audacity to scold club legends on their decision-making on the pitch caused friction, which reached boiling point.
When the dressing room turned
Following a draw away at Celta Vigo that meant the title was near impossible to win, tensions in the dressing room spilled over, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez making it clear they would only address Setién from then on.
The Setién experiment ended in disaster. Barcelona were humiliated 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the COVID-altered one-legged Champions League quarter-final tie. Setién was sacked, and Sarabia disappeared from the spotlight. Given the turbulent image he gave off in his short spell at the club, it would not have been a surprise if that was the last heard of him at the top level.
And yet, less than a year later, Piqué himself appointed him as head coach of FC Andorra, a club the former Barcelona defender owns.
It was a decision that spoke volumes. Pique – who was on the receiving end of Sarabia’s outbursts at Barça – clearly saw beyond the eccentricity.
A second chance at Andorra
At his first press conference with Andorra, Sarabia addressed their Barcelona past. “If a person like Gerard, who was in that dressing room and is leading this project, has chosen me, then that dispels any misunderstandings.
“There are moments of tension, and we’re not going to deny that there are arguments in the dressing room.
“In Vigo, what happened happened,” he admitted, but brushed it off as “part of the job, with high demands”.
High demands are something that Sarabia has never relented on.
His time at Andorra was largely positive. After first losing the third tier playoff semi-final in his first season, he achieved promotion to Segunda División in 2022.
And while the following season ended with Sarabia being dismissed as the club sat bottom of the table, the timing of the setback proved a blessing, as it would open the door to Elche – the club where he is proving that there was reason behind his fiery insistence on his ideals.
Elche revolution and full circle at Camp Nou
Taking over midway through their Segunda campaign, Sarabia needed time to implement his philosophy. Early results were inconsistent and Elche hovered around mid-table for much of the first half of the season. Gradually, however, the pieces fell into place. Elche surged up the table, spent eight weeks at the top and ultimately secured automatic promotion as runners up.
More impressive than the promotion itself was the manner in which it was achieved, and they have carried that through to the top division.
Elche insist on playing out from the back, but not without a purpose. They dominate the ball, press aggressively and refuse to adapt their style based on the opponent. That commitment was on full display in November, when Sarabia returned to Camp Nou.
On paper, Barcelona’s 3-1 victory looked comfortable. In reality, it was anything but. Elche went toe-to-toe away at the reigning champions for long spells, refusing to sit deep or protect the scoreline, instead constantly searching to breach Hansi Flick’s high line.
At Camp Nou, it’s traditionally Barça who dictate, regardless of the opponent – but the audacity of Sarabia was on display again. The visitors finished the match with more possession than the hosts (49-51%), something that very few sides manage away at Barcelona.
And while Elche left without points, Sarabia and his main gained all the plaudits.
Elche spent the night in Barcelona, and Barça showed great sportsmanship by letting them use their facilities this morning for a recovery session. 👏
pic.twitter.com/KzLUrlBXcs— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) November 3, 2025
The elements of the game that he had learned under years of serving as Setien’s No.2 were evident. Fast moving triangles, short passes, constant movement into space, and above all, incredible courage, to play the same way away at Camp Nou as they would at home.
Misfits moulded into a fearless collective
All this has been achieved largely with players who have been overlooked by bigger clubs, released or playing in the lower divisions. And Sarabia has united them under a clear identity, which is a testament to his coaching capabilities.
Iñaki Peña, on loan from Barcelona after falling down the pecking order under Flick, looks settled and confident in goal.
David Affengruber, signed on a free from Sturm Graz, was an ever-present in Segunda and has stepped seamlessly into LaLiga. A composed centre-back, incredibly brave on the ball, either threading incisive passes to the midfield or spraying 60-yard diagonals to the flanks.
In midfield, Aleix Febas has become a central figure after years drifting through the lower leagues, while Marc Aguado – who Sarabia managed at Andorra – provides balance and structure alongside him.
And up front, there is the spark of Germán Valera on the left, signed for a mere €100,000 from Valencia, Álvaro Rodríguez up front signed for just €2 million from Real Madrid, and the much-travelled Rafa Mir finding consistency in front of goal.
Back in 2020, Sarabia’s approach at Barcelona felt misplaced. The message may not have been wrong, but the delivery and timing certainly were.
The experience seems to have refined him as, since that spell, Sarabia has gone on a journey of redemption – reaching full circle with the plaudits he received at Camp Nou in November.
Such was the respect that Barcelona had for Elche’s brave performance, the club the next day invited Sarabia and his squad to train at Ciutat Esportiva.
That performance clearly left an impression on the German, who spent much of that training session in conversation with Sarabia. Ahead of Saturday’s reunion, Flick was full of praise for his counterpart, with a vivid memory of the earlier meeting.
“They’re very brave, create a lot of chances, and I really like the way they play,” he said in the pre-match press conference.
He returns to face Barcelona this time not as unknown but as a respected adversary. And while Sarabia will certainly feel and appreciate the respect, there is no chance that Elche will afford too much of that against Barcelona on Saturday.