Dead-ball specialist finally breaks the curse as Real Sociedad snatch late Getafe win
After 121 failed corners, La Real's set-piece coach José Rodríguez finally sees his work pay off with Aramburu's dramatic winner at the Coliseum.
Real Sociedad’s dramatic last-gasp victory at Getafe had an unexpected hero who wasn’t even on the pitch - their specialist set-piece coach who’d been having a proper nightmare with the team’s corner kick record.
The curse is broken
When Jon Mikel Aramburu nodded home Take Kubo’s corner to secure a 2-1 win at the Coliseum, it wasn’t just three points in the bag for La Real - it was the end of an absolutely bonkers statistical anomaly. The Basque side had taken a whopping 121 corners without scoring before Aramburu finally broke the deadlock.
No wonder José Rodríguez, the club’s dedicated dead-ball specialist coach, was mobbed by players and staff alike after the final whistle. The poor bloke’s been having a right mare since joining last summer.
A specialist struggling to deliver
Rodríguez arrived at Zubieta last June as Real Sociedad’s first-ever dedicated set-piece coach, having previously worked his magic at Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. His credentials were proper tasty - he helped the Birmingham outfit become the Premier League’s second-most prolific team from set-pieces.
But life in San Sebastián hadn’t gone according to plan:
- Despite being among LaLiga’s most prolific corner-takers, La Real couldn’t buy a goal from one
- The drought continued through three different managers (Francisco, Ansotegi and now Matarazzo)
- Several near-misses only added to the frustration
Sweet relief at last
When Aramburu connected with Kubo’s delivery in the dying moments at Getafe, capitalising on David Soria’s dodgy positioning, it wasn’t just a winner - it was redemption for Rodríguez.
While the goalscorer received his fair share of congratulations, it was telling that players made a beeline for their set-piece coach. They knew exactly how much that goal meant to a specialist who’d been scratching his head for months wondering when his bread and butter would finally deliver.
Two points that looked lost despite a deserving performance were suddenly in the bag, and the monkey’s finally off Rodríguez’s back. Talk about getting your just deserts after months of graft.