Pablo Watch 26/27: Castellon on top — Square Ball 18/9/26

The Birth of a Great Coach

Written by Rob Conlon

After Castellon were beaten at the death in last season’s play-off semi-final at Almeria, Pablo Hernandez walked over to the away end staring at his shoes, his bottom lip quivering, unable to look his supporters in the eyes. If only he’d gazed upwards, he’d have seen a sold out away end, holding shirts and scarves aloft, bellowing with pride at what the team had achieved and the promise of what could follow.

As Pablo applauded the Castellon supporters after their latest away trip, the scene was much the same. The away end at Girona was sold out, only this time they were celebrating Castellon’s turn to snatch victory in the final ten minutes, scoring twice to come back from a goal down against a team that was playing in La Liga last term and the Champions League the season before last.

It was the perfect result ahead of a week in which Hernandez celebrated a year in charge of his boyhood club. When he was appointed in September 2025, Castellon were without a win from their opening five league games of the season, with only two points to their name. Now they’re top of the league, unbeaten in their first five fixtures, with victory at Girona marking the first time in the club’s entire 104-year history they’ve won their opening three away games. Overall, it’s their joint second best start to a second-tier campaign.

Castellon’s bright start has come despite losing two of their best players from last season. Alex Calatrava had a strong argument for being the best player in Spain’s second division in 2025/26, scoring fourteen goals and providing eight assists as a diminutive attacking midfielder. In the play-off second leg at Almeria, he was Castellon’s most threatening player, scoring the equaliser on the night and dancing around the pitch like an untackleable garden gnome. His performances earned a €5m move to Espanyol, the highest transfer fee Castellon have ever received, where he has already scored against Real Madrid.

Joining Calatrava in the exits column was Brian Cipenga, who missed the play-offs having been called up to DR Congo’s squad for the World Cup, scoring against England in the knockout rounds. Between Cipenga and Calatrava, Castellon lost 37 goals and assists from last season’s league campaign. Worst of all, Cipenga left for the club that knocked Castellon out of the play-offs, Almeria.

In their place arrived over a dozen signings, none of which cost seven figures, including four players on free transfers and two loanees from Brighton. Castellon’s recruitment has been masterminded by owner Bob Voulgaris, Spain’s answer to Brighton’s Tony Bloom, a professional gambler whose aim is to fight the “culture war” against analytics in sport. I’m not sure if such a thing exists — stats nerds have pervaded every aspect of football — but more endearingly Voulgaris is rarely spotted without his bernedoodle Oscar by his side, who once stole the show at a Castellon game by scything down their own kitman. His plans for the club include expanding the stadium and a second training complex for academy teams.

Much like Daniel Farke’s Leeds after the sales of Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter, shorn of the offensive output of Calatrava and Cipenga, Castellon have shared the goals around this season. Striker Ousmane Camara, who almost left in the summer having been guilty of missing a plethora of good chances in the play-offs, has become the focal point of the team, Pablo’s answer to promotion season Pat Bamford.

“I find it interesting that so many Second Division clubs were supposedly interested in Ousmane and were willing to pay between two and three million euros for him, while, at the same time, some of our own fans keep calling for a ‘killer’ up front,” Voulgaris recently told El Periodico Mediterraneo.

“I think the forward position is probably one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated in professional soccer. People naturally focus on the goals, but there’s so much more behind the scenes that makes a team function. Ousmane is one of our most important players. He works incredibly hard, is selfless, and is always willing to go the extra mile for his teammates and the club. He does a lot of things that can easily go unnoticed by the casual fan.”

Camara is the only player to have scored more than once for Castellon this season, with their seven league goals shared between six different players, thanks in no small part to the centre-forward’s movement and work rate dragging opposition defenders out of position.

As Leeds fans it’s almost impossible to separate Hernandez from Marcelo Bielsa, but the influence is apparent. In his first interview as Castellon’s manager, Pablo described the ideal style of play he wanted to implement:

“My philosophy is about controlling the game, which for me doesn’t mean having too much possession if that possession is far from the opponent’s goal. I really see myself reflected in what this Castellon team is all about: playing in the opponent’s half, pressing high, creating lots of chances… I like attacking soccer, taking risks on defence, but with balance. For me, the key to football is playing as much as possible in the opponent’s half, and that’s something we do very well.”

That philosophy was apparent in the 2-0 home victory over Albacete at the start of September. Castellon dominated two thirds of possession, had 26 shots and created an xG of 4.09 in an absolute battering of the visitors. At one point, Fran Castillo tried his best to recreate his manager’s famous assist for Stuart Dallas to score at Stoke, only for right-back Juanjo Nieto’s finish to be saved by a spoilsport goalkeeper.

There have been strokes of luck along the way. Real Sociedad B had two goals disallowed for tight offside decisions in Castellon’s opening day win, while Celta Fortuna hit the woodwork late on with Castellon leading 2-1. Whether they are signs of fragility or the pieces of luck a team needs on their way to promotion remains to be seen.

But after a year in charge, Pablomania remains undimmed. Under the headline, ‘Pablo Hernandez Year 1: The Birth of a Great Coach’, local reporter Enrique Ballester wrote:

CD Castellon fans are enjoying a privilege: witnessing history unfold live. One of the events that will mark this happy era for the Albinegros is undoubtedly the emergence of a new coach. And he’s not just anyone: he’s Pablo Hernandez, one of us.