Appreciating Paco Lopez’s revolution at Levante

Paco Lopez has transformed Levante. Here’s the story behind his unlikely appointment and why his team are so good.

In March of 2018, Levante coach Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz was sacked by the club following a 1-1 draw over Espanyol that left the club hovering over the relegation zone. Los Granates hadn’t won a league game since November and hadn’t won a match in all competitions since January. They sat above the relegation zone merely because the teams below them had been much worse.

Vincente Blanco, Levante’s sporting director, had been a great admirer of the work of Levante’s B team under Paco Lopez. “Tito” clearly fought his case as the 51-year-old was appointed manager that week. Lopez, who played as a striker for Levante in 1995, had never managed a game in the top flight. The closest he had gotten to top flight football was a four-match stint with Segunda side FC Cartagena, in which he failed to win a game.

The man from Silla has gone on to fully repay Blanco’s trust in him, leading Levante to safety by a comfortable margin. The Frogs finished 17 points clear of the relegation, having been just one point clear of it when Lopez took over. Having won just three league matches in their first 27 league matches, Levante finished the season with eight wins out of 11, becoming just the second side this century to score five against Barcelona in a 5-4 triumph that denied the Spanish champions an unbeaten season.

After blowing away Real Betis in their season opener, things seemed to be turning rotten for Lopez as his side collected just a single point from their next five games. However, the Valencian manager demonstrated a tactical shrewdness with a switch to a back three that saw Levante lose just twice in their next 10 games, a run during which they also beat Real Madrid in the Bernabeu.

The 5-0 defeat to Barcelona on Sunday was Lopez’s heaviest defeat as Levante manager so far, but any doubts about him have long disappeared. That game against Barcelona was his 27th match in charge of the Valencian club, inching him into the top 10 for most top flight league matches managed with Levante; his record in those 27 games is excellent.

He has the best win percentage in the top flight in Levante’s history. With 14 wins, he has the second most top flight wins in the club’s history sitting behind Juan Ignacio Martinez, who managed 28 wins in two seasons. Since March, only Real Madrid and Barcelona have collected more points than Lopez’s Levante.

So what’s the secret to Lopez’s success? The main one is goals. Under Muniz, Levante scored just 22 in 27 matches. They equalled that tally in their first 11 games under Lopez and have carried on their impressive goalscoring form into the new season. With 27 goals so far, Levante have the fourth best offensive record in La Liga, scoring more than both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid so far. The loss to Barcelona was the first time Levante have failed to score at home since Lopez took over and was just the second time they failed to find the back of the net this season (a 1-0 loss away to Espanyol being the other). Roger and Jose Luis Morales have been the main goalscorers this season, but a further 13 players have had their name on the score sheet.

Morales is undoubtedly the heartbeat of this Levante team. The 31-year-old captain is a relentless forward with fabulous technical ability and a cool head in the penalty area. These traits have led to him scoring some truly excellent goals with his first in a 3-0 win away to Real Betis one of the best of the season so far. Outside of his finishing, Morales is a very productive forward. According to Understat, he has managed the fifth most shots among starters for Levante in the league this season, as well as the most key passes per 90, the second highest xG per 90 and the second highest xA per 90.

Levante currently sit eighth in the table, two points off Getafe in the European spots and three points off sixth place, which is their highest ever La Liga finish (they last achieved during the 2011-12 season). Perhaps most importantly for Lopez, the club are seven points clear of the relegation zone, a valuable buffer for a side who have only spent 13 seasons in La Liga in their entire history.