Leeds United hero Pablo Hernandez has had a fantastic start to life at Castellon as the club’s caretaker manager in Spain’s second tier.
After playing 175 games over four years at Elland Road, Pablo Hernandez left Leeds United in 2021. He scored 36 and assisted 41 in that time, which is why so many fans loved him for his brilliance.
Now 40 and retired for a couple of years, Hernandez is in interim charge of Castellon. Not only that, but their caretaker boss has been a breath of fresh air in the Segunda Division in Spain.
With Hernandez having won his first three Castellon games, an excitement is building. He drew his fourth game but Spanish media are loving Hernandez’s Castellon work so far after stepping up from the academy set up.
Opta’s incredible Pablo Hernandez reveal at Castellon
In June 2024, after one year acting as an ambassador of Castellon, Hernandez was appointed manager of the reserves. In his first season in charge, he led the side to a first-ever promotion to Segunda Federacion.
Those were his only managerial credentials. That said, he has had some fantastic managers tutor him during his playing career, such as the enigmatic Argentine Marcelo Bielsa.
In a recent interview, Hernandez outlined what happened with Bielsa when leaving Leeds. His decision to leave West Yorkshire appears to be vindicated by his start to life in Spain as manager.
Such has been the progress with Castellon, Leeds fans all want Hernandez as manager eventually at Elland Road. They may well be wanting him in even more after the latest reveal from Opta.
Having started the season with three defeats and two draws, Haralabos Voulgaris saw enough to make a change from Johan Plat to Hernandez.
Opta explain that, from a data perspective, Voulgaris has to like what he is seeing. The “former Leeds maestro” has improved Castellon’s xG per game to 1.69 per game from 1.52 (the caveat being a four-game sample size).
Castellon were already high up the list in xG under Plat (7th) but Hernandez has given them the third-best xG per game in the league. Opta explain that, perhaps more importantly, they now have the fourth-best xG against in the league (0.78/game).
They report that Plat saw them conceding double that amount per game (1.60) for the third-worst rank in the league. They write: “It’s early days and Voulgaris won’t be getting ahead of himself given the uncertainty around small sample sizes, but Hernandez has them looking like genuine title contenders.”
They have the best expected goal difference per game under his watch (+3.66) and they are unbeaten in four games. It’s something which Leeds fans will be delighted about for Hernandez, but also something to keep a close eye on.
Pablo Hernandez’s praise of Carlos Corberan as well as Marcelo Bielsa
Hernandez admitted he could have stayed with Leeds longer than he did, but he went to finish his playing career with his boyhood club in Spain instead.
Hernandez has credited Bielsa’s influence on him as both a player and a manager. Bielsa is not the only high-profile coach that the Spaniard worked with in Leeds, though.
Bielsa may well be influencing his managerial career, but Hernandez will take inspiration from Carlos Corberan as well — per other recent comments on the now Valencia boss.
He said: “I spent several years with him at Leeds. I’m really happy for him on a personal level, because I know him and I spent time with him at Leeds.
“I’m pleased that it’s going so well for him and that he’s come here to Valencia CF. And, last season, he was able to turn the situation around.
“He showed that he’s very much up to the task of coaching this team. I know his work-rate and I know how hard he worked when I was with him.
“Now, as a coach, he’s showing that he knows a lot about football and that he’s a born hard worker. He spends a lot of hours on this and you’re seeing that with the results.
“I’m used to having conversations about football with coaches when I was a player. We had a little chat, coach-to-coach about how I feel and whether I like this new role.”
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