Madrid, 1st June, 2013. Luis Garcia, the man who managed Getafe in the past two season, was relieved of his duties. The announcement was made by the club’s chairman, Angel Torres, during a press conference. “Luis Garcia is no longer the manager of Getafe. It was a hard decision for both parts, but I think it’s the best thing for the club right now”, said Torres.
The dismissal of Luis Garcia is a surprising one, considering the fact that the Spanish manager lead the team to the 11th spot in Primera, during the season 2011-2012, and one place higher in the last campaign.

But while the “episode” Luis Garcia is history now, everybody is answering who’s gonna take Getafe’s hot seat. Angel Torres gave the press some hints: “I can only tell you that we’re talking with a guy who had a previous experience at Getafe. But I won’t tell you if he played for us or managed the team before”.

The editors of MARCA are already making bets regarding the next manager and they have chosen four possible picks.

Bernd Schuster (53). The former Barcelona player was one of the greatest managers that Getafe had in the last decade. He spent two years on the bench of Azulones, between 2005 and 2007, and has helped the club to achieve their best performance ever, by that time: the 9th place in La Liga in 2005-06. The performance was repeated in the next season, when the team also achieved the final of Copa del Rey and secured the entry in the 2007-08 UEFA cup. Schuster is currently unemployed, after his last job was on the bench of Be?ikta? Istanbul.

Michel (50). If Bernd Schuster opened Getafe’s road to glory, Michel was the one who lead the team to the 6th place in Primera, in 2009-10. The former Real Madrid player was appointed as Azulones’ manager in April 2009 and ended his adventure after the season 2010-11, after finishing on 16th spot. Michel is unemployed too, after he coached Sevilla between February 2012 and January 2013.

Fabio Celestini (37). Celestini is the first ex-Getafe player proposed by MARCA to be appointed as the club’s new manager. The former midfielder was never an undisputed starter on Coliseum Alfonso Perez, but he managed to play in 121 matches, between 2005 and 2010. He also played for the team in the quater finals of UEFA Cup, in 2008. He retired as a footballer in 2010, but he has already expressed his interest to return to the sport he loves as a manager and Getafe might be his first team to start.

Cosmin Contra (37). Cosmin Contra was also a great player for Getafe. The Romanian spent his first season on Coliseum Alfonso Perez in 2005-06, loaned from Atletico Madrid. He was transfered by the Azulones the next season and spent his time in the blue shirt until 2010. He retired as a footballer in 2011, after he played for Politehnica Timi?oara. He also was Timi?oara’s head coach in the season 2010-11. After a short spell on the bench of Fuenlabrada, he returned in Romania. Since last season, he is the manager of Petrolul, a team that he qualified for Europa League. Will he give up the European matches for the bench of Getafe?

Madrid, 6th June 2013. Cosmin Contra is the new manager of Getafe CF. The former Romanian player left his job at Petrolul, the team he lead to the 3rd spot in last season of Romania’s Liga I. Basically, Contra gave up the chance to take the “Yellow Wolves” in Europa League this season just to came back on Coliseum Alfonso Perez, the place where his spent football career between 2005 and 2010.
“I am delighted to be back in Getafe’s family. It’s a dream come true for me. I’m looking forward to the first matches and I will try to do my best for this club. I want to thank Mr. Torres for giving me the chance to coach in Primera Division and I promise I won’t disappoint him”, said Contra at the press conference.

Speaking about the players, the new Getafe coach said: “I know almost all of them, because we played in the same team. Together, we can bring the glory days back here. I will try to motivate them and I think the performances in the first matches will shape that”.

Cosmin also mentioned that he “borrowed” some experience from the managers that coached him in the past: “I’ve worked with some of the greatest coaches: Ancelotti, Terim, Aragones, Schuster, Laudrup. I learned many things from them”.

Contra will work at Getafe with Lauren?iu Ro?u, the man who was his assistant manager at Petrolul. Ro?u is familiar with the Spanish football, since he played between 2000 and 2009 in Spain (Numancia, Recreativo Huelva, Cadiz).

The former Getafe defender said that the team can achieve a top-half finish at the end of 2013-14 season. Even with high ambitions, the club will began the transfer window with no money for transfers and only € 2,000,000 left in the payroll. Now, club is spending €20,847,472 per year on salaries.

Contra will make his debut on Getafe’s bench on 23rd July in a friendly match against Olympique Lyonnais.