The former coach of Manchester United star Alejandro Garnacho has opened up on the player’s early formative days while at Getafe.
Unknown to many, Garnacho started out at Getafe’s academy where he impressed and earned himself a move to Atletico Madrid’s youth set-up.
It’s from Atletico Madrid that United swooped in for the Argentine in October 2020 for just £420,000.
Garnacho signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2021. From there, he has been on a rapid rise, culminating in his current status today.
At the moment, he is almost certainly a guaranteed starter under Erik ten Hag. Garnacho recently made headlines globally after scoring a stunning bicycle kick during United’s 3-0 win against Everton at Goodison Park.
The 18-year-old found the back of the net just days later against Galatasaray in the Champions League. During a season in which United’s forwards have struggled to score goals, Garnacho has come into the team and provided some relief to Ten Hag.
Marca spoke to Antonio Mellado, who managed Garnacho during the 2014-15 season while he was at Getafe.
Mellado pointed out, “I was lucky enough to coincide with Garnacho when I was nine or ten years old at AlevÃn as a first year in the 14/15. From a very young age you already saw him as a different player.”
“He had physical, technical and mental characteristics that made his difference with the others clear. Having Garnacho is having one of those players that you always want to have on your team and that you do not want to face as a rival due to his super-competitive nature.”
Mellado continued, “He had unstoppable power and quality in his driving. I seem to remember that he scored thirteen goals in a category in where all the teams were second-year juniors except us and Real Madrid.”
“At those ages, no matter how good you are, it is very difficult to know if one can reach that high. Conditions were seen, but it was difficult to predict.”
He went on to narrate just how committed Garnacho was, that he frequently turned up for training even when sick or suffering from the flu.
Mellado stated that no one at Getafe can remember the current United star ever missing a day of training.