Guti takes Almería to the top of the Spanish Segunda

A hard fought 1-2 win on Sunday away to Extremadura combined with Cádiz's defeat to Deportivo was enough for Almería to take top place in the second tier.

CARLOS BARBA

Paul Reidy

Irish native who switched from the music industry to the world of sport moving from Universal Music to AS in 2017. A keen runner, soccer player and now discovering the world's fastest growing sport of padel. A fútbol fanatic covering LaLiga, MLS, Liga MX and other offbeat stories from the global game. Can always be found rooting for the underdog.

Update: Jan 19th, 2020 16:59 EST

Spanish second-tier side Almería announced José María Gutiérrez, Guti's arrival in November 2019 following the decision to part company with previous head coach Pedro Emanuel.

The position was Guti's first senior coaching role, having previously coached in Madrid's youth set-up and served as an assistant at Turkish giants Besiktas.

After less than three months in charge at the Andalusian side, Guti has taken the side to the top of the second division table with a late goal in Almendralejo giving the "Rojiblancos" a 1-2 win over Extremadura. The result, combined with Cádiz's slip-up away to Deportivo was enough for Almería to sit on top of the segunda table after 24 rounds of games.

AND WE LEAD THE TABLE! ⚽💪#TheWayToLaLiga2020 #ExtremaduraAlmería #UDAradio #VamosAlmería pic.twitter.com/iyL1gfoHOj
— UD Almería (@UDAlmeria_Eng) January 19, 2020

"Please call me José María Gutiérrez, not Guti" says Guti

The top two sides automatically are promoted to LaLiga with teams placed from third to sixth forced to go through a play-off series.

During the Summer of 2019, Saudi Arabian Turki Al-Sheikh took over at the club purchasing the entity for a reported fee of 20 million euros.