PETE JENSON: Mason Greenwood’s new club Getafe are the most unloved side in LaLiga… they lack the history of the older teams and charm of the more colourful ones

Getafe head coach Jose Bordalas has defended the club’s decision to allow Mason Greenwood a way back into football.

The 21-year-old was hired from Manchester United, who suspended him in January 2022 over sex offense charges that were dropped seven months ago.

Greenwood failed to make his Getafe debut in last night’s 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid, but Bordelas was still under pressure over the club’s decision to sign him.

“It is a very delicate situation to play down this issue,” he said. “Everyone knows what happened and appropriate measures have been taken. Everyone knows how it ended, with a non-conviction verdict.

“He is a footballer of a very high level and comes to Getafe with enormous enthusiasm.”

Getafe is probably the most unloved club in La Liga due to its lack of history and charm

Without the history of some of Spain’s older teams, nor the charm of the more colorful ones, Getafe is probably the most unloved club in La Liga.

And it was Getafe who took over Manchester United outcast Greenwood on loan on Friday night.

There was some affection for the ‘Blues’ when they reached the quarter-final of the Europa League against Bayern Munich in 2008, but they are long gone from being the neutral side’s favourite.

That glorious European run grew out of Michael Laudrup’s open, expansive football, but now, with the uncompromising Jose Bordalas in charge, they’re a smashing, no-nonsense team set up to frustrate opposing teams and coaches and maintain top status.

Bordalas also had them in Europe during his first spell at the club, before joining Valencia. He came back last season to save them from falling and did so with an average of 20 fouls per game and 35 percent possession.

In Bordalas’ first period, Getafe regularly topped the yellow and red card charts, but at least his style was effective. Now that their best striker, Enes Unal, is injured until next year, they are favorites in the relegation battle.

Locals say Getafe, on the outskirts of Madrid, is a safe place to live, with a low crime rate and a lower cost of living than the Spanish capital. It is quieter and has less traffic than Madrid. Their open Alfonso Perez Coliseum stadium is rarely filled to a capacity of 16,500, but when you come across a Getafe fan you really want to shake hands.

Jude Bellingham scored deep in stoppage time to help Real Madrid beat Getafe

Getafe tweeted a video of jubilant fans celebrating the arrival of the Greenwood outside their stadium

It’s a tough life for a club that holds only the 1998-99 Second Division title in its trophy cabinet and is just 50 minutes’ drive from the gleaming new Bernabeu, where the two teams met on Saturday and Real won 2-1. with Jude Bellingham scoring a winner in the 95th minute.

Even the club’s president, Angel Torres, is a Madrid fan, so those from Getafe who choose to support their local side are to be admired. Fans certainly cheered Torres on Friday night, as they gathered to celebrate Greenwood’s signing.

But as people stood outside the stadium jumping for joy, many on social media questioned the club’s decision, especially in light of the spat surrounding Spain’s World Cup winning team and Spanish FA boss Luis Rubiales. “With everything going on with the Spanish women’s team, you employ this man. Shameful,” wrote one supporter.

Perhaps that fan remembers that in 2011, Getafe produced a 1970s-style short film featuring “sex-crazed women” called “Horny Zombies of Getafe,” in support of a tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign encouraging male supporters to donate sperm.