Álvaro Vadillo targets Óscar García over his brief Celta spell

Álvaro Vadillo described Óscar García as “horrendously bad” when reflecting, several years later, on his short spell at Celta de Vigo. Speaking on the Climbers podcast, the former Andalusian winger directly criticised the man who was coaching the club at the time.

Vadillo arrived in Vigo in the summer of 2020 after leaving Granada as a free agent. He spent only three months at Celta and did not play a single official match. He said he asked Felipe Miñambres, then the sporting director, about his lack of playing time: “Did you sign me with the coach’s approval? Because this makes no sense.”

According to his account, after five warm-up matches he had not even been given the chance to come on. “Before the market closed, we played five matches, and it is not that I did not play one of them, it is that I did not even warm up. Sometimes you have to laugh about it,” he said.

Vadillo said he realised from the start of pre-season that his situation would be difficult. His assessment was not limited to Óscar García’s sporting decisions, but also covered his attitude towards the squad. He said the coach greeted nobody and remained serious, while every training session was run by the assistant coach. “Horrible, and even worse as a person because he does not even greet you,” he added.

The former player ultimately left Celta for Espanyol just three months after arriving in Vigo. He said Celta had made a very good deal: he had joined on a free transfer, Espanyol paid his full salary, and the club then received 1.7 million. In hindsight, Vadillo acknowledged that he should have waited for his opportunity rather than rushing his departure.

In the same interview, he also drew a lesson from his three promotions: “From the three promotions, I took humility and calmness.”