Javier Aguirre ends a 103-year tradition at Mestalla

Javier Aguirre is ending a 103-year tradition at Mestalla. The Valencia coach has decided to move the home dugout, a long-established custom among the stadium’s oldest regulars.

Previously positioned on the left when viewed from the Tribune, the dugout will now be on the opposite side. The change will be introduced this weekend against Athletic, breaking with a practice that had remained unchanged for decades. The decision is not prompted by capacity or comfort. Operationally, the home dugout will be closer to the assistant referee assigned to that touchline during matches.

Aguirre had already made a similar change while managing Mallorca at Son Moix. He has chosen to repeat the experiment at Mestalla. The move comes in the final season of the Valencia stadium.

Opened in 1923, Mestalla is approaching the end of its time, and every match there carries symbolic weight. Right now, however, the team is more focused on emerging from its sporting crisis than on nostalgia. The dugout move therefore changes a historic feature of the stadium while immediate sporting concerns remain in the foreground.