After the euphoria of Spain’s World Cup triumph it’s time to dismantle the lovingly crafted mural that adorns my lounge wall, dig out that tub of magnolia paint to cover the magic tape marks (one of the conditions set by the missus) and then turn my attention to the domestic game.
Sadly, after being crowned 2008/09 Segunda División B champions, Cádiz lasted just a single season in the Segunda División (or if any corporate types are reading this, Liga Adelante) and now find themselves back the third tier of Spanish football. With no automatic promotion spots up for grabs, they must once again negotiate a complex play-offs system to escape what is ominously known as El Pozo (The Well). Not that I assume they'll finish in the top four, pre-season optimism is something I last felt in the mid-nineties.
Perhaps not the ideal place for Los Amarillos to spend their centenary year then, particularly with the club in serious financial difficulty. But wait, before we start pulling the bunting down and packing away the trestle tables, let's look at the plus side. It’s given me the opportunity to explore some clubs from the further reaches of the Spanish leagues - and as my good mate Dave's TV Sports once said, there are few things more exciting than discovering a new football team.
So, to sort out our Jumillas from our Melillas, here's a brief historical guide to los equipos de Segunda División B (Groupo 4)...
Yeclano Deportivo
Formed: 2004
Ground: La Constitución (4,000)
Last season: 2nd Tercera División Group 13
Look like: Crystal Palace
Yeclano Deportivo were formed in 2004 from the ashes of the now defunct Yeclano CF, whose big moment in the Spanish sun came in 1992 when they were pipped by Atlético Marbella (who themselves have since gone up to the great football league in the sky) in the play-offs for a place in the second tier. More recently, a truly disastrous 2003 Segunda B campaign saw Yeclano CF’s novel approach of offering referees bribes instead of paying players’ wages end in relegation and - with a €140,000 debt to pay - bankruptcy.
However, it’s only taken Yeclano Deportivo six seasons to power their way through the regional leagues and back to the Segunda B – this time holding their nerve in a promotion play-off penalty shoot-out with Haro Deportivo. Playing at the same ground in the Murcia province and in the similarly Barca-inspired strip of their previous incarnation, it’s as if the old Yeclano never went away. Let’s just hope they don’t go carelessly leaving suspiciously bulging brown envelopes in referees’ changing rooms again.
Club Deportivo Alcalá
Founded: 1944
Ground: Estadio Francisco Bono (3,000)
Last season: 1st Tercera División Group 10
Look like: Bury
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Aren’t Alcalá in Segunda División B - Group 2? Well, yes they are but that’d be Real Sociedad Deportiva Alcalá based in the city of Alcalá de Henares, 35 km northeast of Madrid. In fact, there are over a dozen places in Spain bearing the Alcalá name, which stems from the Arabic word for ‘citadel’. It’s certainly something worth bearing in mind if you’re ever planning an away day in the lower rungs of the Spanish football league ladders.
But, it’s Club Deportivo Alcalá from the Alcalá de Guadaira suburb of Seville that I’m talking about today. After spending all of their existence in the regional leagues and Tercera División, CD Alcalá finally made it to Segunda B in 2004. This entitled them to take part in the Copa Del Rey and in turn set them up for the biggest game in their 66-year history. Thanks to hastily erected temporary seating, close to 6,000 fans doubled the usual capacity of the Estadio Francisco Bono for the visit of Primera Liga neighbours, Real Betis. Alcalá bravely held the Béticos 0-0 for 120 minutes before bowing out 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out. Their sense of achievement was made greater by the fact that Real Betis went on win the cup and qualify for the Champions League that season.
After slipping back into the Tercera for a couple of seasons CD Alcalá returned to Segunda B in dramatic style, overhauling a 2-0 deficit in the first leg of their play-off with Canary Islanders, CD Corralejo to win the home tie 3-0. One thing’s for sure, these boys sure have cojones.
CF Atlético Ciudad
Formed: 2007
Ground: Estadio Juan de la Cierva (1,600)
Last season: 7th
Look like: AFC Bournemouth
With a name that’s as generic as Scotland’s Albion Rovers, ‘City Athletic’ were born out of the hideous spectre of franchised football teams. But wait, before you decide on an MK Dons-style boycott – Atlético Ciudad are actually the good guys. They were formed after Ciudad de Murcia, then a Segunda A outfit, were ‘acquired’ by an investor in Granada (some 300km away) and renamed Granada 74 CF. Even the ‘74’ part of the club’s name was stolen, from Tercera División side Club Polideportivo Granada 74 who themselves then became the new incumbents reserve side.
The now bereft Ciudad de Murcia fans arranged a merger between what was left of their reserve team and Escuela Municipal Deporte Lorquí to form CA Cuidad de Lorquí who were promoted from their starting point in the Tercera at the first time of asking, before changing the name of the club to CF Atlético Ciudad who have had two solid seasons in Segunda B.
Meanwhile, the Granada 74 franchise proved to be a complete disaster with the team suffering two successive relegations before winding up in 2009. Are you listening Pete Winkelman?
Asociación Deportiva Cueta
Formed: 1996
Ground: Estadio Municipal Alfonso Murube (6,500)
Last season: 5th
Look like: L**ds
If you thought Ipswich Town were rubbish in the play-offs then AD Cueta really take the Miguel. The side from the autonomous Spanish city of Cueta, located across the straight of Gibralter in mainland Africa, have missed out on promotion to Segunda A no less than five times in the last decade.
Unfortunately, if the long-suffering Ceutíes want to see their team add to their only season in the second tier (as Agrupación Deportiva Ceuta in 80/81, one of their many previous incarnations) then they’ll have to go through it all again – remember folks, there are no automatic promotion spots in Segunda B.
Incidentally, Nayim, scorer of one of my all-time favourite goals (a last-minute 45-yarder for Real Zaragoza against Arsenal in the 1995 Cup Winners’ Cup Final) is a local boy and started his career in Cueta’s youth team.
Jumilla CF
Formed: 1975
Ground: La Hoya (3,000)
Last Season: 1st Tercera División Group 13
ook like: Huddersfield Town
Now I must admit to having an immediate soft spot for these boys, they play in blue and white stripes and were founded in the year of my birth (the original Jumilla CF trundled around the lower divisions for 40-odd years before giving the whole thing up as a bad job in 1970). The fact that the town is also home to the world's largest photovoltaic solar power farm is merely an added bonus.
Jumilla CF find themselves in Segunda B for the first ever time through a case of what you might call third time very lucky. Having twice lost out in the Tercera play-offs in recent years, they confidently went into the 2009/10 end of season deciders as Group 13 Champions but were once again eliminated, this time by Caudal Deportivo. BUT, due to the Spanish football federation’s ruling that ‘B’ sides cannot play in the same division as their senior teams, Real Murcia’s relegation from Segunda A had the knock-on effect of demoting Real Murcia Imperial to the Tercera, with Jumilla CF gleefully replacing them as best placed losers.
Club Deportivo Roquetas
Formed: 1933
Ground: Estadio Municipal Antonio Peroles (9,000)
Last season: 16th
Look like: Walsall
‘El rojo no es un color, es un sentimiento…’ (Red isn’t a colour, it’s a feeling) proclaims the official website of CD Roquetas – and their red-letter day came at the end of the 2007/08 season when the club from Roquetas de Mar (little rocks of the sea) finally negotiated their way through the rough waters of the Tercera play-offs to arrive in Segunda B for the first ever time.
Since then they’ve struggled to adapt to life at this level, only just finishing above the drop zone in their debut season and then needing a dramatic 96th minute goal against CD Toledo to survive last season’s relegation play-off.
CD Roquetas play at the tidy Estadio Municipal Antonio Peroles, which was constructed for the 2005 Mediterranean Games hosted at nearby Almería - a sort of mini-Olympics held since 1951 for young athletes from nations bordering the Med.
Club Deportivo San Roque de Lepe
Formed: 1956
Ground: Estadio Municipal de Lepe (3,500)
Last season: 8th
Look like: Cambridge United
These are heady times for CD San Roque fans having just enjoyed the club’s best ever season. Not only did they achieve their highest league placing of 8th in Segunda B, but also brought home the splendidly titled Copa Real Federación Española de Fútbol (better known as the Copa Federación, a sort of Spanish Johnstone’s Paint Trophy open to teams outside the top two divisions) beating Lorca Deportiva CF over two legs. Incidentally, Lorca are the club that current Valencia boss Unai Emery cut his managerial teeth at.
This success has - unlike many financially stricken clubs at this level - left them a bit flush and CD San Roque are currently constructing a new stadium. I just get the feeling this small town near the Portuguese border, previously only known for exporting strawberries, could well be in for another fruitful season.
Unión Estepona CF
Formed: 1995
Ground: Estadio Francisco Muñoz Pérez (3,800)
Last season: 9th
Look like: La Selección
Yet another relative newcomer to Spanish futbol, Unión Estepona CF came into being - and forgive me if this sounds familiar - through a merger between Estepona CF and UD Estepona. This was after the town’s other club, CD Estepona were dissolved.
After 12 years of regional football the Garrapatas (Ticks) were promoted to the Tercera, which they topped in their debut season. This was largely thanks to the inspirational signing of veteran striker Catanha from neighbours Málaga CF. The Brazilian-born player had finished joint-second on 24 goals with Atléti’s Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in the race for the Pichichi Top Scorer Trophy of 1999/00 and earned three caps for La Selección. With his help, Unión Estepona successfully negotiating the play-offs to make it back-to-back promotions and finished a creditable 9th in Segunda B last season.
Finally, here’s one for all you pub trivia fans, Estepona was earmarked as one of the possible sites for Euro Disney before Paris got the gig.
That's all for now amigos, but in true tapas style I'll be updating this here blog with tasty morsels on the rest of the Segunda B sides over the next couple of weeks.
Adios
Sal
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