The long-awaited trip from Barcelona to Alcarria

“Only six years ago we were minutes away from being relegated to Preferente,” explains Javier Ablanque, captain of the Alcarreño team that defends its colors for nine consecutive seasons and its only representative born in the city. “We were playing against Atlético Ibañés and we scored at the end. “That goal gave us the victory and allowed us to be here today because relegation would have meant extinction.”

Ablanque is, with Dani Gallardo, one of only two players in the squad, also sharing a place in defense, to make the pitch compatible with their work outside the club. “I work as a sports brand representative, as a sales representative, and the flexible hours I have help me. I organize my time myself, even if the priority is football,” he says.

Gallardo has a physiotherapy clinic in Coslada where he also adjusts his interventions with training. “I adapt the treatments to the team’s weekly schedules. Being an owner also helps me because sometimes they cover for me when I can’t, but the team comes first,” explains the player. “I don’t miss any training,” he says.

For the second time they will repeat the purples against a rival of the highest category: “Barcelona will be the second team to visit us in our history in our stadium”, comments Carlos Ávila, president of the club, who emphasizes that “Elche, four years ago, did not leave us a choice. Although they were last in the First Division standings, they were much superior.

But, for the club and for the city, the least important is to reach the round, it is enough to enjoy a moment that will make them be on the lips of the supporters during these days. “There is immense hope,” says Ávila, confirming that at the economic level it is a very important injection: “The budget does not really solve us as one might think, but it will help us because it is money that we did not foresee in the budget.”

Membership soars

The club, since last Tuesday’s draw, has increased its membership by around 1,600 members, or almost 50% of the 3,500 with which it faced the season. “Thanks to the draw, many people signed up for the remaining half-season, knowing that they were guaranteed to be able to purchase and have the ticket for the match against Barcelona as members,” the club said.

“Almost everything is sold,” confirms the president who insists that “full capacity will be guaranteed and we have added 2,000 seats with additional stands to the 6,200 we have.” The club gave priority to regular collaborators: “There were companies, always helpful, who asked us for dozens of tickets. One of them, a hundred. And they have them, in the end, because the Cup will pass but they will continue to support us and they are the ones we owe.

Players will have them too. “The club gave us the usual freebies they give us in the league, but then we were able to buy some at members’ prices. Some didn’t need it and we made a distribution between the whole group,” explains Jorge Casado, another veteran and heavyweight of the group.

Casado already knows what it’s like to face the culés of the current squad: “I’ve never played against the first team, but I’ve already faced the reserve team several times when I was at Castilla or Rayo Majadahonda. Against Marc Casadó or Gerard Martín, for example, I have already played. With a past at Betis or Zaragoza, for Casado the shock is also very special: “It is perhaps the last opportunity of my career to play the Copa del Rey and if it is against Barcelona you can imagine the enthusiasm with which I take this match at my age.”

Ablanque talks about the institution of work “There are many levels of difference, many categories. “It’s Barcelona and we will play eleven against eleven, but we must note the technical and physical differences between the two teams, although we know that it has already happened that a miracle can happen.”

The team’s celebration when the result of the Copa del Rey draw was known is timeless.

For Gallardo, enthusiasm will be a key factor on the pitch: “You don’t win with it, but we’re going to do everything because it’s a party for everyone that we can’t spoil. And if then the flute plays… The football physiotherapist does not want to forget last year’s team, the one that obtained promotion to the 2nd RFEF: “We are here thanks to what we did last year, the promotion that participation in the King’s Cup also brought us. It’s also for those who aren’t here right now.

The Alcarreño club, which on social networks has made it clear that it is neither Madrid nor Mexican from Guadalajara – given the confusion between the club and with the emblem that has been circulating for days through various media -, the duel with Hansi Flick’s team comes at a time when it can change ownership. Néstor Ruiz, the largest shareholder, would be on the verge of ceding ownership to a Mexican group which already owns several clubs on its continent. “We are negotiating, but beyond this operation, this party is making us known in places where it was unaware of our existence,” concludes President Carlos Ávila.