Life in the lower Divisions, Spanish style
Michael Hynes
is a 2a and 2b) last night, and it was an interesting experience.
The game was Granada CF vs. UD de San Pedro. I had phoned during the
week to ask where I could get a schedule for the year , and was told
there wasn't one yet (???), but that this game was on at 7:30 Sunday
night. Iasked how much tickets were, the guy said he didn't know but he
thought 12 Euros. OK, I said to myself this is even more disorganised
than the Calgary Storm of the A league. We took a bus to the stadium
(had to walk a fair bit coz the bus we planned to take (once we read the
really fine print) only runs on dias lectivos, to find that the game
seemed about to start, though it was only just after seven (turns out it
was a 7 oclock start - we missed 3 minutes). Got tickets (10 euros
AAMOF) and found seats that roughly corresponded to the numbers and were
four rows back from the centre line.
And there any resemblance to A league stopped. The crowd was about 4000
I'd guess, but great atmosphere and lots of noise. The pitch was
imaculate, and the stadium perhaps the nicest I have been in. I was
told by the enthusiast behind me it holds 15,000, but I'd guess slighlty
more. All seats (real seats, not bleachers) and a good view from every
seat in the house. From the main stand where we were, which was well
covered and protected our delicate celtic skins from the sun, you also
had a great view of the moon rising over the Sierra Nevada. No track
around the field so we were only 10 yards from the action.
Now to the game. Faster paced, more combatative, and a higher overall
skill level (trapping, passing, trying innovative things) than what we
get in the A league. Finishing was woeful though, and I could think of
half a dozen A league strikers who would help these teams (a lot !).
Granada (Us !) were clearly the better team and dominated play from the
start , but squandered a hatful of chances. In the second half the ref
took over, and yes refereeing was every bit as bad (or worse) than A
league level. He sent off a granada player for a dubious foul (second
yellow - first wasn't much either) - what was bad was he didn't seem to
realise that the guy had been carded already. Then he gave San Pedro a
penalty (mystery what for - keeper got to a cross first at edge of area,
then fumbled it after colliding with player who ended up in heap on
ground - there could have been some other foul I missed though) after
which their time wasting became incredible. Granada kept trying to win
it and scored on a corner to get a deserved equaliser. Hectic finish in
which both sides should have scored but it stayed 1-1. Muy emocionante !
The atmosphere was far better than 2 Bundesliga, and in fact than a lot
of Bundesliga and Ligue 1 matches I have gone to. There were some
useful players on view too. All in all pretty interesting. Crowd had a
lot more women and families than I am used to in Europe, but that didn't
curb the language (mostly addressed to mister referee, whose ancestry
was called in to question quite a bit) significantly.
I know some people on this NG have no time for the lower divisions at
all, but I still found this game entertaining from both a cultural and
footballing perspective. And the Stadium is a gem.
Paul C
wrote:
>We went to see a match in the 3 Division (which is really 4th, as there
>is a 2a and 2b) last night, and it was an interesting experience.
>
>The game was Granada CF vs. UD de San Pedro. I had phoned during the
>week to ask where I could get a schedule for the year , and was told
>there wasn't one yet (???
http://www.futbolme.com/001/index2.asp
select Tercera Grupo 9 for the season's schedule
BTW futbolme is an excellent site for Spanish results/tables etc
There are two teams in Granada in the Tercera Division - CF Granada
and Granada 74
--
Paul
Paul C
Checking futbolme.com, I see CF Granada share the Nuevo Los Carmenes
with Granada 74. The crowd at 74's opening match was 200 !!
--
Paul
labas
news:3F5C9D5C...@ucalgary.ca...
> And there any resemblance to A league stopped. The crowd was about 4000
> I'd guess, but great atmosphere and lots of noise. The pitch was
> imaculate, and the stadium perhaps the nicest I have been in. I was
> told by the enthusiast behind me it holds 15,000, but I'd guess slighlty
> more.
. And the Stadium is a gem.
I'm pretty sure Granada CF was in the Segunda B division not so long ago
(I'm positive they were there in the 2001/02 season, not sure wether they
relegated that time 'round, or last season). Anyhows, that may be an
explanation for why their stadium is quite impressive for a 4th league team
(Tercera).
Plus Granada is quite a famous city. Not sure wether that corresponds to
it's current size, but I've seen it stand out on the spanish map, so I
presume it's not just a historic tourist attraction (like Toledo?).
Victoria Barrett
>"Michael Hynes" <hy...@ucalgary.ca> wrote in message
>news:3F5C9D5C...@ucalgary.ca...
>
>> And there any resemblance to A league stopped. The crowd was about 4000
>> I'd guess, but great atmosphere and lots of noise. The pitch was
>> imaculate, and the stadium perhaps the nicest I have been in. I was
>> told by the enthusiast behind me it holds 15,000, but I'd guess slighlty
>> more.
Oh, I didn't get this post...looks a treat!
Paul C
>(I'm positive they were there in the 2001/02 season, not sure wether they
>relegated that time 'round, or last season). Anyhows, that may be an
>explanation for why their stadium is quite impressive for a 4th league team
>(Tercera).
>Plus Granada is quite a famous city. Not sure wether that corresponds to
>it's current size, but I've seen it stand out on the spanish map, so I
>presume it's not just a historic tourist attraction (like Toledo?).
>
>
recently in the mid-70s. They played in the orginal Los Carmenes.
--
Paul
Michael Hynes
Correct as usual, Paul. They finished as high as sixth a couple of
times in the mid seventies.
I think this is their second season in the Tercera. Obviously they still
have a loyal afficion
as their crowd on Sunday was far more than double anything else in the
grupo 9. My colleagues here say that Granada 74 does not always play at
Los Carmenes. Their first home match there this year was a farce in
which the opposition tried to get the game stopped by feigning injuries
that took their number of players below 7
during the match. I didn't read the details.
The New Estadio de los Carmenes is (I am told) only around ten years
old, so it has not been used
for Liga 1 (and maybe not Liga 2 - I'll have to check).
> --
> Paul