Another week in Spain, another Barca-Madrid showdown, another post-match spat.
This one was better than usual (the match, not the spat) but for those bored with the endless hype of the Clasico, there is a game tonight that provides a welcome contrast.
In a little stadium light years away from the glamour of the Bernabeu and Camp Nou, two very different sides will play the first leg of the semi-final of the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Cup. It’s a classic David v Goliath encounter, with the visitors Athletic Bilbao playing the Goliath role.
Athletic are one of Europe’s great clubs. In the top flight since La Liga was formed in 1928, standard bearers for Basque independence right up to the present day and their new away kit, green shirts with a red and white band — the colours of the Basque flag.
In recent times Bilbao have become used to the underdog role, partly because of their policy of only employing local or homegrown players. It is a unique tradition intact despite football’s globalisation. Only Fernando Amorebieta was born outside the region (in Venezuela) and both his parents are Basque.
This is a big game for Athletic, without a trophy since 1984 and beaten cup finalists three years ago. But for the home team, Mirandes, it is the biggest match in their history.
Miranda de Ebro is a small industrial city about 50 miles south of Bilbao across the mountains, with a football team that have usually been in the fourth division, except when they were relegated to the regional league.
Two years ago their fortunes began to change. Promoted to Segunda B (Spain’s third tier) they were runners-up last season, missing further promotion after an agonising late penalty.
This season they are top, six points clear, and have only lost twice so far, the second defeat coming on Saturday.
Their defence has let in just nine goals in 22 games and they kept a clean sheet for the first nine of them.
But the cup run is what has brought them national attention.
The Copa del Rey might not be a priority for the elite — until they’re drawn against each other, like Barcelona and Madrid last week — but lower-ranked teams almost never progress. Just once in the history of the tournament has a team from Segunda B reached the semi-final, beating two top-flight sides on the way.
Mirandes have gone one better. Starting with a narrow win in August, they went on through the first three rounds before beating first Villarreal and then Santander, both 3-1 over two legs. In the quarter-final they were drawn against Espanyol and the two ties could have been scripted by a dramatist. Two goals up with six minutes left in the away leg the 1,000 Mirandes fans were already celebrating when their defence suddenly parted like the Red Sea and Espanyol scored three times to win the game 3-2.
Six thousand fans packed the Anduva stadium for the return a week ago praying for that moment of glory or stroke of luck that would see them through on away goals. Instead it was Espanyol who scored, one minute into added time at the end of the first half. The dream seemed to have died until Pablo Infante, the four-goal hero of their games against Villarreal and Santander, cut in from the left and let fly with a dipping shot from 25 yards. Then in the 92nd minute Infante swung in a free kick, a diving header from Cesar Caneda and the Miracle of Mirandes was complete.
Eight hours later Infante was back at his day job, running a branch of a bank in a village some 30 miles away.
"I would say it’s a 99% chance for them to win," he says of tonight’s match against Athletic. All of Miranda de Ebro and most of Spain will be hoping this is an occasion when a bank manager has got his sums wrong.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, January 31, 2012
