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Atlético Mancha Real, set in a small town of 11,000 inhabitants about 15 kilometers from the capital Jaén, has starred in one of those narratives that, in a cyclical way, briefly make the heart of the average Spanish fan beat at this time. From the third category to knock down Granada and, as a prize, it will face today a historic of the Copa del Rey like Athletic de Bilbao (20.00 hours, DAZN), the second team with the most titles in the competition (23). The sporting glory buries the suffocating reality for a few weeks, in which the conversations of the residents of the town revolve around how the speed of the Williams brothers or the scoring nose of the ‘Skinny’ Sancet can be stopped and not about the new sanitary restrictions imposed by the Government.
«We want to give an award to the people here. This is the game that everyone wants to see once in their life, “he explains. Diego Cobo, president of the Andalusian club, which for days has held logistics meetings until 12 at night to prepare for the match with the people of Bilbao. «The other day Aitor (Elizegui) called me. I will eat with him, so that he can taste the oil and what is typical of the land. But once the game starts, only rivals, “the manager explained to ABC with a laugh.
It is stories like that of this modest but emotional team, turned into a phalanx during these weeks, which return the soul to an increasingly impersonal sport. Atlético Mancha Real, despite being a one-seat team in professional football, follows the same vital line as the population it defends on the pitch. Several of his players they work in the olive groves, whose collection ended last December. The club understands this reality and since they reached the third category of Spanish football in 2016, they have given all the facilities to their players to combine olive oil with the ball. Since the preseason, all training sessions are organized so that both realities converge harmoniously. Workers in supermarkets and physical education teachers, among many other trades, are those that make up the parallel life of the Mancha Real players. Special attention has been unleashed in the previous match Oscar Quesada, 43-year-old midfielder for the Andalusian team, who in the morning will load pallets in the factory where he works and then, at night, plunge into the football battle of his life.
Managers are not exempt from stories with crumbs either. Cobo became president of Atlético Mancha Real through a scene that can only occur in modest football. Last season, the previous board decided not to continue to command the club and all the powers to find substitutes fell on a person “as big as the club’s crest”. the utility worker José Casas. The employee embarked on the company and was recruiting profiles for the new governance. Once they met to appoint a new president, no one wanted to take the step and it was Diego, owner of a local supermarket, who accepted the challenge, albeit somewhat reluctantly, because of “some problems at home and fear”, only as a position temporary. A year and a half has passed since then and time has brought him an award. He slept little the day his people eliminated Granada and assures that since then the “madness” has not left the town. “Maybe the small pitches and artificial grass benefit the little one but that’s the beauty of the Cup, that these things happen. It’s a short dream, you have to live it».
Just as enthusiastic about tonight’s game, although with the inherent prudence of the footballer, is one of the captains and left back Nando Gomez. The footballer, born in Mancha Real, has had a very close relationship with his hometown team from a very young age, so much so that he was even enrolled for several years among his unconditional fans in his youth. Now he is a physical education teacher at a local school and he will have to leave it all on the grass and not in the stands. «It is clear that our main objective of the season is to maintain the category but yes, this match is a prize. A duel for which it is worth having become a footballer “, explains Gómez to ABC. His last weeks as an educator have been absolutely marked by the match against Athletic. For his students the defender has become a hero and, as he narrates, his classes have become an infinite compendium of football. Gómez had to see the draw from his work and when the powerful rival came out, one of his colleagues from the ‘cloister’ had to remind him that they were in an educational center to the shouts of joy from the player. “We have nothing to lose and our weapon is illusion.”
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