For the fan of any team eligible for the Super League, glory only exists in the form of major continental triumphs. It is logical and acceptable, but there is nothing like celebrating a promotion and a tenure on the last day of LaLiga. This is told to you, dear reader, by someone who has experienced this sensation for three consecutive years.
After 38 days we have enough mutual trust to confess the transformation of a lump in the throat into an incomprehensible explosion of cheers and shouts. “But, what does this celebrate?”, I have heard more than once, without understanding that avoiding death is one of the greatest football pleasures. It is a much more decentralized privilege than the titles and a horror, for which it descends, much more painful than any runner-up. The Granada experienced it firsthand. He joined Alavés and Levante on the list of fallen to Second.
The Nasrid set he was the one with the best. He played at home and against a rival in a spin. Jorge Molina, the float of this team in a season of continuous drowning, missed a key penalty against the Espanyol (0-0). The Majorca and Cadiz they won at home their matches against Osasuna (0-2) and Alavés (0-1), not without their due suffering. For the Cadiz fans it was an explosion of joy. They were the only ones who did not depend on themselves. Granada goes from living a European adventure to falling into the well of Second. Football is a carousel of emotions when it is played off the beaten track, propelled only by crazy signings and titles from here and there.
For its part, Villarreal retained the square of Conference, the last one that was at stake, after beating a languid Barça at the Camp Nou (0-2). Not since 2006 has a runner-up scored so few points: it was the Barça team itself, which lost LaLiga against Real Madrid due to goalscoring.
did not press the Athleticwho lost in Sanchez Pizjuan (1-0) due to a goal by Rafa Mir that also left Sevilla fourth. Atlético defended third place after beating the Real society (1-2) with goals from Rodrigo de Paul and Correa. Guridi put some tension at the end. Although everything remained in a final slot at the wrong time, which began at 10:00 p.m. The farewells were more important: Luis Suárez or Hermoso at Atlético, in addition to the many that are expected in the cleanup of Barça.
AT BREAK WITHOUT GOALS
The trio of decisive matches for permanence began at 8:00 p.m. and reached the break goalless. Cádiz was the first that was forced to make a move against an Alavés already relegated. A duel made rare by the decision of the albiazul board to make tickets inaccessible to yellow fans. The reason: “Not to cause more pain in our fans.” From chirigota. They worried about patching up the dignity of the local players. They took advantage of the nerves of Sergio González’s team, who did not have clear chances.
The attitude was similar in the other fields with salvation at stake. Only Granada, during the first 15 minutes, took control of the situation against an apparently ghastly Espanyol. With an interim on the bench, Luis Blanco, and the desire to release the album for the new season. Karanka’s plan was unbalanced with Luis Milla’s injury, his franchise player. He had to be replaced by Eteki. The Nasrids, aware of the temporary score in favor, got lost between the rival’s passes to the chagrin of a packed Nuevo Lós Cármenes. It seemed like the preview of what happened next.
in the sadar, Mallorca found a competitive health. Understandable within red genetics. Budimir unnerved Javier Aguirre’s team, led by Manolo Reina. The Bosnian striker had them in all colors: cross shot, half-turn… The clearest of the vermilion was the eternal Save Seville, with a thread that made displaced fans raise their hands to their heads. If on the penultimate day Mallorca was the last to hit, with a goal from Abdón Prats in the 92nd that took him out of relegation, in the final set he took the lead to put together the great revolution.
The Balearic team benefited from being in an exchange of blows from the beginning. He was never disengaged and in the 48th minute he found the door towards the goal. he went with a great play that Muriqi and Ángel put together, who stood in front of Sergio Herrera. The buzzard forward did not fail. But Budimir and Osasuna insisted on plunging Mallorca into a sea of diazepam. In Mendizorroza, Cádiz went up a desperate march. A goal sent Granada to Second. The rojiblancos knew it. It had an effect on them, but for the worse. In Los Cármenes they couldn’t believe it, when two weeks ago they seemed saved.
‘MAXIMUM’ PENALTY IN GRANADA
It seemed that Cádiz was going to score, if only because of insistence. Then came a penalty that could change everything. Maximum penalty in favor of Granada. Uzuni, with one season in LaLiga and 26 years old, took the ball. Luis Suárez, the specialist, was on the bench after being substituted. Was he going to put his life on the line? They didn’t let him. took responsibility Jorge Molina, 40 years old, a gazillion goals and a thousand experiences lived. Step back. Blank mind. Another step back. Advance. Hit. And out… Granada’s top scorer hit him fatally at the worst possible moment.
Cádiz drank his tears. Choco Lozano made the rival’s pain even greater and managed to finish off a lateral cross from Iza. With that goal, the yellows were saved. Was all the responsibility in the hands of Granada? In this fight for life everything depends on everything. Pacha Espino was about to commit a maximum penalty that would have condemned him for life. The VAR review pardoned the defender. Mallorca did the second. All the responsibility was in Los Cármenes. They wanted to, but they couldn’t. The team that had it easier at the beginning of the day was dead. Completely gutted. It is impossible not to empathize with the sea of tears of a crowd that thirteen months ago was playing the quarterfinals of the Europa League against Manchester.
“NOTHING IS PLAYED”
In recent weeks, the soniquete of the “This team has nothing at stake.” A tremendous falsehood. A team already relegated like Levante beat Lightning in Vallecas (2-4) as if to say that they would have been able to without throwing away a couple of months of competition. “We set out to show our faces and show our pride,” said Roger, the author of one of Granota’s goals in a field that always has reasons to celebrate. The strip thanked its players for being able to boast at Christmas of being in the Champions League, dreaming of a Cup final and rewarded Iraola’s renewal.
Continuity in a club is also a reason for celebration. Let them tell the Real Madrid, which, before the distortion of Mbappé’s rejection, drew goalless (0-0) against Betis in the champions match. The one from LaLiga received the one from the Cup and they made a double corridor for the titles achieved. The Verdiblanco victory in Seville is indelible and has ended in the form of a tattoo on the skin of the players. And just as necessary was the white mass bath after selling the national championship. A conspiracy that united the Madridistas even more, reaffirmed in their pride after the refusal of even more PSG players.
But there is no greater respect than self. That is something that has understood perfectly Valencianism, taking to the streets to protest against the management of Peter Lim. The team that got the bitterest victory against Celta in a soulless Mestalla (2-0). A social defeat for one of the historical teams of this LaLiga, which, with its virtues and defects, we have gutted from this space.
With the clear federalist idea that every course and club deserve a few lines. Feeling that football is the most popular of sports due to its diversity and the very different feelings it provokes. Something that macroprojects and closed competitions do not understand. No promotions, no descents, no pain, only with audiovisual glory. Very difficult to understand in a centuries-old and tremendously emotional sport.
