Deportivo Alavés faces regional side CD Anaitasuna in the first round of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday at 19:00 local time at Txerloia Stadium in Azkoitia, Spain, in a matchup that pits La Liga experience against regional division grit. For Anaitasuna captain Ander Pastrian, the fixture begins with a pre-dawn shift at an Azkoitia precision machining workshop before an evening clash on home soil.
Early Alarms and Precision Machining Before Kickoff
While Alavés players spend the morning hours receiving massages, activating muscles, or reviewing tactical video sheets, Pastrian follows a different routine. At 31 years old, the Anaitasuna forward wakes up at 5:15 local time to arrive for his shift at 5:45 at Mecanizados Alberdi, a family-run precision machining firm located in the Polígono Ugarte. Pastrian did not receive an exemption from his workshop duties for matchday, though he secured permission to leave slightly early to rest before team concentration begins at 17:30 local time at Txerloia. Until the week leading up to the fixture, Pastrian worked the night shift from 22:00 to 06:00 to balance his job with evening training sessions before switching back to morning hours.
Chasing a Rare Regional Milestone Against La Liga Opposition
No regional division club has ever defeated a La Liga opponent. Pastrian spent his entire life playing for Anaitasuna, though he missed the club’s previous similar high-profile fixture against Getafe six years ago—which ended in a 1–2 defeat—because he was playing for Elgoibar at the time. Confronted with a defensive line featuring Alavés players such as Tenaglia, Koski, or Valentini, the regional forward acknowledges the vast quality gap but emphasizes the squad’s determination to compete. The objective is to keep the scoreline tight through the opening stages and avoid a lopsided deficit, giving the 1,400 supporters packed into Txerloia a reason to believe in an upset.
Historical Roots at Txerloia Stadium
The match venue carries significant local resonance in Gipuzkoa, having served as the place where the legend of Antoine Griezmann was born in 2009. Pastrian and his teammates enter the fixture aiming to build on that local football heritage, backed by a community that has stopped players in the streets of Azkoitia to urge them on. Should Anaitasuna pull off an unprecedented elimination of the La Liga side, the club would advance deeper into a tournament where Pastrian dreams of eventually facing FC Barcelona or Real Sociedad. Regardless of the final whistle, Pastrian’s alarm clock is already set for 5:15 on Thursday morning to return to the workshop floor.
Keep reading
