Sherry, Horses, Flamenco and.... Futbol!

Pity the tourist who, upon arriving in Spain with Catalonia or the Basque Country being their first destination, asks the concierge at the hotel as to the availability of seeing a Flamenco show. If you're lucky, the concierge might be able to dig up a show for you to see, which most likely it's a Flamenco show marketed specifically to tourists. However, in most hotels, you'll probably get a blank stare or a simple roll of the eyes explaining that there is no Flamenco in Barcelona, Bilbao or really in any part of Northern Spain. To find the true home of Flamenco, you must venture to the complete opposite end of the country, all the way down in the region of Andalucia and to the southwestern province of Cadiz which is home to the city of Jerez and Xerez CD.

In addition to Flamenco, the city of Jerez prides itself as being the cornerstone for horses and sherry. The Spanish style of riding horses begins here and all things sherry originate from the vineyards sourrounding Jerez. These three things ensure that, as a city, Jerez will be able to withstand economic hardship which may plague other regions of the country. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for its futbol.

Futbolitacamente, Xerex has a very modest history. They have never played in La Liga, only reaching 5th place in La Segunda Division. There have been close calls, including the 2001-2002 season when current Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster directed the squad to the brink of glory. Xerex fell just short and Schuster quickly scuttled off to bigger and more prosperous coaching ventures. One has to assume he had a much more amicable relationship with the Jerez media than the Madrid media. It's a shame that Xerex does not have any great success because there have been players of high quality that have come from the city of Jerez, including 1990s Atletico Madrid legend Kiko and current Spanish National Team star Dani Guiza who is now playing in Turkey for Fenerbache under the watchful eye of El Sabio Luis Aragones. Xerex currently sits in the Top 5 of La Segunda Division with 14 points. If they can maintain that 'racha', there just might be a place for them next year in La Liga.

Resultados - Jornada 8

Gimnástic - Rayo 3-1
Huesca - Albacete 1-2
Eibar - Córdoba 1-0
Girona - R.Sociedad 0-0
Castellón - Levante 4-1
Tenerife - Salamanca 2-3
Celta - Alicante 2-2
Hércules - Elche 0-0
Xerez - Las Palmas 1-0
Sevilla At - Zaragoza 0-4
Alavés - Murcia 4-1

Clasificacion:

Salamanca - 17

Zaragoza - 14

Hercules - 14

Xerez - 14

Tenerife - 13

Rayo Vallecano - 13

Gimnastic de Tarragona - 12

Castellon - 12

Alaves - 12

Huesca - 11

Real Sociedad - 11

Albacete - 11

Levante - 11

Eibar - 11

Girona - 10

Las Palmas - 9

Cordoba - 9

Celta - 7

Alicante - 6

Sevilla Atletico - 6

Murcia - 5

Elche - 3