We once again travel off the paths of El Infierno and down into the depths of Spanish futbol. In the Fall of 1996, as I was being introduced to Spanish futbol, there were two teams playing in La Liga who are now nowhere to be found even close to the highest level of futbol in Spain. They were Real Oviedo and SD Compostela. What these two have in common is that financial problems and irregularities have landed them in either La Tercera Division or their Division Regional, which is one rung below La Tercera. But what I would like to do today is recount some of the glory and 'fame' that these teams did experience recently ago.
Well, this is the right time of year to recount a story about our Asturian friends from Oviedo. In the 1998-1999 season, when Oviedo was in La Primera, they played Real Madrid at home in Asturias in the last match before the Christmas break. Panamanian Dely Valdes scored the game winner for Oviedo and celebrated by calling his wife on a cell phone and wishing her a Merry Christmas. So before Joe Horn of the NFL's New Orleans Saints got everyone in a fuss about using a cell phone in a touchdown celebration 7-8 years ago, Dely Valdes had already gone down that road in La Liga. The cover of Marca the next day was "Hola, Soy Dely Valdes, Feliz Navidad!" and showed him speaking into the phone while being mobbed by teammates. (See above photo)
Now, there are no covers of Oviedo on Marca, but a curious rebirth has started for the club. The fans are making their back out to the 30,000 person Estadio Carlos Tartiere. A Trofeo Principado (Asturian competition) against Sporting Gijon (then in El Infierno, now in the Primera) saw a jam-packed crowd look on as Oviedo managed to beat their regional rivals 2-1. Pride has now been restored after financial hardship landed on this club and unfortunately on the players. there was even a day when the player showed up for practice only to find there was no electricty. Gone are the days when the fans lined their training ground to protest the players' supposed greediness. Now, after being promoted to La Tercera a couple years ago, the team was the toast of Oviedo as fans lined the streets as if they had won the World Cup. Maybe soon, more celebrations will happen in Oviedo as their native sons battle to return to prominence.
If you never saw SD Compostela play a game, you at least saw them as the opposing team in one of the famous Ronaldo clips ever. Once again, it was the year Ronaldo was with Barca. It also happens to be my favorite goal of all-time. He picks up the ball at midfield and basically beats the entire team, is getting dragged down by his shirt when he enters the penalty box, yet still swung his right boot round and scored the first of his 3 goals that night. I'll never forget it. I was at the Atleti-Betis game at Estadio Vincente Calderon and the scoreboard was like a pinball machine lighting up with "Gol en Compostela - Gol de Ronaldo". Barca won that game 5-1 and the cover of El Mundo Deportivo the next day was "Apostol Ronaldo", a direct reference to the fact that Santiago is home to Apostle James. I still have it at my home too.The whole world went on to know all about Ronaldo that year, but everyone forgot about poor Compostela or, "Compos" as they are called. Compostela lasted another year in la Primera before they descended down to la Segunda and soon enough, in 2001 they had trouble paying players. It was then that the Spanish Futbol Federation sent them down to the lower rings of Hell. This is all ironic considering that the most famous religious pilgrimage in the world, The Camino de Santiago, just so happens to end at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, a mere 20km or so away from their futbol stadium. It just doesn't seem right that a team in such a Holy City has to play in such an ungodly and hellish division.
On to the results. Xerex comes back down to earth as the Top 3 tightens up. Zaragoza avoids embarassment and equalises late against Huesca in the 'derbi aragones' with two goals from the Brazilian Ewerthon. It was Huesca first visit to play their regional neighbors in league play in 58 years! Also, new coaches abound at Cordoba and Alicante.
Clasificacion:
1. Xerez - 28
2. Salamanca - 28
3. Zaragoza - 26
4. Hércules - 26
5. Castellón - 24
6. R.Sociedad - 23
7. Rayo - 22
8. Levante - 22
9. Huesca - 21
10. Tenerife - 21
11. Girona - 21
12. Albacete - 20
13. Alavés - 20
14. Celta - 19
15. Gimnástic - 18
16. Las Palmas - 18
17. Elche - 17
18. Córdoba - 16
19. Eibar - 16
20. Murcia - 13
21. Alicante - 9
22. Sevilla At - 7
Resultados - Jornada 15
Hércules - Eibar 2-0
Murcia - Tenerife 2-2
Sevilla - AtCastellón 0-2
Zaragoza - Huesca 2-2
R.Sociedad - Alicante 1-0
Las Palmas - Celta 2-0
Elche - Córdoba 3-1
Levante - Albacete 3-1
Alavés - Gimnástic 1-1
Rayo - Salamanca 1-1
Xerez - Girona 2-2
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