One of the charms of the Copa del Rey is the possibility of getting to know clubs like Olot more closely. Sevilla’s next rival in this tournament is a small club that trains and plays among the mountains in La Garrotxa. Its stadium is old, but unique, with natural grass and, by the way, Xavi García Pimienta knows from his time at Barcelona B. Olot’s identity is deeply Catalan, since it only has players born there. They consider it the Catalan ‘Athletic Club’ and its president, Joan Agustí, endorses it in an interview with ABC de Sevilla: «We play with Catalan players. It is an identity club. For us, football is a great social tool and we think that through it we can do many good things, in addition to competing.” The essence of Olot is to carry out social work, its budget is very small (less than a million of euros, according to its president) and intends for this second cup tie to be a party for the city. To do this, the club has refused to install an extra stand, so that the prices are popular. In fact, the Garrotxí club has posted a sold-out sign. «We set the objective that people come, have fun and create more fans of Olot football in the city. To do this, we set popular prices and well, let’s hope that the team responds so that people come and stay for the rest of the season. We have already had to close the sale to non-members, because we have not put in extra stands,” explains the leader. The hope of advancing to the next round Olot hosts this duel in the midst of a crisis of results in its Second Federation group, in which it finds itself occupying the relegation spots. Agustí recognizes that it is a category that “always costs us”, but he hopes to find “the path of regularity.” In the Copa del Rey they gave the surprise by eliminating Córdoba, which is in the Second Division. However, he recognizes that, against Sevilla FC, the differences between both clubs are very marked. «We have some weapons, but compared to Sevilla… The commitment that our players are going to show and the desire for things to go well are our best weapons, but we are aware that we are facing a great club. It has a budget of more than one hundred million euros and ours does not reach one million. The difference is abysmal. And he adds: «Sevilla are big words, we are talking about a team that has seven Europa Leagues and is the third in Spain in terms of honors. It is a very powerful team.” Agustí recognizes that it was not the dream rival, since they preferred something more affordable: “Personally, I wanted the weakest team in the First Division, but hey, let’s have the party… it better be with the Seville. Getting through the round is an illusion, but one cannot live by illusion either. I think we have a small percentage, but very small, of passing the round. We have to work to be as close as possible, and if at some point we are close enough to pass, that would be fantastic. But above all, what we wanted was for it to be a football celebration. Of cordiality, commitment and competitiveness.” Tribute to the Sevilla captain As is already known, Jesús Navas faces his last month as a professional footballer. On December 30 he will officially say goodbye to Sevilla FC at the Sánchez-Pizjuán, but since the season started he has been receiving small tributes from the different clubs that cross paths with Sevilla. Olot is not going to be less, they have planned “a detail” for the palace, “if it is called.” Of course, Agustí clarifies that it will be after the match because “gifts before matches are a bit anti-competitive.” Furthermore, for the Catalan leader, the Sevilla captain is an example, “who matches the values of Olot”: “The commitment to the club, to the people, humility, competitiveness… all of this makes football not only at the service of money, but also at the service of the fans.
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