They are the days of the King’s Cup the ones that awaken the most excitement throughout the Spanish geography. Clubs and fans accustomed to the suffering that comes with competition in the mud of Spanish football abandon their usual rush for a few hours to replace it with the enthusiasm with which David faced Goliath. Meanwhile, the millionaire elite teams try to avoid starring in the first bell of the season in the KO tournament. For the second consecutive year, the first club to make history by leaving a First Division team behind is called Unión Deportiva Barbastro.
The Huesca team, which plays in Second RFEF –the fourth category of Spanish football–, this Tuesday extended its recent love affair with the Cup. Last season it beat an Almería team still in the League and put the almighty Barcelona on the ropes. This year, the prize for their victory against Amorebieta in the first round was hosting Espanyol. A town of barely 18,000 inhabitants facing a team that hosts almost 40,000 spectators in its stadium. The brilliant performance of Arnau Fábrega in goal and a double from Sito Barrera knocked down the blue and white team and unleashed the tears of Dani Martínez.
The Barbastro coach could not contain the tension accumulated during the season, as the rojiblancos faced their cup date after five consecutive league defeats and in relegation. «It was that tension that we have on a daily basis that things are not working out. Was a feeling of liberation“, to say ‘at least, with so many days that we are suffering, a fantastic day has happened again that will be remembered by everyone again’,” says the coach.
The man from Huesca, who returned to the red and white bench last season, is the main culprit for the special relationship that is being forged between Barbastro and the Cup. «When you arrive at the field, you can already feel a special atmosphere on the part of everyone. And the possibility that this Cup format gives you is extra motivation. There is a great communion between everyone, between fans, players, management and coaching staff and that environment is created that makes it possible to produce. Above all it is believingbelieve that victory can be achieved. They are very beautiful nights that will be unforgettable for everyone,” Martínez boasts.
Forgetting about their poor dynamics in the Second RFEF to focus on the very special match they had before them was one of the coach’s main tasks before facing Espanyol. «I told my players that these things you never know if they are going to happen again. After what we were going through in the League, You had to take a break, think only about today and enjoy the moment. That they would enjoy and, above all, that they would compete. “We only had things to win.”
turning point
The victory against Almería last season was a turning point for Barbastro. Dani Martínez trusts that the same will happen this year. “If they make the effort like they did on Tuesday, release some of that tension from their heads and play every game with this determination, this attitude, this solidarity and humility, we can rest assured because the results will surely come.”
Although their priority is once again the domestic competition, they will be present in the round of 32, where they will face a Primera, probably a team that is competing in the Spanish Super Cup –Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic and Mallorca–. «Last season we played Barcelona and we had a spectacular night. If we get Barça again it will be great, but by request I would like to change and get one of the other three. Whoever touches us will be a great gift for the city of Barbastro and we will all enjoy it,” concludes Dani Martínez.
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