Eighty-nine seasons in the First Division, six League titles, eight Copa del Rey titles, two-time Champions League finalist and double European Super Cup champion. Playing this afternoon against Valencia (Cartagonova, 7:00 p.m.) in the Copa del Rey should be a boost for Cartagena, a stimulus to compete and start the difficult challenge of salvation in the Second Division with a good face.
The club has dispatched more than 8,000 tickets and, despite everything, there are Efesé season ticket holders who will not attend this Copa del Rey round of 32 event. The sporting situation of Cartagena, bottom of the Second Division with 3 wins in 21 games and 8 points from the goal, is not ideal; nor the date, at the time of school return and in the middle of the January slope after Christmas.
In better or worse context, this is the third time in a row that a team from the highest category of Spanish football visits the Cartagonova stadium for a cup match. It already happened in 2022 with Valencia, in 2023 with Villarreal and now the Che team repeats in 2024. It is, therefore, a special match and one that is not seen every day on the shores of Benipila.
Julián Calero's boys face it with that mentality and enthusiasm, before starting the second round of the league competition with the complicated challenge of permanence ahead. In the middle of the reconstruction phase in the winter market, the club arrives, which needs renewed air, new faces and to raise the level of the squad to fight for the goal. At the moment this afternoon only midfielder Andy Rodríguez will be there; no Ferreiro, Juan Carlos Real or Arnau Solá, injured.
In front is Valencia, one of the most classic clubs in Spanish football, with some of its most emerging figures such as Pepelu. In the fourth year in a row without playing European competitions, and in the middle of the table in the league, coach Rubén Baraja gives importance to the Copa del Rey as it is the closest way to winning a title. It is likely that several starters will start today at Cartagonova; more of the same at Efesé, as it is a non-league week, back after the Christmas break and as a load of minutes for what is to come. Competing and starting 2024 with a good face is the albinegro challenge.
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