The Estadio Municipal de La Línea becomes the unofficial capital of Andalucían Football this week as three of the region’s four La Liga sides are in town for pre-season friendly games.
Fans will be treated to three games over four nights featuring Cádiz C.F., Sevilla FC and Real Betis Balompié.
First up on Wednesday evening Real Balompédica Linense will host Cádiz CF (Kick-Off 19:00).
This will be a first opportunity for Balona fans to watch their new look side under manager Antonio Ruiz. The coach known as Romerito has promised the fans “a fierce team” in the famous black and white stripes this season. There were certainly glimpses of this in the opening friendly defeat against Bournemouth at the Marbella Football Center on Friday.
La Recia lost 4-2 but the opening goal that saw Alhassan Koroma use his trickery to fashion an opening for his twin Alusine to power home was hopefully a sign of things to come. Luis Alcalde’s penalty was assured and with last season’s penalty taker Pito Camacho now departed from the club, Alcalde certainly proved his claim to be on spot kicks this term.
Cádiz ended a fifteen-year absence from La Liga and boy did they make an impact upon their return. Manager Alvaro Cervera affectionately known as “Gafas” continually set up his side to concede possession to the opposition. The side were well drilled, worked hard and were a very cohesive unit which made them incredibly hard to break down. On those occasions when teams did get through, they still had to get past the steadfast Jeremias Ledesma in goal which was no easy feat. The on-loan Argentinian stopper has since been made a permanent signing for the Yellow Submarine.
When Cádiz gained possession, they were decisive in using full backs Espino and Iza as outlets to get the ball back to front quickly. Álvaro Negredo formally of Man City brought goals and experience at the top end of the field as Cádiz won their first four away games without conceding a goal. This included famous victories over Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. They added the scalp of Barcelona to the list of victories in December. A poor run of results after the turn of the year mainly due to injuries to several key players seemed to be dragging the side into a relegation battle. However, Cervera was ready for this eventuality and the acquisition of Rubén Sobrino on loan from Valencia and the return to the side of midfield maestro Alex proved to be the catalyst they needed to get back to amassing points.
In the end Cádiz beat the drop with several games to spare and ended with a 12th place finish. A fantastic effort from all in yellow and they are now building towards another season of La Liga football.
Balona will be the third opponent of Cádiz’s preparations. Barbate were defeated 6-0 in their opener and on Saturday evening Atlético Sanluqueño ran out victors. Dani Güiza missed a penalty before scoring the winner for Atlético Sanluqueño. Balona will face Atlético Sanluqueño in the inaugural season of the Primera RFEF this year and we will find out the date of those fixtures when the calendar is announced on Tuesday 20th July.
Fans will only have to wait 24 hours before the next game. Sevilla FC face UD Las Palmas from La Liga Smartbank.
Diego Carlos (Brazil) and Bryan Gil (Spain) are in Tokyo for the Olympics but based on the Sevilla side that defeated Coventry City 4-0 at the weekend the team they field could feature the likes of club legends Ivan Rakitic and Jesús Navas. Former Liverpool youth starlet Suso may also take some part in the game.
The final game of the trio sees Real Betis square off against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening (Kick-Off 19:00).
Real Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini achieved his objective last season leading the Beticos back into Europe. Los Verdiblancos will take part in the Europa League this season and will be desperate to go all the way with the Final scheduled to be played at cross city rivals Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium.
Real Betis also ran out 4-0 winners this weekend in their friendly with FC Winterthur. Borja Iglesias getting amongst the goals.
Wolves parted company with Nuno Espírito Santo at the end of last season. He will now be in the dugout for Tottenham Hotspur this season. The new man at the helm is Bruno Lage. The appointment of the former Benfica boss keeps the Portuguese continuity at the club that has several of the Euro 2020 Portugal squad amongst their ranks.
This game certainly seems to have captured the imagination of the many Premier League fans that now reside in and around the Campo de Gibraltar and a large attendance is expected.
It’s also chance for local fans of Cádiz, Sevilla and Real Betis to see their heroes up close and personal too.
So, come along and witness a hat-trick of top-class action at the Estadio Municipal.
Tonight at 19:00 at the Estadio Municipal de La Línea: REAL BALOMPÉDICA LINENSE-CÁDIZ CF
Copy: Les McKee | Images: Real Balompédica Linense
PEÑA PICHIGÜEY 