Rovers13 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Another example of how "fair play" can be very unfair. This is such a bizarre rule, and amazing that Spain hasn't announced an exception yet. http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/laliga/id/1658?cc=5901 Mar 285:17PM EDT Small-town Eibar to be punished for their success? Posted by Sid Lowe Recommend637 Tweet50 Email At Ipurua, the mist rolls down the green hillside, across the roofs and right over the pitch. The town of Eibar has a population of 27,000 people and sits halfway up the valley of the River Ego in the Basque Country, northern Spain. At the top of the town, up steep streets, stands Ipurua, the picturesque home ground of Second Division club Eibar. It is surrounded by mountains to the north and south and the best view may just be the one from the two blocks of flats that tower over the stand. Not that they have to tower much to look over the short, squat side of this stadium. On the back wall of one stand is a mural that shows a Basque flag alongside a Scotland one, plus the shield of Eibar with the slogan "Scotland the Brave." The Escocia la Brava supporters' club was born out of a trip in 2001 to watch the Five Nations rugby, during which a group of Eibar fans became enamoured with the atmosphere and tried to replicate it here. A couple of times a year, Scots join them in Eibar for games. "Wearing kilts and wigs, taking photos by the mural," laughs the supporters' club president Joseba Combarro. They try to visit Scotland once a year, too. Josep Lago/EuroFootball/Getty ImagesTiny Eibar is enjoying a superb season, albeit one that could be ruined by forces well beyond their control. It seems fitting somehow. There's a small-town British feel to it but something very Basque about it as well -- in footballing terms, these are cultures that are intertwined. Here, it feels right to talk not of a stadium but a ground and the ground holds just 6,500, dwarfed by the landcsape around it, exposed to the elements. There's something about Ipurua and about Eibar, something locked in time, old fashioned but genuine, something built on sacrifice and humility. This is the kind of place where young players from the Basque Country's bigger clubs would come on loan to toughen up. Xabi Alonso, for one. Ipurua is redolent of rain and mud going back through much of Eibar's 75-year history. This may be the best moment in their history and yet supporters have mixed emotions. These are bitter-sweet days. Eibar were promoted from Spain's regionalised, four group, 80-plus team Second Division B in the summer, coming up via the play-offs. They have the smallest ground and the smallest average attendance in the Second Division at around 3,000. They have the smallest budget too (3.5 million euros) and pay lower wages than anyone. And no team comes from a smaller town. But they are top. With each passing week a first-ever appearance in the First Division appears more likely. It is a miracle. They are racking up their best statistics ever, overcoming even the Eibar team that came so close in 2004-05. That team was coached by José Luis Mendilíbar, who went on to coach Athletic Bilbao, Valladolid and Osasuna. It included Joseba Llorente, who later played for Real Sociedad, Gorka Iraizoz, Athletic Bilbao's goalkeeper, and a creative attacker called David Silva. Silva was 18 and on loan, a Canary Islander a long way from home. Now he is a World Cup winner. Famously, he stopped rather than scoring because an opponent was down. It was the 91st minute of a vital game and it was 1-1. That was the goal, they say, that could have won promotion. But honour mattered. They still talk about that Eibar team as the side that "was in primera for ten minutes." One of Silva's teammates that day was Gaizka Garitano. Now he is Eibar's manager and now, their chances of promotion may be greater than ever. The secret is no secret: it is sacrifice, just as it always was. Garitano talks about Silva learning about the "identity" of the club, rooted always in the group. No one thinks he is a star and not just because no one is a star: Eibar stay strictly within their budget, they do not spend to chase promotion. Instead, they build. Courtesy of Sid LoweThe "Scotland" banner outside Eibar's stadium, one of the town's many quirks that make it easier to sympathize with their plight. "One thing is non-negotiable, now and then: we're all the same, there are no splits and anyone who does not share that view has no place here," Garitano says. "That team came close. Now this team is too," he adds. It is an astonishing success story, as implausible as it is inspirational. And yet relegation may be closer than promotion. Yes, really. If what happens on the pitch delights Eibar's fans, what is happening off the pitch disgusts them. Unusually for a Spanish club, Eibar are financially sound: they never spend what they do not have and there is money in the club account. The league's president Javier Tebas even described them as a "model club." Unlike so many other clubs they had few financial problems until, that is, financial problems were imposed upon them through no fault of their own. Now the situation is stark: if Eibar do not raise 1.7 million euros by August, they face being relegated back to the Second Division B. According to the law -- Real Decreto 1251/1999, which became applicable to Eibar when they were promoted to the Second Division in the summer and thus took their place in what is formally classified as professional football -- every team has to have a capital equal to 25 percent of the average expenses of all the teams in the Second Division, not including the two clubs with the biggest outgoings and the two clubs with the smallest outgoings in the division. In theory it is a way of guaranteeing the survival of clubs but in practice, it could cripple Eibar. They are being punished precisely for being a small club that has always operated within its budget and for making the "mistake" of winning promotion to a division that is not only their historic place, but one in which they had not competed for five years. David Ramos/Getty ImagesDavid Silva anchored the last Eibar team to flirt with the Spanish top flight. They are being punished for earning the right to compete in a division where every team's budget dwarfs their own. They are forced to create a budget dictated by other clubs, more than fifty percent of whom are in or have been through administration. Eibar's social capital is 422,253 euros. They are in the black, not the red. They are healthy, they do not have debts, their players are paid -- and on time. But 422,253 euros is not enough. They have six months to increase their capital value in shares to 2,146,525, a figure set not by their budget or their ability to guarantee survival, but by everyone else's. And they may pay for that with their own survival. Somehow, they have to find 1,724,272 euros and in only six months. It is a race against time -- with their legs bound together and their hands tied behind their backs. A share issue will start in August; in the first phase, members will be allowed to buy shares at 50 euros per share. In the second phase, it will be opened up to others. But at Ipurua they are not optimistic. 1.7 million euros is a lot of money, especially for a small club in a small city with few fans, many of them under eighteen, over sixty or unemployed. This season around 3,000 are attending most games, almost double the average gate last season. They would have to buy 566 euros' worth of shares each or other fans would have to buy shares in the second phase. Courtesy of Sid LoweEibar routinely draws 3,000 fans, not nearly enough to match their needs. The only solution, the last resort, may be an investor, which would probably mean the club slipping out of the control of those who truly care for it. A healthy, debt-free club forced into the hands of a new owner. The ultimate in cynicism. If Eibar cannot raise the money, the immediate consequence would be relegation back to the Second Division B -- the division's best team dragged down by its worst ones. Furthermore, what they win on the pitch could be lost off it -- from Spain's top flight to its third tier in the blink of an eye. It is, says the town's mayor with marked understatement, "totally unfair." Eibar may be punished for being well run in a league of clubs that are poorly run, a team that is overachieving on sacrifice and solidarity. "A model club," the league’s president said. And this is their reward. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) Great piece by Sid Lowe, sad state of affairs when you get punished for running your club in the right way. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of their old players invest, like Iniesta did when Albacete where in trouble. Edited April 1, 2014 by AVFCforever1991 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 that's disgraceful. Spanish football is in a terrible state and a well run club turns up and is punished Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 So a three horse title race and a very competitive relegation battle in the prem...sorry La Liga. Am I missing something but looking at the two tables there dosen't seem to be much difference at the top or bottom and indeed Bilbao will probably get 4th so another new Spanish team in the champions league. Yet one is a closed shop with just two teams and the other is the most competitive league in the universe....apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Am I missing something but looking at the two tables there dosen't seem to be much difference at the top or bottom and indeed Bilbao will probably get 4th so another new Spanish team in the champions league they will love being called Spanish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Tito died Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amo69 Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Just looking at the cost of the current Athletico Madrid team and it's amazingly low. There are probably teams in the premier league battling for relegation that have spent more. Amazing achievement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Their wage bill is massively higher than anybody else in Spain except for Barcelona and Real Madrid though. They should be finishing at least third in their table if we are using budget as a criteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 29, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted April 29, 2014 Just looking at the cost of the current Athletico Madrid team and it's amazingly low. There are probably teams in the premier league battling for relegation that have spent more. Amazing achievement. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 29, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted April 29, 2014 Just looking at the cost of the current Athletico Madrid team and it's amazingly low. There are probably teams in the premier league battling for relegation that have spent more. Amazing achievement. Misspelling aside, QPR's wage bill is higher than Atletico's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amo69 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Just looking at the cost of the current Athletico Madrid team and it's amazingly low. There are probably teams in the premier league battling for relegation that have spent more. Amazing achievement. Misspelling aside, QPR's wage bill is higher than Atletico's. It was ipad spell check. I swear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 29, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted April 29, 2014 Suuuuuuuure 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Shocker. A Harry Redknapp team has a massive wage bill. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 29, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted April 29, 2014 Shocker. A Harry Redknapp team has a massive wage bill.yeah but they'll make the playoffs. So who's laughing now? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Im sure the Sun will say he really should get the Man United job for that achievement alone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 There has been 2 all Spanish Champions League finals, and Barcelona were not in any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 There has been 2 all Spanish Champions League finals, and Barcelona were not in any of them. well they aren't Spanish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Milan and Manchester are the only other 2 cities in Europe which could potentially provide a Champions League final derby in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Milan and Manchester are the only other 2 cities in Europe which could potentially provide a Champions League final derby in the future. eh London has a better chance than them 2 since they will actually have 2 teams in Champions League next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I didn't say next season, I simply meant in the near future. But yes, I guess you could add London to the list too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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