It would be difficult for one to argue that there is a more intriguing storyline this year in Spanish soccer than the (inevitable) dogfight between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
It would be even tougher for one to argue this claim with the very likely possibility of the two foes squaring off four times in just 17 days starting April 17th.
I’m going to make the argument anyway.
Granada CF, a club founded in 1931 under the direction of President Julio Lopez Fernandez, is the Spanish soccer story of the year.
Playing this season in the respectable confines of the Segunda Division, the club who originally plied its trade as Recreativo de Granada, has seemingly risen out of the depths of the Iberian abyss and is rapidly approaching the potential climax to what has been a dramatic and unexpected resurgence these past few years.
The history of Granada CF is a humble one.
After its initial promotion to La Liga back in 1941, the club has been back to the top-tier of Spanish soccer just three times since, the most recent of these seasons coming in 1975-76 when the club was ultimately relegated.
Their highest finish in La Liga is sixth, they have never won the King’s Cup, and only five years ago the club found itself in the lowly depths of the Tercera Division, the dismal fourth-tier of Spanish soccer.
Heck, when I first arrived in Granada to study abroad some two-and-a-half years ago and inquired about whether the city had a local soccer team, my program’s leader chortled.
“Yes,” he informed me, “but they’re very bad.”
Flash forward to this season and it’s evident El Graná is writing a very different story.
Led by Spanish midfielder Dani Benitez, Swiss forward Alexandre Geijo—currently tied for the league lead in goals with 20—and Ghanian defender Jonathan Mensah, who started for the Black Stars against the United States at last summer’s World Cup, the team that traditionally has always been so accustomed to packing its bags for the division below at season’s end can suddenly smell promotion’s sweet scent.
Despite a pallid run of form that’s seen the club go winless in its last five games, manager Fabriciano Gonzalez’s squad still finds itself seventh in the league table—a mere point behind this Sunday’s opponents Cartagena—with 11 matches to go.
And with the league’s top two teams guaranteed promotion at the season’s conclusion and clubs three through six set to battle it out for the decisive third promotion spot in a pair of two-legged semifinals as well a two-legged final, Granada appears to be in good shape to make the playoffs.
Especially when you consider that Barcelona B sits currently in fourth but can never secure promotion to La Liga as they are FC Barcelona’s reserve team, hence currently rendering Granada as the actual sixth team in Segunda.
That still might seem like a stretch for a club that hasn’t played in Spain’s top-flight division for nearly a quarter of a century. Nevertheless, the city and Granada’s followers are more abuzz than they have been in years.
One of the club’s more ardent supporters is Javier Jimenez, the headmaster at CEIP Victoria, a primary school not far from Granada where I have had the pleasure of working as a Language and Culture Assistant this year while living in the city proper. He knows why I am in his office today, and he’s all too eager to discuss all things CF.
With one of the most enthusiastic expressions I have ever seen on the face of a school president, in Spanish he regales me about the history of Granada’s most famous soccer club.
He explains to me how CF was responsible for creating the red vertically-striped shirts worn nowadays by Atletico Madrid (Granada wears red horizontally-striped shirts, much like those of Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas, a point that Jimenez duly notes) thanks to a factory error.
He goes on to say why there are presently 11 players at the club including the aforementioned trio of Benitez, Geijo and Mensah who are on loan from Italian outfit Udinese (both club presidents are good friends).
He also mentions the sheer amount of agonizing pain that comes with being a Granada supporter and how he has been a season ticket holder nearly all his life.
“When I was growing up, my [older] brother had a season pass and whenever he couldn’t go, I went,” says Jimenez, grinning from ear to ear.
“Now, every weekend I take my son,” he states proudly flipping open his cell phone and showing me a picture of himself with 16-year-old Fernando, the two decked head to toe in CF gear at Granada’s Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.
From the ebullient manner in which he talks about CF, it’s clear that Jimenez has a special place in his heart for Granada. But like any Spanish soccer fan whose true loyalty lies with a club that isn’t Real Madrid or Barcelona, the backing of their local “inferior” organization seems futile as the two giants typically reign supreme over all with each passing year.
It is therefore commonplace for Spaniards to root for either Real or Barça in addition to supporting their local club, and Jimenez confirms this notion poignantly.
“I have one team to enjoy, and another to suffer by,” he tells me with a chuckle, alluding firstly to Real.
Prior to our meeting in his office, I had only ever heard my boss discuss soccer’s current events pertaining solely to Real Madrid, so I had to pose the obvious question: Real or Granada?
“Granada,” he interjects before I can even finish the question. “I don’t usually cry, but last June when they won promotion to Segunda, I had tears pouring down my face.”
Surely, the sentiment in Granada and its surrounding towns mirrors that of Javier, and the city itself has made evident its bourgeoning passion for the beautiful game and its local club in recent times.
This past weekend Los Carmenes was the host of an entertaining and successful Euro 2012 qualifier between Spain and the Czech Republic, a match that La Roja won 2-1 and saw David Villa surpass Raul as his country’s all-time leading scorer.
There are already plans to add at least 4,000 more seats to the stadium’s diminutive 16,000+ size should Granada make La Liga.
There are posters at almost every bus stop in the city promoting its local soccer team with a limited edition Granada CF bottle from the neighborhood brewery Alhambra, whose beers are named after the majestic Moorish fortress that overlooks the city.
When I ask Jimenez what it would mean to him personally if Granada were to make La Liga at season’s end he responds in English:
“A heart attack!” he cracks, howling with laughter.
The optimism and excitement exuded by Jimenez and his contingent of local supporters is palpable throughout the city and is perhaps best expressed in the red and white tagline accompanying the illustrations of the Granada CF bottle and team logo on the Alhambra posters: Un año mas seguimos soñando juntos. One more year we continue to dream together.
For the city of Granada and its clubs supporters, dreaming might not be necessary for very much longer.
