Latest News
Page
Last updated on Monday 12th April 2008
On this page you will
find:
News about CD Tenerife and reports on recent games
Details of Tenerife's league position
A list of this season's goal scorers
News about other teams I am interested in
LATEST NEWS as at Monday 12th April 2008
SPORTING INFLICT OUR FIRST HOME DEFEAT OF 2008
 |
|
The current weather at Tenerife's
stadium |
We lose our unbeaten home record for
2008 to promotion candidates: Tenerife v Sporting de Gijón 10/05/2008:
0-2
Third placed Sporting with 13 points more than us before this game were surely out of reach with just six games left to play but our
excellent home record (last beaten by Numancia early in December and only two defeats in total) was still at stake in this
game. Given their high position in the league it is also amazing to note that
our only away win of the season came at Sporting just a week after
that last home defeat - a home win would, therefore, have given us our only "double"
of the season so far but it was not to be although there are two more chances, away
to Racing Ferrol (next week) and away against Celta de Vigo (on 1st June).
Tenerife had early chances with the Sporting goalie
just putting the ball behind for a corner from a tricky centre by Marc Bertran
when it looked like going over the line and then Nino hit the crossbar.
However, we were soon behind when Michel (26m) scored a great goal with his left
foot and then shortly before half-time with Tenerife much less in the game
Pedro (40m) scored with another great shot similar to the first goal.
Navas had no chance with either shot.
In the second half Tenerife tried to get back into the game
and with Cristo (for Iriome) and Hormiga (for Ayoze) added to the attack
threatened a little but Sporting were able to contain us and get the three
points that take them nearer to promotion and level on points with second placed
Málaga who lost at home.
After weeks of
talking about promotion we are, worryingly, now only 6 points above the relegation places although
still in ninth place in the league.
Tenerife's 2007-8 league position
| games
played
| at home / en casa
| away / fuera
| total
| points
total
| league
position |
| W
| D
| L
| F
| A
| W
| D
| L
| F
| A
| W
| D
| L
| F
| A |
| CD Tenerife
| 37
of
42
| 10
| 6
| 3
| 30
| 21
| 1
| 9
| 8
| 15
| 29
| 11
| 15
| 11
| 45
| 50
| 48
| 9
of
22 |
Goalscorers 2007-2008 (
penalties shown in red brackets )
| Player
| league
goals
| cup
goals
| total |
| Nino
| 16 ( 1
)
| 0 ( 0
)
| 16 ( 1 ) |
| Ayoze
| 7 ( 2 )
| 1 ( 0
)
| 8 ( 2 ) |
| Arruabarrena
| 6 ( 1
)
| 0 ( 0
)
| 6 ( 1
) |
| Iriome
| 4 ( 0
)
| 0 ( 0
)
| 4 ( 0
) |
| Oscar Pérez
| 3 ( 0
)
| 0 ( 0
)
| 3 ( 0
) |
| Pablo Sicilia
| 2 ( 0
)
| 0 ( 0
)
| 2 ( 0
) |
| Culebras
| 1 ( 0
)
| 0 ( 0
)
| 1 ( 0
) |
| Longás
| 1 ( 0
)
| 0 ( 0
)
| 1 ( 0
) |
| Manuel
Martínez
| 1 ( 1 )
| 0 ( 0
)
| 1 ( 0 ) |
| Marc Bertran
| 1 ( 1 )
| 0 ( 0
)
| 1 ( 0 ) |
| N'Diaye
| 1 ( 0
)
| 0 ( 0
)
| 1 ( 0
) |
| Ricardo
| 1 ( 0
)
| 0 ( 0
)
| 1 ( 0
) |
| Santos
| 1 ( 0
)
| 0 ( 0
)
| 1 ( 0
) |
| own goals / propia
puerta
| 0
| 1
| 1 |
| CD
TENERIFE total
| 45
( 5 )
| 2 ( 0 )
| 47
( 5 )
|
Referee denies us a win
in game against direct rivals for promotion: Tenerife v Elche 12/04/2008:
1-1
Elche were in
fifth place in the Segunda División with just three points more than us so they
were a direct rival for the third promotion place and with 10 games to go there
was still all to play for.
Tenerife President, Miguel Concepción has
written an open letter to fans calling on them and all others connected with the
club to pull together and support the team during the final weeks of the
campaign. He said that he believes that"the season is
as alive as ever before" and that the club "will
fight to the end with the support of the great fans and, like the Tenerife club
song says, go without fear to the final goal".
A message of
support has also come from Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez who was our trainer
when we were last promoted in 2000/2001. Rafa said that "right now you are just six points from Sporting de Gíjon and
must maintain confidence and hope. It's necessary to strive and work to
the end because when you have hope then the other teams may slip a little and if
you maintain your standard you can go above them".
However,
neither of them could have thought that, for the second week running, the
referee would play such a decisive part in the game and see us unjustly
@"robbed" of two points once again just a week after the refereeing
controversies of the derby game against Las Palmas.
After starting a
little hesitantly Tenerife took control of the game in the first half with all
players performing well. I was impressed with Manolo Martínez, not just
for his defending but also for the way he came forward at times. Nino was
closely marked but others came forward and Iriome had been playing well before
he got down the right wing and fired in a good centre for Óscar Pérez (41m) to
run on to and put the ball into the net near the end of the half
to generate ecstatic celebrations from the crowd. Tete were playing
towards the standing fans in the Grada Popular (myself amongst them), which they
normally prefer to do in the second half, so we had a good view of the goal
which was well taken.
Although Elche attacked more in the second half we
still played well. As I remarked to my friend Carlos and his father before
the match, I was worried that we were not playing with two recognised forwards
as I think we play better when Arruabarrena accompanies Nino up front but
we were defending well and creating some chances at the far end from where I was
standing until the ball hit Óscar Pérez's arm in the 73rd minute. I
didn't see how he could have avoided it but the referee decided to give him his
second yellow card of the game and send him off. This also means he will
miss next week's game due to an accumulation of 5 yellow cards.
If this
seemed unjust then much worse was to come late in the game. In the 84th
minute our goalie, Raúl Navas, who had played well when he had to including
dealing with a couple of risky back passes in the second half, intervened to
stop a dangerous attack and the opposing player fell over him when he had
touched the ball. The referee, surely in a good position to judge for
himself, took advice from his assistant and gave a penalty. TV replas
show that our amazement at this decision was justified as there was no
foul. Needless to say Cobo (84m - penalty)
scored from the spot and we were robbed of another two points.
Our
change of Arruabarrena for defender Clavero in the 86th minute was far too late
to have any effect whilst Santos returning as a substitute for Ricardo five
minutes earlier also made little difference and looked short of match fitness,
giving the ball away on several occasions. Longás had come on for Ayoze
earlier in the game with 69 minutes gone but Elche's triple substitution in the
59th minute was more effective than any of our introductions.
This game
ended in real frustration for the fans as we have now "lost" four points in two
consecutive games due to refereeing decisions. Four points that would have
taken us to just one point from third place instead of the five we still have to
catch up. We do have a home game against third placed Sporting to come and
the dream of going to Málaga for the final game of the season with hopes of
promotion is still there but much diminished by the referees in these last two
games which I have seen live.
I have put some pictures from this game
(some of and some of the match action) on a special page which can be accessed
by clicking here or on the picture of my banner at the
match which below.
Interview with
Nino prior to the Elche game
Juan Francisco Martínez, "NINO", our
top scoring forward used to play for Elche for many years and was a great
success there until his transfer to Levante where things did not go as
well. However, he is back in form for us since his initial loan and now
permanent transfer from the Valencia club. In an extensive interview this
week he confirmed his affection for his old club but also affirmed that this
would not stand in his way of giving his all for Tenerife and that he would
celebrate with enthusiasm if he scored against them.
His interview went
like this:
From a derby match to the run up to playing against
Elche, how significant is this for you?
"It's an important game against a
direct rival. I played there for eight very good years, it's practically
my home, in fact my wife and family are from there and for that reason it will
be special. There are many reasons that make it good to play in this
game."
There has been recent discussion over whether one should
celebrate goals against former teams but you are quite clear about this, is that
right?
"I belong to Tenerife, I'm playing in front of
the fans and for club that has put its faith in me and so I will celebrate
without any problems".
But, deep down ... ?
"Yes, but the two are fighting for the same thing and this comes
above all. I passed very good years there but now I am really happy in
Tenerife."
It isn't long since you were there but are there still
any mates from your time there?
"There are only a few
left, they are the assistants and the second trainer, Claudio and people who I
know from the club and who I get on well with".
It's been a great
season for Elche who after a few years fighting to avoid relegation are in fifth
place in the league.
"They have been in the top part
of the table all season and in this division that's difficult to do. They
have grown in their performance and have a clear idea of how things
are."
Will it be important to win 2-0 for goal average
because in the away game you lost 3-1? (n.b. in Spain results
against each other are taken into account first if two teams are equal on points
at the end of the season).
"The most important
thing is to win, to get the three points then we can look at the
score".
Have you now assimilated the result of the derby against
Las Palmas?
"It's now forgotten because it's over
with. We must work for and think about the game on Saturday because it
will be difficult. We must have all our senses about us because Elche can
win as easily away as at home and they manage to be a very competitive
team".
The trainer commented the other day that the team come into
the final stretch very much alive.
"Yes, above all because in the derby we
played in their ground in front of 30,000 people and we dominated the
game. Except for those 50 seconds that (referee) Gallo Moreno added on the
team came out of the game refreshed with much heart and conscious that
we are just six points adrift and next Saturday lots can
happen."
You mention Gallo Moreno, a name that won't be
forgotten quickly.
"It was just recently and those
five minutes extra time come to your mind but they don't prevent you looking
forward."
The end of the season will be passionate. You play
against many rivals in the top part of the table.
"Elche, Sporting and Real Sociedad come
to us and we go to Málaga in the final game ...... they are important games but
if you seek to go up the table you must come up against the best and
demonstrate your level of ability".
In this final part of the
campaign the talk is of first to third and then the rest. Is that how you
see it?
"I'm calm about it and concentrating on
Saturday's game. Everything that's said outside of that doesn't bother
me".
Would you change being top scorer for
promotion?
"Of course, I would change it right
now. If I was able to sign up to that I would do it at
once".
However, not everyone gets fifteen
goals.
"For a
forward, to be the second highest goal scorer in the division with 10 games of
the season left would be something you would settle for".
Are you
aware that you gained the affection of the fans from the first
moment?
"I felt this from the first day when I played
in a friendly against Cádiz. I saw that people wanted Nino to be here and
for me it's an honour to give goals and happiness to these
fans".
Do you feel like an idol?
"Not an idol, no, but very respected and
supported by everyone".
Pablo Sicilia's late goal is cancelled
out in the 96th minute of play: UD Las Palmas v Tenerife 05/04/2008:
1-1
I watched this game, my fourth "derbi, live having travelled on the ferry with
hundreds of the nearly 2,000 other Tenrife fans to swell the crowd to its
record for a derbi of 29,132. I am putting more information and
lots of pictures on a special page on this site which can be accessed by
clicking here or on the scoreboard picture above.
I updated this on
14th April and there are now 37 pictures
there and a collage of "dorsales" (back names and numbers) - see if you
recognise yours.
Canary Islands derbi games are fiercely contested and the
fans get as worked up about them as any fans anywhere in the World.
Tenerife had the chance to win for the first time in the Seite Palmas stadium
which Union Deportivo Las Palmas moved to a few years ago.
The
first half was fairly evenly contested, however, with Martínez booked early on
and then lucky not to be booked again and sent off. In fact it was Las
Palmas who were down to 10 men from the 40th minute when Samuel was sent
off for his second yellow card.
Tenerife then dominated for most of the
second half with a few Las Palmas breakaways to give a taste of what was to be
the the cruel end to the game. Despite this we didn't score until
Pablo Sicilia (85m) headed in an Ayoze corner near the end and seemed certain to
have given us all three points. His team mates mobbed him and
celebrated wildly but he honoured his pledge made earlier in the week not to
celebrate in respect for the fact that he is from Gran
Canaria.
Despite the comfortable feeling that we were now going to
win, the referee, having disallowed what appeared to be penalties for fouls
committed on Nina and then Arruabarrena (the last looking as certain a foul as
can be but for which our number 9 was incredibly booked for diving), then added
on 5 minutes off extra time and played about 7. Nino had a good shot saved in
the first of these and then, inevitably, Las Palmas broke away to score through
Marcos Márquez (90+m) with what seemed to be about 6 minutes of extra time
played.
The Las Palmas fans celebrated as if they had won the Champions
League final not just achieved a late, late draw against us. The bottles
which had been flying towards us during minutes since we scored intensified and
full ones burst around us spraying coke and water everywhere with the riot
police just standing watching despite some of the more responsible home fans
pointing out the culprits to them. The scoreboard showed the final score
as we were kept in the stadium to let the home fans disappear so we could safely
go in our convoy of coaches to the ferry port 30 kilometros from the stadium and
make the trip back to Tenerife. Having started from Los Cristianos at
10.15 am I arrived back at my hotel at 12.15 am the next morning, tired and
thoroughly disappointed at the way the victory had been snatched from us but
having had good time with friends old and new. It's as exciting as
watching Stoke City but you can't usually sit outside in a t-shirt drinking wine
at 1 am when you come back from seeing the mighty Potters!! Tonight might
be an exception as I shall be watching them on Sky in Los
Cristianos.
After the game Tenerife trainerJosé Luis Oltra said
"The result is totally
unjust. We clearly dominated the game, we always controlled it and we went
ahead on the scoreboard. The referee harmed Tenerife and has been the
determining factor. We had two penalties which were blown for and at the
end I don't know why there were five minutes of addes time. Then he added
another minute more and that was when they drew level. What is certain,
however, is that we deserved the victory from any point of view.
We had
more possession of the ball, pushed forward more and got closer to our
opponents' goal. They took advantage of an opportunity right at the end
and unjustly equalised. The outcome of the game has been very
cruel."
Mikel Arruabarrena is hoping his yellow card
for supposedly diving in the penalty area, which brings him to a total of 5
meaning he is due to miss the next game against Elche, will be wiped out. He
says that "it was a clear penalty and anyone who says that they doubt it
is pulling your leg".
I watch as late goals comeback at Córdoba earns a
point: Córdoba v Tenerife 08/03/2008: 2-2
I'm in
Córdoba to see us watch our latest attempt to obtain precious away points
having got just one win (and seven draws) from our thirteen away games played so
far this season. Overnight in Madrid with Carlos and Marga followed by a trip on
the AVE (high speed train). a walk around the lovely streets in the old town and
the match at 6.30 pm local time.
Tenerife trainer Oltra was without
Pablo Sicilia who is suspended and Andrés Santos who is injured, Julio Hormiga
got another game after his good showing last week.
The match started with
a minute's silence for the socialist ex-councillor and motorway toll booth
operator, Isías Carrasco, who was killed on Friday by ETA. He left his home and
was shot at five times whilst driving off in his car, three bullets hit him and
he got out and staggered back towards his house, his daughter running out to
find if it was him being shot found him lying in the middle of the street. He
died soon afterwards and this has caused outrage in Spain which was coming up to
elections on Sunday 9th. It puts the downs of being a football supporter
into perspective.
With just Nino up front it never looked like we would
score and the other 20 Tenerife fans who were supposed to be in the 8,500 crowd
were as quiet as me. Predictably, Córdoba took the lead through Pierini (20m)
and doubled it in the second half through Juanlu (59m). At this stage our
trainer Oltra substituted Iriome for Jesuli and Arruabarrena for Culebras and
the two newcomers made a difference both in the urgency of the play and in the
fact that first Iriome (82m) and then Arruabarrena (90m) in the third minute of
injury time, scored to give us a point we didn't look like getting or deserving
until about 20 minutes from the end of the match. Now you could see there were
some Tenerife fans in the stadium !!!
However, after all the euphoria we
are now 9 points away from the third promotion place. If only we could
replicate our home form in away games we would be real challengers for
promotion.
Below are some pictures from the
game and from the beautiful city of Córdoba.
Pictures from the
game
Minute's silence for Isías
Carrasco assassinated by ETA
Tenerife defending in the first half
Óscar Pérez on the
attack but unfortunately we didn't score
Tenerife attack the open end
of the ground in the first half
The Brigadas Blanquiverdes
celebrated their "win" too soon
The Nuevo Arcángel stadium -
both ends still under construction
Pictures of Córdoba
Córdoba is a beautiful city and I have included here some
pictures which show various aspects of it. Away matches at Bradford
were never like this !!!
The Mezquita from across the river
Guadalquivir
At the side of the Mezquita
Near the Mezquita and the Puerta
del Puente
Gardens at the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Royal
Castle)
Mezquita - the columns of the original mosque
More detail of the columns
Oranges growing in the
street
A cormorant in the River Guadilquivir
Stadium to get an ambitious
facelift
Tenerife's stadium
the Heliodoro Rodríguez López is to get a massive investment to bring it more up
to date thanks to the "Cabildo" our island council who own the stadium
currently.
The most expensive part of the improvements will be a new
video scoreboard to replace the defunct one at the Herradura end of the ground
which has not worked for years. The new screen will cost about 600,000
euros and will be of the most modern type. Other innovations include lifts
in the Tribuna main stand, partly to allow equipment for the media to be
transported more easily, better access to the stadium, some new executive boxes,
improvement to the pitch, moving of the club's offices to the stadium (at the
back of Grada Gol) and, at the suggestion of my friend Chris Todd (General of
Armada Sur) at a supporters' meeting I attended with him two years ago, a sign
on the outside of the stadium identifying it as our ground.
Our club
president Miguel Concepción hopes that the improvements will be completed and in
place by sometime in 2010.
I watch
our first defeat of
2008 despite a good performance from the team: Hércules
v Tenerife
16/02/2008: 2-1
This was a frustrating game to watch as
we played well only to go behind twice to a team just below us in the
league. In fact, having equalised, we appeared to have scored a good
headed goal which was mysteriously disallowed.
I went to the game
with my friends Carlos, Dave and Tommy and with my mother who will be
87 next week !!! We watched, at times optimistic at other times
pessimistic, from the stands in the bitter cold of the Alicante
evening.
We were playing good football when Sendoa (28m) scored the first
Hércules goal and at half-time thought we still had a good chance to win the
game despite Ayoze missing a good chance in a one-on-one with the home team's
goalie just a minute after they had scored. Nino also nearly connected
with a high ball later in the first half.
In the second half we started
brightly with a goal from Ayoze (47m) making up for his earlier miss and then
Culebras headed in to the net only to have it disallowed, presumably for a
foul by one of our other players.
Still playing well, particularly in
defence but at times in midfield and up front, we nevertheless went behind again
when Ion Vélez (75m) scored to take all three points for the home team and
inflict our first defeat of 2008. My friends will see if we can do better
in Salamanca next week but for the moment we sadly lose our momentum in the
leauge table and drop a place to tenth, six points behind third placed Real
Sociedad.
Tommy, Carlos, Mum and myself before the
game
Kick-off with Tenerife in red
Action during the match showing the sparse
crowd
Pictures from the Albacete v CD
Tenerife game played on 25/11/07
These
photos were taken in the Carlos Belmonte Stadium prior to the 0-0 draw I
reported on below.
With my banner before the match - it
normally goes through
security at airports with no problem but on the way
back
was taken away for the Guardia Civil to inspect it !!!
With Dave
Dye prior to the match
Dave (middle left) with members of Peña
Puntera
who had made a special trip to watch this game
Poor performance against a team
at the bottom end of the table: Albacete v Tenerife 25/11/07: 0-0
I watched this game with Dave
Dye of Armada Sur and about 20 members of Peña Puntera on a freezing cold early
evening in what is billed by the "Rough Guide" as the "most boring town in
Spain". Neither team did much to change this reputation unlike the much more
lively 2-2 draw between Elche and Alavés that I saw the night before. Ayoze
headed off the line before being replaced and Nino had a great unexpected shot
well saved before right at the end Arruabarrena, on as a substitute, headed on a
corner very powerfully and nearly scored only to again be thwarted by the
opposition goalie.
Incredibly we have lost less games than leaders Málaga
but are in eleventh position in the table (with other teams below us having the
same points) because we have drawn so many games this season. Just a few more
goals and we would have been challenging for promotion.
Seventh game
without defeat but a disappointing result: Tenerife v UD Las Palmas 03/11/07:
2-2
The long anticipated "derbi"
game against bottom of the table Las Palmas saw us ahead twice through Nino (7m)
and Culebras (52m) but still succumb to two equalisers from Darino (18m) and
Adrián (71m). In fact Las Palmas played the better football for much of the game
and with a good save from a long range shot three minutes from the end and a
last minute miss after space was opened up for a great scoring opporunity they
could have won the game. Their new manager must take much more pleasure from
both their performance and the result than our trainer Oltra
does.
Pictures from the deby showing the
pre-match atmosphere, crowd scenes, members of Armada Sur and some match action
(including the Culebras goal can now be found by clicking here .
Fixtures for the 2007-2008
season
The fixtures for this season are on a special page on this
site in my normal format with room for the results, scorers, etc. as matches are
played. They can be viewed at my fixtures page .
Once again there will be games
that are easy to get to for British based fans of Tenerife - those remaining
include Hércules (in Alicante) and Málaga.
Four, Four Two
features CD Tenerife and the "Derbi"
The August 2007 edition of
"Four, Four, Two" football magazine featured an article about the Tenerife v Las
Palmas "derbis" and has quotes from Chris Todd and myself, Andy Woolley.
Guest Reports
IF YOU WOULD
LIKE TO REPORT ON A GAME FOR THESE PAGES PLEASE E-MAIL
ME.
Elsewhere
Stoke drew their final
game of the season at home to Leicester City whilst Hull City
lost their final game so Stoke are promoted to the Premier League after 23 years
away from the top division of English football and the first time since it
became the Premier League. West Bromwich Albion were champions of the division but
Stoke go up in the second automatic play-off place leaving Hull, Bristol City, Crystal Palace
and Watford to play for the remaining place.
In the qualifying competition for Euro 2008 Wales finished
fifth with a 2-2 home draw against the Republic of Ireland and a 0-0 away draw
in Germany as the last two results.
In the qualifying competition for the
2010 World Cup in South Africa we are drawn against Germany, Russia, Finland,
Azerbaijan and Leicthenstein. The first matches are likely to be played in
September 2008.
Wales played a friendly against
Norway at Wrecsam / Wrexham on Wednesday 6th February and despite having four of their normal first choice players absent won
3-0 with a convincing performance and on 26th March beat Luxembourg away by two
goals to nil with many first choice players
missing.
Plans have been announced for a "Celtic Cup" competition to start in 2011 which will feature Wales, Northern Ireland,Republic of Ireland and Scotland. Games will be played
in one of the countries in February and May, as plans stand at the moment, with two games played on the same day.
Back to Peña Internet home
page
