Cornia wants to astonish Barcelona as well

After Real Madrid were knocked out of the King’s Cup, will there be another sensation? Football fans in Spain are waiting to see if Cornia from the third division can also oust Barcelona tonight (Thursday, 22:00) while hosting them in the last 32 stage.

This game will be a small derby, as the host represents the small town of Cornelia de Lobergat next to Barcelona, ​​whose narrow home ground, the “Municipal de Corne” (1,500 seats), is located next to the stadium of Espanyol, Barça’s city rival currently playing in the sub-league .

This is a modest team, whose players make a living from football, but receive a minimum wage and a large part of them are young people and students. They come from a modest place that is famous in Spain not necessarily because of football, but following the popular band “Estopa”, whose members are natives of the place.

And besides, if you talk to a local and ask him where he is from, in the same breath he will point out that the famous Spanish journalist, TV presenter and comedian Jordi Ebola is a native of Cornia. Ebola is a source of pride and has recently become even more famous around the world after the exclusive interview given to it by Leo Messi.

Although it is ranked only eighth (out of 11 teams) in the house where it plays in the third division, has not won in its last six games in the league and is focused on survival struggles against relegation to the fourth division (in recent years Cornia has struggled to advance to the second division and failed). Eliminated Atletico Madrid in the previous round thanks to a 0: 1 victory. Adrian Jimenez Gomes’ winning goal with a kick from the air was repeatedly shown on local TV stations.

Now Cornia hopes to amaze once again. The thing is that she is used to facing Barcelona B, which is ranked far above it in the same house in the third division. Last December 20, the two teams met on the field of Cornia and Barcelona B won 0: 1.

The surface on the Cornia pitch is synthetic and this makes it difficult for professional players who are not accustomed to it. The use of this surface is allowed in the lower leagues and cup games. If the team moves up one day to one of the top two leagues it will have to use a different surface, but for now it hopes to take advantage of that to surprise Barça.

In 2014/15, Cornia hoped to surprise Real Madrid when they faced the Spanish Cup, but were defeated 4: 1 at home and 0: 5 at the Santiago Bernabeu. This time there will be only one meeting due to the changes made to the game board following the Corona crisis.

Almost all of the players on Kornia’s current squad are Spaniards. Prominent is defender / midfielder Agos Medina (26), who is on loan from English club Birmingham, a club with which an agreement has been signed for cooperation and transfer of players. Striker Javier Ontebrus (24) is also considered to have potential thanks to the scoring ability he previously displayed in Levante’s young teams.

Another notable player is left-back Rollo Prieto (25), who was born in Valencia and grew up in its ranks. Prieto had previously recorded promotion to the Spanish top league in 2017 when he was a partner in Vasquez’s successful and historic campaign. In addition, he played in the second division in the Alcorcon uniform.

In general, Cornia is a club that often invests in young players, and the work invested in youth also helps to hold an adult team.

“There are about 50 players who have left our club and moved on to professional teams,” CEO Anders Mansano boasted in an interview with Sport newspaper. “The King’s Cup games help us get to know our club better and it strengthens its image.”

Not only about Jordi Alba, who played for the club for two years, he talked. Balde Keita from Sampdoria also played for the club in the past. The team is very proud of the players who grew up in its ranks, developed in it and moved on to play in big clubs and professionals, and a special page on the subject is dedicated to this on its website.

The CEO added: “We received an offer from an Arab investor who was interested in us, but we rejected the offer and were not tempted by the big money because it would have forced us to change our philosophy and we did not want it to happen. We want to determine who will play. ”

Guillermo Fernandez Romo (42), the team’s coach, previously worked in the youth department of Betis and Racing Santander. He grew up in the Aloche neighborhood of Madrid, which is affiliated with Atletico (near Vicente Calderon, which has already been destroyed) and is known as an avid fan of the Colchoneros. Therefore, after ousting them he approached Diego Simeone, shook his hand and told him “I’m sorry”. The Argentine coach admitted at the press conference: “They were better than us.”

Ahead of the game against Barça, Romo was asked about the impact of the Super Cup defeat on the opponent, and replied: “Nothing can be deduced from this. This game was played in a different setting and I understand that they will play in a different team. What happened to Barcelona does not make it any less strong. It was historic, so if we do it again it will be a double splash and an incredible thing. ”

Before the game against Olot in the league last Sunday (2: 2), the players did not train because some of them were positive about Corona, and settled for personal training at home and a conversation with the coach.

Initially, doubts were also raised about the existence of the upcoming meeting with Barcelona, ​​but the game in the league was eventually held. Cornia came in with just 15 players and managed to come out with a point thanks to an Agos Medina penalty in extra time. Captain Aloi Gila assessed the situation ahead of the match against Barça: “We have very few chances against it, but they exist.”

Leo Messi, who was sent off in the Super Cup final, will not play tonight, but some of Barcelona’s first team players are expected to attend. Over the past week they have been holding special training sessions on the synthetic pitch in their training complex, Seattle Esporta Joan Gamper, in order to get used to the unconventional challenge.

Rakoman will give rest to many of his first-team players, but after Barcelona suffered quite a few setbacks this season, relegation from the cup against such a modest team will surely not pass in silence and will also grab all the headlines in the country, as happened following Alcoiano’s stunning relegation. Therefore, no one in the glorious club would allow himself to underestimate the inferior but ambitious rival.

Oscar Mingsa, who usually plays as a stopper, will likely open as a right-back due to Sergio Dust’s injury. This is because Sergi Roberto has not yet recovered from a prolonged injury.

“We know there are surprises in the cup, and teams from the third division host synthetic surfaces that we are not used to,” Koeman said ahead of the match. “It will be difficult for us, what’s more for them this is the game of the season. We have to take it seriously and it depends on the mentality we will reach.”

The Dutchman added: “It’s nice that a team from the third league can host on their pitch, the problem is that they don’t usually play on such a surface. For me playing on a synthetic pitch is not football, but we will not use it as an excuse. I understand that they are interested in taking advantage “But it depends on the conditions there and the lighting.”

One of the Barcelona players who was not included in the squad and will be rested is left-back Jordi Alba, who thus missed an opportunity for a very special encounter for him.

As the one who wore the Cornia uniform for two years (2007-2005) and even collaborated on the field with the current team president Alex Talbra (he played as a goalkeeper at the time), Alba has recalled quite a few moments from his youth in which he played as a striker and is considered a great promise. “Those were two years where I gained a lot of experience and met great people,” the defender said of the period in Cornia. “This club was like family for me and it was one of the most beautiful times of my life.”

Indeed, it is likely that if he had not joined Cornia in time, Alba would have had a hard time getting that far in his career. He reached the Green-Whites at the age of 15 after seven years at Barça’s ‘Asia’ when his future was unclear, was welcomed with open arms and progressed.

When he was 17, he was acquired by Valencia, where he moved to the left-back position. In the summer of 2012, after already being a big star who won with the Spanish team in the Euros, Barcelona brought him back to its ranks and thus he got to fulfill his big dream.

Although Koeman announced a revolution in the Barcelona squad when he was appointed coach, and even released veterans such as Ivan Rakitić and Luis Suarez, Alba continued to receive credit and continues to display a high level, especially in the offensive missions. At the same time, the “S” newspaper criticized his defensive ability.

In a penalty shootout victory last week over Real Sociedad in the Super Cup semi-final, Alba wore the Barcelona captain’s ribbon for the first time in his ninth season in the senior team. It happened after Sergio Busquets was replaced and the other captains – Leo Messi, Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto (the last two injured) were not on the pitch. Now he will get a rest and will not face the team that was very significant in his long journey.