The Gladiators
The idea of the Colisseum was that peasants would be selected in order to be slayed by any number of threats, wild animals and just other competing paupers that would fight to the death in order to secure fame, glory, and what ultimately weighs most - survival. Sport has changed, morphed and advanced, and thankfully Hispania’s athletes are no longer in mortal danger, but there is something of the gladiator in Cádiz.
Against Valencia, the Yellow Submarine stayed afloat in the Nuevo Mirandilla, scrapping, and scrounging out three points (2-1) against a side with a salary limit allowing them to spend 65% more. And it wasn’t a surprise.
The team that were supposed to go down two seasons ago, that were supposed to crumble without Álvaro Cervera, the man who gave them their identity, have hung around with no regard for predictions, budgets or reputation.
In each of their seasons, Cádiz have remained in the bottom three in terms of budget. Looking at the current La Liga table, each of the teams from Cádiz upwards (13th, Celta Vigo) can be considered safe from relegation, sporting an eight-point gap with six games to go. From that same point, all of the managers from Carlos Carvalhal through to the top teams are considered to be doing a good job.
Yet there’s a strong case that Sergio González should be included in that group, even if the four between tEspanyol and Cádiz have not yet afforded them the relaxation of Girona, Real Mallorca or Celta Vigo. Against Valencia, he took charge of his 50th game, and in it he saw the same feverish fight as was present in the early stages of his tenure.
Cádiz’s top scorer this season is no longer with the club - Lucas Pérez (4) left to go and join Deportivo La Coruña in the third division. Rubén Alcaraz and Álex Fernández have three each, but navigating their way to such a position with only instruments that at this point can fairly be described as somewhat blunt, is almost a work of experimental art within the game.
Conan Ledesma mixes the sumptuous with the surreal. Rubén Sobrino has turned his sadistic work-rate into an uncomfortable midfield presence. United by that attitude, Sergio has continued Cervera’s idea and tweaked it with signs of ambition and aggression with the ball - but first and foremost, the fight is non-negotiable.
And then there is Spartacus himself - he also goes by the alter ego of Pacha Espino. Against Los Che, it was his lung-busting run that set-up Sergi Guardiola for what was ultimately the winner, leaving himself to ecstasy in the celebration. In the dying moments, as Valencia pictured a point, Espino hustled himself back onto the line to block Samu Castillejo’s equaliser. Ledesma and Espino roared at each other nose-to-nose. On the final whistle, he sank to his knees, chest heaving, legs burning and pride bursting.
Nobody exemplifies what Cádiz are better than Espino, who made his 100th Cádiz appearance on Sunday. Primarily a group of misfits, or players written off, demonstrating the power of will. This should not be taken as dismissive; Sergio moves his pieces well, and there is quality in the side, primarily in the feet of Alcaraz.
Alfonso, to give him his given name, feeds on the drama of the battle though. He plays with a knife between his teeth and singular purpose between his eyes, like his colleagues around him. The Yellow Submarine of the South do not have reputation as a must-watch side. Yet I would dare any fan to watch their victory over Valencia, to see Pacha Espino roar to the heavens from the floor, and tell Cádiz that they are not entertained.