loading . . . Agony and ecstasy in La Liga after a survival battle for the ages | Sid Lowe At the end of a âcrazy, crazy dayâ, Elche were safe. But opponents, Girona, were down with Mallorca and Oviedo
Eder Sarabia wasnât out there to see the tightest, tensest battle there has ever been end with liberation at last, but his mum and dad were and he wasnât far away. Suspended for the final night of a season like no other, Elcheâs coach was hidden down in the dressing room instead, watching the game that he knew was âus or themâ on a TV set perched precariously upon a metal crate. There, as staff ran in and out delivering messages until it was his turn to set off on a sprint, he saw the match that defined five teamsâ fate finish 1-1. Mobile in hand, alerts beeping, most of all he saw suffering. âTerrible, terrible, terrible,â he called it later, but by then at least it was done. Elche were safe. Their opponents, Girona, were down. Real Mallorca, like Real Oviedo, were going with them.
âCrazy, crazy day, crazy match, a lot of emotions: this league was really crazy,â Sarabia said. He had spent much of it surrounded by clothes on hooks and flags taped to walls; like everyone else, he had also spent it, he said, âon the edge of the precipiceâ. From the visitorsâ dressing room at Montilivi, he had seen Ălvaro RodrĂguez score the kind of goal that wins cups in cartoons, tearfully dedicating it to his late dad, and Arnau MartĂnez equalise. He had seen cameras zoom in on his parents in the stands and wondered how Manu, a former footballer who doesnât so much watch games as broadcast them, looked so calm when they were a goal from losing it all. He had seen Thomas Lemar hit Elcheâs bar, â+7â appear on the screen, and his goalkeeper catch a cross on 95.55, MatĂas Dituro triumphantly holding the ball like Rafiki on Pride Rock, but it still wasnât over. Continue reading... http://dlvr.it/TSjdGX
