Alcorcon dream of Cinderella story
Reuters - Monday 26 October 2009, 12:18
MADRID - Segunda B side Alcorcon, from the
third tier of Spanish football, have fairytales on their mind
for the visit of city rivals Real Madrid in the King's Cup
fourth round on Tuesday.
Alcorcon, whose stadium to the south of the capital will
have its capacity expanded to around 4,000 for the first leg,
play in the same league as Real Madrid's youth team Castilla.
"It's inevitable that you get carried away," Alcorcon coach
Juan Antonio Anquela told sports daily Marca on Monday.
"We are aware that it is like the story of Cinderella, where
at midnight we will return to crude reality, but no one is going
to stop us from having our dance with the prince. We have won
this right on our own merits."
Alcorcon can take heart from last season's competition when
a side from the same division, Real Union, managed a shock
result over two legs to knock out Bernd Schuster's Real at the
same stage, on the away goals rule.
Anything less than a comfortable win would increase the
pressure on Real coach Manuel Pellegrini, whose side have failed
to impress recently.
"We have been made to look foolish in this competition
before so we will be approaching it with the same mentality as
if it were the Champions League," Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas
told a news conference.
Another Segunda B side, Marbella, will be looking to spoil
Quique Sanchez Flores's debut as Atletico Madrid coach when they
travel to the south coast on Tuesday.
Atletico, who sacked Abel Resino on Friday, are 17th in La
Liga with one win from their last 11 matches in all
competitions.
"The (immediate) objective is to lift the morale of the
players," Sanchez Flores said at his presentation on Monday.
Segunda B's Cultural Leonesa host holders and la Liga
leaders Barcelona on Wednesday, and last year's finalists
Athletic Bilbao visit second division Rayo Vallecano on
Wednesday.
The second legs are scheduled for the week beginning November 9.