Players comments after the loss against Recreativo de Huelva

Los jugadores del CD Tenerife lamentaron la derrota sufrida este domingo en Huelva ante el Recre. Analizando el choque, los futbolistas vieron en el gol recibido antes del descanso la principal explicación a la derrota. Ninguno puso excusas al varapalo sufrido en el Nuevo Colombino.

Juanlu Hens: “In the first half we played well and had lots of chances. The 1-0 they scored just before half time was a major blow. In the second part that goal caused us problems. We kept faith with our style of play but we werm't as accurate as in the first half. What is left is to work hard try to beat Betis at home and to to turn the page as soon as possible".

Melli: “This was a hard game, with little space on the field. In the first half we were in a goix position although we had few chances. In the second half everything changed and went wrong. We were missing a bit of everything. We knew our rival wouldn't let us play. It was a match in which we all played badly. Now we just need to move on and think about the next game. But I want to insist in the first half we played well. We need to. Ontinue working and change the image of the team".

Nino: “It cost us a lot to find our feet in this game though we had some chances. The opposition led us around tbe field where ever they wanted. Just when we were thinking about half time they scored and that weighs heavy. We had the sensation that we were the days we played against Villarreal and Alcorcón but finally that style just wasn't there. In general this was just a game we need to forget. Sadly it stopped our good run. That hurts. We are all capable of the best and the worst thats why against Betis we hope to score three points".

Aim for the coming week by Nino and Beranger

Gregory Beranger & Nino were the two players who were interviewed today Monday after the training session was finished in the Mundialito training grounds.
The French player, fro his part, started by talking about the suspension of the game on Sunday against Granada CF. “The game wasn't played and now we are thinking about the game next Sunday and only that game. We don't know the date of the Granada game and we will need to wait and see when that is”.
When asked about the commitment against Recreativo de Huelva, Beranger admited that “all the games right now are important to try to get out of the bottom of the table. We are training hard and will be at our best for our next game”.
“Our rival, Like us, are improving”, continued the C. D. tenerife footballer, who then added that “for our part, we want to continue growing. In the last few moths we have been doing things well and this is the path to follow”, he finished.
Nino, for his part, confessed that “the week is a little strange and there is nothing left but to think about Recreativo. We are on a good run. We need to maintain those feelinga from the Villarreal B game and centre oursleves on the next commitment.
About the duel against Recreativo de Huelva, Nino assured that “we will play for three important points against a complicated rival. We hope to win, although we know it will be difficult. That said, we want tomaintain this form and to that aim we are training hard”, he concluded.

Second win of the season brings the points to 10

It may not have been an elegant game but three points are three points.

 CD Tenerife managed this Sunday their second victory this season. They beat AD Alcorcon 1-0. The goal was scored by Nino at the start of the second half. This goal serves to bring the team up to nine points. Mandía's group worked hard for this win.

CD Tenerife, in need of the points went out in the only way they could, from the beginning in search of a goal. This aggressive style of play permitted the team to break with the negativity that has hung around them like a cloak and beat AD Alcorcon. Chances were there from the beginning. Nino had a chance after the fifth minute then Ricardo centred a ball which Prieto headed towards the goal in the tenth minute. The players from Madrid also had their chances including a shot by Rubén Sanz, which Melli blocked with his chest (14’).

CD Tenerife, continued to try and were constantly dangerous from midfield towards the goal. Natalio, had a hard shot and the ball hit the post in the twenty sixth minute, in a play that deserved to be a goal. Mandía's boys were working hard. 

After the break, from a corner,  Sergio Mora, managed to find a ball that had escaped Sergio Aragoneses, but that too hit the post. CD Tenerife needed that push and the fans came through with their support the game moved up to a new level. Nino scored with a pass from Ricardo.(52’): 1-0.

Risking everything Juan Antonio Anquela, who didn't want to leave the island with nothing moved from defensive play to attacking in search of a draw. Borjacentred a ball in the area, with his head over Sergio but it hit the post.  CD Tenerife were left defending, trying to stop the visitors from equalizing.

The final minutes were infinite suffering for CD Tenerife. The lads from Madrid tightened their game in search of a goal. Mandía's eleven couldn't find their style of play or a second goal to sentence the game. Finally after tremendous suffering the win was whistled and the three points stayed in Tenerife. 

GAME NOTES

CD TENERIFE 1 (0)

AD ALCORCÓN 0 (0)

CD TENERIFE

Sergio Aragoneses; Marc Bertrán, David Prieto, Melli, Beranger; Ricardo, Mikel Alonso; Juanlu Hens (Antonio Hidalgo, 70’), Natalio (Kome, 83’), Julio Álvarez (Pablo Sicilia, 91’)  & Nino.

AD ALCORCÓN

Manu Herrera; Nagore, Nino (David Sanz, 79’), Javi Hernández, Ángel Sánchez; Alberdi (Paco Montañés, 61’); Fernando Sales (Carlos Martínez, 69’), Sergio Mora, Rubén Sanz, Borja & Quini.

REFEREE

David Miranda Torres, From Catalyuna. Yellow cards for local players Mikel Alonso, Ricardo & Marc Beltrán; and for visitors Sergio Mora &  Nino.

GOAL

1-0: (52’) Nino with a cross ball in front of the goal from a pass by Ricardo.

INCIDENTS

Thirteenth round of the Liga Adelante competition. Played in the Heliodoro Rodríguez López stadium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with the grass in good condition. Present were 15.234 spectators. Before the start of the game the C.D. Tenerife captain gave the AD Alcorcon players a wooden plaque with the team logo to commemorate the first time the two teams had played against each other.

This seasons captains

The club has announced that this season the captains will be Marc Bertrán, Sergio Aragoneses, Nino, Pablo Sicilia & Luis García.
There are two weeks left to renew season tickets. They can be renewed until the first home game against UD Salamanca on either the 4th or 5th of September. There have been 1000 new season tickets taken up and no more will be sold until the club sees how many season tickets are not renewed. The club announced on Sunday that 9,400 season tickets had been sold until then.

Club president Miguel Concepción commented on Canarias Radio that, " we are excited for the new project that we have put into action. It will help us overcome the bad feelings going down last season left us with". He sated that he was excited for the new season to start and was plaeased with the way the league is now set out. That not only do the clubs have a cahnce to go straight up if they are first or second but also that is they finish between third and sixth they can play in the playoff to have a chance to go up. 

Presentation game results in a win

A good result for the team against Mallorca who were fifth in the first division last year. The 2-0 win with goals by new player Natalio and fans favourite Nino led the team to a victory. The first in the last five games. Pre-season is always full of ups and downs but the supporters left the stadium happy last night with a good feeling for the up coming league which starts away next Saturday in Montilivi, Girona. A stadium which will be in the hearts of many as the place where CD Tenerife went up to the first division two year ago.

GAME NOTES
CD TENERIFE 2 (1)
REAL MALLORCA 0 (0)
CD TENERIFE
Luis García; Marc Bertrán, David Prieto, Melli, Beranger; Ricardo, Antonio Hidalgo, Juanlu, Omar; Natalio & Nino. Also played: Aitor Núñez, Bellvís, Pablo Sicilia, Kome, Ezequiel Luna, Mikel Alonso & Iriome.
RCD MALLORCA
Lux; Cendrós, Crespí, Ramis, Ayoze; Emilio, Martí, De Guzmán, Pereira; Webo & Victor Casadesús. Also played: Joao, Rubén, Sergi, Corrales & Edson.
REFEREE
Juan Francisco García Cabrera. Yellow cards for visitors  Emilio, Corrales & Rubén.
GOALS
1-0: (43’) Natalio, from a pass by Bertrán. 2-0: (64’) Nino, after the ball bounced off the post.
INCIDENTS
Played in the Heliodoro stadium. Grounds were in good condition. Warm evening. In front of  7.897 spectators. Before the start fo the game there was a presentation of all the players and their new numbers. The plkayers were named one by one and came out onto the pitch.The numbers for the new players are 11 for Natalio, 20 for Julio Alvarez, Iriome took the 24, Hidalgo the 5, Prieto the 16 and Melli the 18.

Draw on the field a loss in penalties.

Having been 1-3 up CD Tenerife went on to draw 3-3 against Orihuela CF. They then went on to lose 5-4 in penalties for the Trofeo Ciudad de Orihuela. The keeper all the way through was Dani Mederos from the second team.

GAME NOTES
ORIHUELA CF 3 (0)
CD TENERIFE 3 (0)

ORIHUELA CF
Ricardo; Campins, Julio, Benja, Carmelo, Manrique, Villa, Micro, Fleki, Caces & Florián. Also played: Del Cueto, Werner, Santacruz, Manolo, Álvaro, Aleo, Diego & Sergio Molina.

CD TENERIFE
Dani Mederos; Aitor Núñez, David Prieto, Moreno, Beranger; Iriome, Mikel Alonso, Julio Álvarez, Omar; Kome & Rosquete. Also played: Natalio, Nino, Luna, Bertrán, Bellvís, Hidalgo, Juanlu y Ricardo.

REFEREE
Rives Leal, from Valencia, assisted by Ramírez Parralejo & Peiro Albadalejo. Yellow card for local player Florián; and for visitors Aitor Núñez & Ricardo.

GOALS
0-1: (61’) Natalio, after the ball was kicked away. 0-2: (70’) Natalio, after a pass from the right byJuanlu. 1-2: (79’) Aleo, from the left of Dani Mederos. 1-3: (82’) Nino, from a pass by Ricardo. 2-3: (87’) Santacruz,in an indivual play 3-3: (91’) Aleo, from a long shot.

INCIDENTS
Played in the Los Arcos grounds. Ground was in reasonable condition. Rainy afternoon. In front of 150 spectators. Melli, the newest signing for  CD Tenerife, was at the game.

Winners of the Trofeo Teide - CD Tenerife - game notes

CD Tenerife won the Trofeo Teide, after winning against Real Zaragoza in the Los Cuartos stadium in la Orotava. Real Zaragoza, is a first division team and CD Tenerife managed to beat them 1-0. The goal by Nino came in the first few minutes of the game and proved enough for the team trained by Gonzalo Arconada to take the trophy.
The team came out on the pitch and played hard for the begining. The clearly controlled the ball and scored after 11 minutes. Ricardo recovered the ball in mid-field and passed to Nino whokicked the ball to the back of the net wih a great shot.

After that both sides had chances to score but the result stayed the same. Real Zaragoza, looked better in the second half and in the 60th minute showed there form with two chances for a goal, the first in an individual play by Braulio and the second from a foul shot by Jeremy Pennant which was going to Jarosik but a CD Tenerife defender managed to intervene.
The team from Aragon, pushed their lines all the way to the goal but the CD Tenerife squad where secure in defense and used their defenders to creat counter attacks. Even in the last 10 minutes there were chances by Nino, Míkel Alonso & Rubén Rosquete although the scoreboard didn't change.
The trophy was presented to Marc Bertran as captain and the man of the match was Omar Ramos.

GAME NOTES

CD TENERIFE 1
REAL ZARAGOZA 0


CD TENERIFE
Sergio Aragoneses; Marc Bertrán, Pablo Sicilia, David Prieto, Beranger; Antonio Hidalgo, Ricardo, Juanlu Hens, Omar; Natalio y Nino. Also played Luis García, Iriome, Luna, Kome, Míkel Alonso, Moreno, Aitor Núñez & Rubén Rosquete.

REAL ZARAGOZA
Toni Doblas; José Ruiz, Contini, Goni, Edu García; Ponzio, Edmilson, Jorge López, Lacruz; Nico Bertolo y Braulio. Also played Diogo, Gabi, Pennant, Marco Pérez, Jarosik, Jorge Ortí & Ramiro Mayor.

REFEREE Daniel Trujillo Suárez, from the Tenerife referees. Yellow cards for local players David Prieto y Ricardo; and for visitors Contini, Edmilson, Diogo & Gabi.

GOAL
1-0: (11’) Nino.

INCIDENTS
Played in the Los Cuartos stadium. Grounds were in perfect condition. Good crowd with 5.000 spectators. Warm evening. Omar Ramos was elected ‘Man of the match’ for the game.

UD IBARRA 2 - CD TENERIFE 5

 CD Tenerife won their second preseason game this week. against Ibarra in the south of Tenerife(2-5). The blue and whites move forward with their training and the game finished with Nino scoring a hat trick.In the frist few minutes Ibarra applied pressure an d the CD Tenerife players diodn't look comfortable but after a while Arconada's players shined through and took possession of the game. Chances came on the wing for Omar Ramos and after 29 minutes a play up the wing with a pass to the centre gave Dani Kome his second goal in preseason.

The local players had their chances including on by Ronie infront of the goal but Luis Garcia caught the ball. Just before half time CD Tenerife increased their win with a goal from Rubén Rosquete-

Both teams made changes at half time and David Prieto had a chance to show what he is made of. Again CD Tenerife took possession of the ball with a stronger midfield and createing more danger in Ibarra's goal area. And with that Nino scored. Then Ibarra player Jonathan Turbo took his chance and scored for Ibarra. Again Nino wuith a second goal then A second goal for Jonathan Turbo and a third for Nino. Leaving the final score at  2-5.

Game Notes
UD IBARRA 2 (0)
CD TENERIFE 5 (2)

UD IBARRA
Carlos; Ché, Raúl, Jesús, Luis; Robi, Rubén, Migue, Ronie; Arodis y Emilio. También jugaron: Amado, Zeben, Moha, Jonnhy, Oysmane, Arán, Gorrín, Jonathan Turbo, Lamire & Leandro.

CD TENERIFE
Luis García; Aitor Núñez, Beranger, Pablo Sicilia, Ezequiel Luna; Mikel Alonso, Julio Álvarez, Iriome, Omar Ramos; Rubén Rosquete y Dani Kome. También jugaron: Marc Bertrán, David Prieto, Carlos Bellvís, Ricardo, Antonio Hidalgo, Juanlu Hens, Nino, Natalio, Josmar Zambrano & Moreno.

REFEREE
Diego Veloso Blanco, from the South referee group, assisted by César Rodríguez Santos & David Cargador Vargas.Yellow card for Nino.

GOALS
0-1: (29’) Dani Kome. 0-2: (37’) Rubén Rosquete. 0-3: (60’) Nino. 1-3: (63’) Jonathan Turbo. 1-4: (75’) Nino. 2-4: (79’) Jonathan Turbo. 2-5: (81’) Nino.

INCIDENTS
Played in Villa Isabel. Ground was in good conditions. 1.800 spectadors. Warm afternnoon. The president of Ibarra, Carmelo González, presented comemerative gift to the CD Tenerife presidente, Miguel Concepción.

Nino Staying

The club has announced today that Nino has renewed his contract until the summer of 2014.
This is great news and everyone I have talked to is so pleased.
The feeling is with Nino staying we have a good shot at going back up to primera.

CD Marino 0 - CD Tenerife 4

CD Tenerife had a great start to their pre-season games. A 0-4 win against Marino with goals from New player Antonio Hidalgo, nino (2) and Dani Kome. The group offered a great show in the Antonio Domínguez stadium and the fans left happy.

The blue and white players took control of the games form the start, showing a game that was fast and used the whole pitch. The defense looked solid and there were almost no chances for the Southern team. 0-3 was the score at half time when the team changed almost completely.

GAME NOTES
CD MARINO 0 (0)
CD TENERIFE 4 (3)
***

CD MARINO
Alberto; Alex, Miguelo, Almenara, Lanín; Rayco, Limones, Aarón, Noah; Maikel y Airam García. También jugaron Alexis, Pablo, Jorge, Alejandro, Caco, Nabil, Dani, Suso, Javi Marchena, Jordan y Mendy.

CD TENERIFE
Sergio Aragoneses; Marc Bertrán, Bellvís, Bruno, Moreno; Juanlu, Iriome, Ricardo, Antonio Hidalgo; Natalio y Nino. También jugaron Dani Mederos, Aitor Núñez, Beranger, Pablo Sicilia, Luna, Mikel Alonso, Alexis de Paz, Omar, Juan Ramón, Kome, Rubén Rosquete y Josmar Zambrano.

REFEREE
Jonathan Cruz Quintero, from the south. No cards.

GOALS
0-1: (11‘) Antonio Hidalgo. 0-2: (17‘) Nino. 0-3: (36‘) Nino. 0-4: (75’) Kome.

INCIDENTS
In the Antonio Domínguez stadium. The grounds were in prefect conditions. 3.000 spectators. Warm evening. Armada sur and the Frente had a good sized group supporting the team.

Nino talks of staying

In the Newspaper AS this morning there is a quote form Nino saying "I am really relaxed because I want to renew here. If I wasn't here I would no have gone elsewhere. I would have forced the situation. I am sure the who renovation process will be sorted soon".

This is great news for the team and the fans who see the player as a step towards a return to the first division.

The club website also has an interview which includes the comments:
"The pre-season is hard. You need to adapt your body and we are all giving everything in every training session. There is a good atmosphere in the squad. We are working hard, we are a good block and there is a desire to play well. We are an experiencedgroup who know their qualities, the fans we rely on, the stadium, the club.....But we need to go step by step as the league is very long".
Nino also admited that "there will be other teams who are looking to meet the same goals as us. We shouldhave respect for them. What is clear is that nothing will be won by December. If we are going to asscend we need to go little by little to the end. We kenw the team needed new players and the squad is now much improved. This will allow us to be more competitive, which is what we needed".
When asked about trainer Gonzalo Arconada Nino was very clear, "He is a good trainer, demanding and communicative. He wants the team to give one hundred percent and we are all adapting to his wants".

Miguel Concepción talks to the fans.

Yesterday morning Club president Miguel Concepción was in the offices of local newspaper La Opinión de Tenerife, to answer fans questions sent in by internet about the up to date goings on in the blue and white club.

Miguel Concepción answered the questions given and tried to be open and honest with the fans. The businessman for La Palma was asked about aspects of the clubs sporting & institutional plans and he then defended his efforts as president of C D Tenerife.


The president of the team commented on the near future of the club. He explained that the club is going to build a team to aspire to return to the first division. That you can never be sure this is what will happen but that the aim of the club is to return to Primera next summer.

Trainer - When he was asked about trainer José Luis Oltra, Miguel Concepción stated that both the team council and the sports director coincided in the thought that it was time for a change in Tenerife and that they wanted to start a new project with many new players and a new training team. Above all the president was clear when he said "Until I have a signed contract nothing is sure, we continue to look to sign a trainer who fulfills the characteristics we are looking for. Don't forget the second division is not finished. There are trainers who are not working and others who will be leaving their jobs when the season is completed.

Youth teams - The fact that several of the members of the team who had come up through the youth teams have left this year was a question from several people. Concepción answered " We plan to continue to promote the youth teams and work with our young players but we also have to respect that there are players who will want to leave Tenerife as they see their future as being better in another team. We will continue to work the way we are at present." In another question he responded "Our aim has always been to support our youth players but the places in the first team have to be filled by the best players we have for the spot. This is what makes the team competitive"

Fans - The maximum boss of CD Tenerife defended his position in the club with comments that the fans supported him and the team. His words included " I know that in a large group of fans there will always be some who do not have this feeling but generally the fans want me to be president."

Finances -When asked about the financial situation the club finds itself in Miguel Concepción revealed that although being relegated has meant that the entity doesn't think they will be able to reduce the debt next year, three years at the highest level will allow the club to reduce the debt to zero. This is partly why the club is going to make the enormous effort to return to the first division as soon as possible. He also discussed the hope that this year the club will be fused with the promotora a separate entity to the club itself.

When asked about Nino the president stated that there were on going negotiations and that he felt they were going well. He repeated that he hoped Nino will finish his career here in Tenerife.

Seasons statistics

At the end of the season looking back here are some of the good points about the year with some of the players figures for their time in the first division.








This season is now finished and here are some of the good aspects of the season both for CD Tenerife and for the players. The first figure for the team is that the result for the end of play most frequent was 1-1. This occurred in 45 occasions. In the whole league the Tenerife team were awarded 4 penalties, two of these were converted into goals and two missed. Against CD Tenerife there were 5 penalties which were all converted into goals. The blue and white team were the team with most passes into the goal area (1,202), followed by Osasuna and Sevilla respectively.

Nino was the third highest national goal scorer equally with Llorente they scored 14 goals, (only Villa had more.)  He scored 11 with his right foot and three with headers. The CD Tenerife forward was the field player who played the most minutes with a total of 3,360 minutes played ( the whole league with the exception of 60 minutes in round 36 the Barcelona-CD Tenerife game.) This was followed by Capdevilla (Villarreal CF) who was missing 109 minutes and Iraola (Ath. Bilbao) with 141 minutes.

Other interesting information about Angel who played 24 games and in all he started on the bench. He was the substitute who played in most games (24) followed by Antoñito (Xerez 23), Raúl (R. Madrid 22) and Dinei who also played in 22 games as sub and one he started.

Finally as players substituted Aranda (Osasuna) was changed 24 times, De La Cuevas (S. Gijón 22) and JuanLu 21 times.

When numbers are counted then keeper Sergio Aragoneses should be included. He was the only player in CD Tenerife who played the full 38 rounds accumulating a total of 3.420 oficial minutes.

Miguel Concepción explains on Radio Nacional

Miguel Concepción in an interview on Radio Nacional Saturday the 29/05 talked about different themes including the project for the coming season and the feelings after the relegation.

"One needs to look to take the club back to the standard of the fans which is a standard of the first division." stated the maximum authority for the club in response to a question asked by interviewer Domingo Álvarez." We need to look to the future. To work together to place CD Tenerife back where it belongs in the first division. 
When asked about the player Nino he recollected that "he still has a contract with the team and that he will continue playing. I would like him to finish his career here on the island. Marc Bertran also has a contract with us."
I am pleased with the way the team fought throughout the season. But as we didn't win the last two games we are back in the second division." he commented when asked to rate the previous year. "We should be happy with the last season. There were mistakes made and we should learn form them so they are not repeated. Now we need to construct a project to take us into the top positions of the second league." 

Miguel Concepción honoured trainer Jose Luis Oltra saying "Oltra came to us as a trainer we had looked for and he did a great job. He took us to the first division but he couldn't manage to keep us there. With that here in CD Tenerife it was decided the cycle was over. Had he managed to keep the team up then there would have been the option to negotiate a further contract. But our return to the second division made it seem pernicious  his continuity in the club. That said Oltra will always be welcome here.
Resuming his time as president he remembered " the season 2005/2006 was very difficult when I took over the presidency in the club although we managed to save the team and remain in the second division.We then consolidated the following two seasons we renewed the squad and then last year we managed to take the team up to the first division."
When asked if he wanted to send a message to the club and the fans the president said " We need to stick together, to have unity between the club, the fans and the press. I am calling for an effort between us all to return to the maximum football division."
When asked about the immediate future of the club Miguel Concepcion signaled that "we are starting a new project, with many new faces, as much in the technical team as in the players squad. I would like the new trainer here as soon as possible as this will help dissipate any doubts the fans and press have. But many of the trainers are still competing and some are not working. We are having discussions and till now nothing is decided." 
He followed by saying "I have complete confidence in the sports director Santiago Llorente. He has done a good job." He was then asked about the statement made last week that he might retire from being president explaining "I took the position for five years and as many know I do not stop until I have achieved my objectives. At no time will I abandon the club. In February there will be the possibility of elections and the council can be renewed. If there is a group who can show they will continue our lines in both the sporting and the economic areas, then I will be prepared to resign. But I will never turn my back on CD Tenerife."
He finished "We have all suffered and cried about the relegation of the team. We are going to try again. Together we can get there. We should have a team who are competitive and steady. And I call for the fans to keep coming to the stadium."

Players leaving or not

It states on the clubs website  that the decision has been made not to count with the services of Manolo Martínez, Gaizka Saizar, José Antonio Culebras y Ricardo Pérez de Zabalza,known as ‘Richi’ for the season 10/11.
The club thanked the players publicly for their time with the team and wished them all the best both personally and professionally in their future.


Negotiations have started with Hector Sánchez Cabrera who publically stated today he wants to stay and Ángel Luis Rodríguez Díaz. The only player left without information who has no contract is Juanlu. In his previous contract there was an agreement if he played a specific number of games he would be renewed. This has recently proved to be unenforceable but with the absence of information form the club it may well be that both sides have agreed that he can continue.


According to Ivan Bonales, who works for Canarian Television. The team will try in the next week to renew with Nino for 2 more years with an option for a third year. It remains to be seen if this is so.

Words from the players

Unanimously the team members interviewed after the game on Sunday against Español wanted to dedicate the win to the fans. Nino, Culebras, Richi, Ricardo & Héctor all felt the win against the team from Barcelona was justified and showed the work they had put in all season.
Comments included:


Nino: “The most important thing is the three points, our greatest asset is our fans, they deserve that we stay in the first division. This season football hasn't been fair with us. Finally our luck changed and I hope it will stay this way. In La Coruna against Deportivo we played a great game but the result wasn't there. The three points give the whole team confidence. We need to fight and show we are still alive.”

Culebras: “The result was fantastic both for the goals and the result. We were more aggressive. We tried to return the confidence the fans showed in us by giving our all. To keep faith with the fans. The win was important but also the goal average as you never know if that will count at the end.”

Richi: “The team was always following a great line but the results didn't show that. Today we have shown this is the way to play achieving the three points we so certainly needed. Now we have shown that all is not lost and although we have made mistakes we still have chances. The whole group is prepared to fight. Now we need to look to the game against Jerez which is an important game. I know I was lucky with the goal.”

Ricardo: “We played a good game and deserved to win. This score will help us a lot. The encounter had everything. Defensively we were very good today, now we need to enjoy the feeling of the win and then look forward to the game against Jerez. All the games are very paired and we will need to fight hard to continue winning. The fans have been with us the whole season.”

Héctor: “I am so proud of the work we did today. This is the way to go. Now we need to think about the game in Xerez. All the games that are left are finals and we need to keep wining them. I am going home very happy and really appreciate the support from the fans. I am doing well this year and I am pleased to be able to help the team which is what we all want.”

Weeks round up

The club shop will be open all day on Saturday for any fan who wishes to go and buy a shirt before the big game.

Real Madrid are arriving on Friday afternoon and have reserved the whole hotel NH Santa Cruz for themselves. There are 64 rooms in the hotel so they will have space to spread out. The hotel is in the centre of the city so fans coming in by bus will be able to get all the way to the grounds and not have to walk to the Stadium. The hotel was also used this season by the teams from Osasuna and Valladolid.


CD Tenerife have only lost once with referee Ramírez Domínguez from Navarra. The other four times the team have played under his control there were three wins all at home and a draw.

Team interviews this week included:

Mark Bertran
"It was a pity" said the captain of CD Tenerife, " after the supposed foul and the expulsion of Culebras we lost our balance. We suffered a lot and there was no payment for all our effort. Athletic de Bilbao played a great game and deserved to win"
The defender from Lerida reminded that in spite of this blow, "we are only a point away form being outside the relegation zone and that is the positive though we can take from the round. We need to work hard to win more games." he also noted "we are not giving up the game against Real Madrid. I hope we will take something positive from the game."
Lastly when asked about his injury suffered at the hands of the R. Madrid team. He commented that " I tried to forget the accident and my injury in the Santiago Bernabéu as quickly as possible. Real Madrid with or without Drenthe will be a great rival. I have suffered the worst side of football with the injury and now just want to help the team. I know our fans will be loyal to the team.”, he finished.

Alejandro Alfaro also attended the press conference where he stated the situation was complicated "My goal was not useful. We saw them score really quickly and this was hard. We tried to come back but finally they managed four goals." He then commented that " after the 2-0 which happened so quickly we were a man down. We tried to overcome our bad run of away results but couldn't." he concluded.

On Wednesday interviews were with Nino and Ayoze:

Nino talked first and started with the comment that " Bilbao is forgotten and now we need to think about our next game against Real Madrid. We will need to be at 200% to take something positive from the round. To beat Real Madrid or any other team in the first division is always great. They have a great squad and we will need to compete at the highest level to take something away form the game. The player from Almeria remembered that "there are still rounds left and it is still early to make calculations. We need to go step by step never thinking past the next weekend. Against Real Madrid you can gift them nothing, because in any given moment they can make a great play," he concluded.

Ayoze continued "Against a team like Real Madrid nothing is forgiven. This is an important game for them too. The need to stay close in the points to Football Club Barcelona. But anyway if they want to win they are going to need to play well as we are going to make things difficult for them" When he was asked about starting in San Mames he answered "This was an opportunity for me but things happen and before I really got started I was substituted. I was my turn and I need to move on and wait for another chance" He finished with the comment, " at every training session I try my hardest to show the trainer what I can do but here the important entity is the team and we need to all row in the same direction."





Of all the players playing in the BBVA league very few have played the whole time. Amongst the 14 out of 505 players who have a re Nino and Sergio Aragoneses.
The full list of minutes played can be seen here.

Player interviews after the game in Almeria

Interviews with the players after the game in Almeria included Alfaro, Marc Bertran, Ricardo Nino and Richi:

Alfaro: "This point feels like very little. The game was tough. Some of the time we played a great game but in one encounter they scored a goal. Then we played with one more for their red card and could have won. We finished tired as we ran a lot. Now we need to go on fighting and think how to win the next game".

Marc Bertran: " It was a shame, but we played a full game, we played our best. The 1-1 caught us disorganised. We have at least broken the run of losses and it was an away point against a direct rival. I am happy about the way the team played. Personally I finshed the game very tired, its four months since I played and you can tell".

Ricardo: " We need to go on slowly. Today we tried with all our efforts. We had our chances, with one man more than our rivals we had chances to win. But any point is good without leting go of the fact a win is what really counts".

Nino: They made the most of theis chances when the ball still. We tried to kill the game and this is how Almeria managed to score. We need to keep working the same as we did up to now. I would like to be further up the table, but we knew in advance that this was a year to suffer."

Richi: " It leaves a bad taste after being up 0-1. In the second half we suffered loads but we had a chance for the 0-2. After the sending of we had the ball more under control, but it was difficult to get to the goal. They couldn't get to us but we couldn't get the ball in play. Still it is an away point and the team has reasons you should have confidence in them."


Interestingly in an interview after the Valencia - Villareal game, David Villa counted the points which he expected his team to have at the end of the first half of the season, including 3 more for next weeks game. You know what they say about counting chickens.

Wednesday at 8 Saturday at 5

Tenerife v Athletic Bilbao Wednesday 23rd at 8pm

Real Madrid v Tenerife Saturday 26th at 5pm (Canarian & UK time)

If it's Tuesday this must be Belgium If it's Wednesday this must be Rome Or so the song goes ...

We now know 3 games in advance the federation is improving. For those of you in the UK the thought that we wait week in and week out to know the date and time of the following weeks game brings amazement. But here it is that way having a mid week game means we have the times of 3 games in one go. The LFP has originally decided that the game should be at 7pm Canarian time but after the club complained the time was put back to 8pm. Tickets for this game will go on sale on Monday the 21st of September at 10am.

There have been announced some statistics about the first 2 rounds of the liga BBVA. CD Tenerife has had more shots at goal than all but 2 other teams. In the 2 games they have had 35 shots at goal. Only 2 of the giants Real Madrid (46) and Athletico de Madrid (43) have had more. If we look at which player shot these passes the Alejandro Alfaro had most shots with a total of 13 followed by Barcelona player Ibrahimovic, with 11; and the Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo, con 10 (4).

In an interview Nino announced that the fans we wonderful and that the players could ask not more from the fans. When asked about his goal he replied that a forward always likes to scored but he tries not to get obsessed about it. Yesterday the players had a training day, today they are off and tomorrow they start to prepare for Saturdays game.
Román Martínez talked about how great it is to win, especially at home. Now he stated they need to continue along the same path and continue gaining points. He said he felt much more comfortable then he had against Real Zaragoza although he hopes his play continues to improve. His final comment was about the Osasuna game who he said that CD Tenerife were much better then Osasuna. And he looks forward to a victory in Mallorca.

The good thing about pre-season is there are no points in play.

The good thing about pre-season is there are no points in play stated Nino on Sunday evening. The chance to try different things and to come into form with out the stress of every game counts. That said he followed up hoping they win the three games this week to give them confidence.

That was not to be at least for the first game in the Copa Puma against Elche. Tenerife lost 4-1 with goals from (41’) Santos, (47’) Saúl,(68’) Omar Ramos, (85’) Javi Lara and (89’) Perera. Although they played well especially in the first half the shots at goal were just that shots. There were about 3000 spectators there to watch the game even though it was raining.

On the plus side the club has announced they now have 11,000 paid season ticket holders for the coming season. As renewing season ticket holders have until the weekend of the first round to renew this seems a very positive sign. The club seems sure they will sell all 17,000 seats they have allocated for season tickets.

The club has edited a DVD of the highlights of last season which will go on sale for the 30th of August costing 2 euros with the purchase of any of the following newspapers. El Dia, Diario de Avisos or LA Opinion de Tenerife. The DVD will last approximately 1 hour