![]() "This is like a small village, which has its limits and complications because there isn't much to do here," says goalkeeper and captain Marcos Contreras. They have experienced slow and steady growth since and last season finally reached the third tier of Spanish soccer, Segunda Division B, after winning the playoffs at the fifth attempt after four years of heartbreak.ĭespite Formentera's beautiful beaches, attracting players to the club has not been easy due to a shortage of housing, which obliges team mates to share living quarters. The thought of Formentera playing a team of Athletic's stature was even harder to imagine a decade ago, when they were on the brink of going bust and administrators took over the cash-strapped club for seven months. It's a unique experience for us to play against one of the greatest teams in Spanish football and we're going to enjoy it." ![]() "No-one thought this could happen to us again after playing against Sevilla. "For a team as humble and small as Formentera this is something historic and unimaginable," said coach Tito Garcia Sanjuan. The squad huddled around a television for the last 32 draw, where teams from the top flight enter, and exploded with excitement when they were paired with Athletic. ![]() They won another penalty shootout at the start of this campaign and last month overcame having a man sent off against former Liga side Logrones to win 4-3 in extra time. Hopes of a fairytale ending were dashed as the Champions League side hammered the minnows 5-1, although not even a harrowing 9-1 defeat in the return leg could dampen Formentera’s enthusiasm for the King's Cup. Last season they won three consecutive penalty shootouts to reach the round of 32 and set up a tie with then runners-up Sevilla, whose visit saw 3,000 fans cram into temporary stands at Formentera’s municipal stadium for its biggest attendance. ![]() The team from the remote, picturesque island of 12,000 inhabitants quickly developed a taste for the Cup, however. ![]()
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