The Spanish King’s Cup always brings some new, incredible stories every year. This one is about a club from a volcanic crater! During the 15 months period, the Atletico Paso club survived a terrible fire that devastated the municipality of El Paso, the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano which lasted for 85 days, and the incredible promotion and the first official match against a rival from the First Division during the club’s 70 years of existence. This spectacular match will take place tonight at midnight, and the rival of the small club from the Canary Islands will be Espanyol. And after all they have experienced in the last 15 months, why wouldn’t they cope with one La Liga club?”This is a magical, sports story. Our stadium is so close to the volcano that if it were to sprout one more kilometre towards our area, it would not exist today” Jorge Munoz, last year’s coach and current sports director of Atletico Pasa, told AS.Smoke and lava rises from the #CumbreVieja #volcano seen from El Paso, #LaPalma, Canary Islands, Spain, 22 November 2021. The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on 19 September and has spewn out smoke, ashes and lava since then. 📷 epa / Miguel Calero#epaphotos #epaimages pic.twitter.com/JRb7MHr8G4— EPA Images (@EPA_Images) November 23, 2021 The photos that went around the planet on September 19, 2021, are chilling, but anyone who has not experienced a volcanic eruption in front of their eyes and streams of lava flowing towards the city can hardly imagine what the residents of El Paso have gone through.”At night, the houses trembled. The rumblings of the volcano were enormous, there was fear, and people wandered the streets sad… We could only cope with all of this by doing what we like the most. For two hours, we evaded training and playing. Feeling that we were playing for the people led us to do things unthinkable in another context, we became an emotional refuge” he recalls.(© Reuters/Borja Suarez/Gallo Images)There are few things that unite people better and more firmly than misfortunes and accidents caused by nature. At least that’s the case in smaller towns and communities, and El Paso has just over 7,500 residents. The first goalkeeper of Atletico Pasa, Luis Arellano, also recalled the difficult days, when the stadium in El Paso became a supply centre.“We achieved extraordinary achievements. But not only the team, but also the people. There were people who had just lost their homes and what they wanted most was for Sunday to come to see us play, but not on our field because we had to play abroad. From there we distributed food to the security people who were near the volcano, to people in need, or we brought clothes or material where it was needed. And we were already coming from the fire, from helping then to empty burned houses” he said.(© Reuters/Susana Vera/Gallo Images)And in the club, there were those whose homes were destroyed by the volcanic element.”Our physical trainer, Aitor, and his parents lost their home. Members of my family also lost their farms. And great friends and many acquaintances, too. We have gone through all the phases of mourning: disbelief, non-acceptance, anger, and acceptance and now we are hoping and fighting so that the dignity of the victims is repaired by the governments. Every day was pure uncertainty. The first weeks were lived with great fear. All those situations so difficult to face made us more human, more of a group” said both Munoz and Arellano.(© Emilio Morenatti/Pool via Reuters/Gallo images)Atletico Paso will hardly ever see the higher ranks of Spanish football. But both the people in the club and the whole place won a victory far greater than any football one, so even a possible sensation against Espanyol couldn’t top that.”Even if life leads me to be a coach in La Liga, this will forever be the most emotional victory of my career and of all of us who experienced it. We are associated with a tragedy, but also with the fight against adversity. That is why we are the club of the volcano” said Munoz.##NAJAVA_MECA_6899929##Guests from Barcelona will receive a hellish welcome from true football lovers.“There will be 11 against 2,800, those that fit in our stadium. El Paso has that mystique. We lost five times in the tie against Murcia, but the people here create magical situations that make us a mini-Real Madrid. We know that we obviously have fewer chances than Espanyol, but we are not going to give up” warns Munoz.
