Just up past San Miguel said The General, we were to discover it was quite a long way past. The football season is nearly upon us so what beter way to rally the Armada Sur troops than a barbecue up in the hills of Tenerife. It was all organised in advance with The General and German Frank going up early to the public barbecue site at Cho Pancho to stoke the fires and reserve us a decent space to spread out and enjoy ourselves. The coach picked us up from the Toby Jug and the The Royal Oak 2, a couple of our favoured watering holes, and then we headed up, up and further up the tight hill road way past San Miguel. It seemed we may have gone too far so we got the driver to do his best Italian Job impression by reversing and doing a three point turn just above a sheer drop. We should have had more faith, turns out we hadn’t gone far enough, another U turn later and a few frantic phone calls and we screeched to a halt just short of running over The General and Frank.

The barbecue site was down a slip road that we could have easily missed, even Yogi Bear would have trouble finding this place. Some were ferried by car down to the main site and other of us walked and what a fantastic site greeted us. Two sturdy toilet blocks signalled that we wouldn’t have to get too native and then the path led down into the forest and a clearing adorned with Armada Sur banners and flags. The hard working advance party had even hung a Pio from a tree, he was always going to meet a sticky end. As the chicken, pork, sausages and burgers sizzled nicely we found some nice shady seating either on the large benches and tables or on convenient rocks. Kevin and Karen had provided one of their trademark hot curries, mine slipped down nicely followed by a cold beer from the bottomless iced bins.

It was a very hot afternoon, we had a few worrying days waiting for the heatwave warning and fire ban to be lifted but our timing was spot on. Even in the shade the heat made its mark, some of the younger members started to spray water around, it was very refreshing and soon the impromptu showers had spread to the next party just along from us. Just a short walk up from our spot was a flat clearing, perfect for a game of cricket, one of our group had brought a wicket, bat, ball etc so Frank proceeded to show us that the Germans could whoop us at cricket as well as football. There was quite a drop if the ball went out of play, thankfully it didn’t happen that much. Cricket gave way to football but the heat and thirst drew people back to the barbecue area and some much needed iced drinks. The Pio was starting to look smug  on its lofty perch so The General cut it loose and placed it over one of the grills. The yellow menace took a while to get going but burst into a satisfying ball of flame, the first of many pios to be punished this season.

Reluctantly we had to pack up and head up the slip road for our bus back to the south, everything was of course cleared up and we took all our rubbish with us. The bus back was boisterous and musical as the beer fuelled passengers refelcted on a superb afternoon of good company, good food and the best of Tenerife’s rural charms. Less than 2 weeks to go and we can get back on the terraces belting out our support for the mighty CD Tenerife.

I was going to do a photo special for www.tenerifemagazine.com on different nations and their support in bars around Tenerife but it has not really worked out. To date the turn out for some games has been poor, partly because of the lack of people here in general and partly due to bars baulking at the gamble of bringing in giant screens and signing up for different TV packages. I saw the opening game with a few South Africa fans at Legends in Los Cristianos but apart from that and the obvious Spain and England games it has been slim pickings. One glowing beacon has been the Holland fans, they have been filling several bars around San Telmo in Los Cristianos and really getting into the spirit with orange clothes and make up, good on them. I loved the Holland teams of 1974 and 1978 and even painted my Subbuteo players in the Dutch strip.

FIFA have been pumping out stats all over the place, here are a few from todays batch. The most distance covered by a player – Khedira of Germany with 35.87 kms to date. Fastest player is Hernandez of Mexico at 32.15 kms per hour. Here’s a sobering stat, the most lost balls stands at 35 for Wayne Rooney, lets hope for better things to come.

Even the lure of the beer couldn’t keep us from heading for the Valencia stadium 90 minutes before kick off to greet our players. Threading our way through the side streets from Plaza del Virgen we arrived ahead of time and grabbed some seats outside a small cafe bar in sight of the ground. The Mestalla stadium is partly shrouded by office and apartment blocks and rises high on all sides. Refreshed we headed to the players entrance and found hundreds lining the road with banners and colours, barriers marked out a short corridor from the parking spot to the open door and mounted police kept the crowds back on the pavements. After a short wait the coach pulled in and our tense looking players filed off, most of them too wound up to acknowledge the roar of the crowd, coach Oltra gave a flambouyant wave and they were gone, alone with their thoughts in the dressing room.

A bar across the road had already caught my eye and with an hour to kick off a few of us squeezed in and forced some more sedative down. Our alloted entrance was easy to find, mingling through the crowd with colours proudly worn, the locals greeted us in friendly fashion, well their third place finish was assured. The steps up to the top of the ground seemed endless but our perch had a great view as a sea of CD Tenerife fans spread out around us. The older part of the ground on the far side was dwarfed by the steep tiers we occupied and we cranked up the noise levels as CD Tenerife took to the pitch.

Manolo nearly gave us a dream start but Moya made a comfortable save. That was about the best that Tenerife could muster in the first half as Valencia, without rested Villa and Silva, took control of the game. Ten minutes in and we were crushed by news of a Malaga goal at home to Real Madrid, the collective sinking of hearts seemed to signal the inevitable. The team must have been aware as well, an away win against a classy Valencia side seemed impossible.

Sergio Aragoneses was as always brilliant, a strong block from Rodriguez and a weak Zigic header denied a home advantage. Baraja and Dominguez saw their casual shots miss the target and at half time it was all square. There was still hope but it was fading fast, Madrid levelled but we still needed a win. Alfaro troubled Moya but at the other end Sergio turned in two more fine saves to deny Dominguez and Hernendez. Ricardo managed a weak shot as the Valencia pressure built. The game was nearly finished and the Tenerife fans were wilting as Alexis drove in the final nail with a header from a Dominguez corner.

The Tenerife players were drained and could barely return the applause of the fans as the reality hit home. As if we weren’t depressed enough, the local police decided to hold us back as the stadium drained of fans, a misserable 30 to 40 minutes passed before we were allowed to descend the tight stairways, for good measure they then turned the lights out. It was totally un called for as our coaches were just below us and there had not been any hint of problems between the fans.Carefully sidestepping the calling cards of the police horses we found our numbered coaches and headed for a quiet low key flight home.

Away form did for us, and lessons need to be learned about life at the top level, but the whole experience has been an uplifting one, our appetities are whetted for more and that new season can’t come quickly enough.

Football, beer and travel, what a great combination, there has to be a downside of course, there was the small matter of the nail biting, gut grabbing climax to the La Liga season with CD Tenerife slugging it out to avoid relegation. Volcanic clouds diverted and a nervous evenings intake of Dorada to settle the nerves, and a small section of the Armada Sur joined the other football pilgrims at  Tenerife South airport for our Sunday charter flight from Viajes Halcon.

Canarian TV cameras hovered around us as we queued at check in and Kirsty uttered a very naughty Anglo Saxon word that may be picked up by English speakers over their morning Gofio. No delays and we were soon touching down in Valencia, a much smaller airport than Madrid and easy to filter through to our awaiting coaches. First stop was the stadium to collect our tickets, the local marathon was in full flow and the sun spotlighted this very clean city where ancient and modern rub shoulders. The tickets weren’t ready for us so a few of us jumped off the bus, careful to avoid the many cycle lanes that criss cross the city.

Was it a mischievious IPhone or did Kirsty need to brush up in her map reading skills, either way we were headed in the wrong direction for Plaza del Virgen, the pre arranged fans meeting place. A quick about turn and we found our way to Plaza del Reina and regrouped over a few beers at a fast food cafe. Lookie lookie men have big ideas and even bigger displays of sunglasses here and we amused ourselves watching them set up and hurridly dismantle their pavement wares as the police played cat and mouse with them. Some of the previous days arrivals found us and we realised we were just a short walk from Plaza del Virgen.

Passing through the narrow connecting street we were in a large open square with cafe bars one side and a performance but it was the ornate statue draped fountain that really attracted us. Mingling with other CDT fans we swapped good wishes, beer and brandy as The General went in search of bubble bath and washing up liquid to liven up the flowing water. it certainly worked, the local kids loved it, tourists posed in the foam and the police looked on bemused. It was a lovely setting and I couldn’t resist a trip up the Torre del Micalet for 70 km high views over the city. A cluster of 14 bells held off while I snapped away at the gorgeous city unfolding below.

Time was moving on, the beer was flowing and the game was beckoning, Viajes Halcons rep had delivered our tickets so it was time to head for the ground to welcome the Tenerife players. Our date with destiny was almost here.

Written by Stephen King and directed by James Cameron, CD Tenerife’s La Liga relegation drama has been an epic and will now go to the dramatic finale at Valencia next weekend. Almeria showed scant regard for the script and came from behind to lead 2-1 in Santa Cruz before Nino equalised in injury time as the credits were about to roll.

Pre match nerves have never been so frayed as 20,810 packed the Heliodoro to sing, chant and will Tenerife to a vital win. It started so well, Roman had a strong header tipped over by Alves just 2 minutes into the game and Nino gave the keeper plenty to think about a few minutes later. Captain Bertran was on top form prompting the attack with a series of tempting crosses but he was more direct for the Tenerife opener after 15 minutes, picking up a loose clearance and curling his shot into the visitors net – cue an explosion of celebration in the stands.

But it couldn’t really be that easy, just three minutes later Cisma took advantage of some indecision from Hector and Sicilia and set up Piatti who stroked the ball into the bottom corner of the net to level. Almeria had nothing to play for but showed lots of spirit and took the game to a nervous Tenerife. Sergio Aragonoses was again the saviour with some fine saves especially one from Soriano. All square at half time and nails were dissapearing at an alarming rate.

Almeria grabbed the game by the throat as the second half started, Corona tested Sergio with two good strikes and found him up to the task. Nino and Roman both went close at the other end with headers as Ayoze and Alfaro tried to fashion another home goal. Then disaster struck as Almeria broke away and Crusat grabbed the lead beating Sergio at close quarters. There was barely 20 minutes left, Dinei was on and soon joined by Angel and Omar as the search for salvation got more and more desperate. Into injury time  and hope was fading away, thankfully we have Nino a natural goal poacher, as the referees hand headed for his whistle Nino pounced after Manolo headed the ball down, time seemed to stand still as the ball eeked its way across the goal line and the stadium heeved a collective sigh of relief.

As the dust settled and the other results came in the task ahead became clear. Xerez are virtually down, that leaves four teams, CDT, Malaga, Racing Santander, and Valladolid tied on 36 points and hoping to avoid the two remaining relegation slots. A point may well be enough at Valencia with Valladolid at Barcelona and Malaga at home to Real Madrid. The Great Escape will have to be achieved without Ayoze and Bertran, both suspended after picking up yellows. All roads lead to Valencia and hopefully a happy ending, it’s gonna be a real blockbuster.

Coach Oltra rested Nino, Ayoze, and Bertran from the starting line up with an eye to the vital home game against Almeria this Saturday but Tenerife still gave a good account of themselves and had Barcelona worried. Alfaro set the tone, finishing off a great flowing move with a shot that went over the home bar. The forward nearly got caught out when defending at the other end, he lost a tackle to Alves and was relieved to se him shoot wide. Barcelona made the breakthrough aftr 16 minutes when an Alves cross was headed down by Ibrahimovic for Messi to nip in at the post and chip his shot over the diving body of Sergio Aragoneses.

 Messi was getting more into the game and hit a curling shot just past the Tenerife goal, and a dazzling run allowed Maxwell to unleash a shot that Sergio tipped aside in impressive fashion. It was a frustrating evening for Tenerife as the referee gave every decision to the home side but Tenerife rose above it and shocked the crowd with a well taken equaliser six minutes from the break. Kome broke and passed to Roman who gratefully slotted the ball past the Barca keeper.

Pedro, the man from Abades in Tenerife, came on for Barcelona to start the second half but the visitors had the first chance but kome was too slow to get to the ball with a clear sight on goal. Borjan looked in for decent chance but Sergio slid along the soggy surface to take the ball off him. The ref gave the home side a gift free kick whick Messi put over the goal but then that phantom goal gave them the lead. Alves slipped the ball through to Bojan and despite Tenerife appeals, the ref ignored the offside and allowed his goal.

That was a killer blow to Tenerife and gave Barca the boost they needed. Pedro skipped a tackle and nearly added another goal but shot wide. Xavi launched a free kick over the defensive wall  but Sergio was at his best to  make a great save. Nino came off the bench and was just short in a one on one chance before Pedro shrugged off Sicilia to make it 3-1. Nino had the ball in the Barca net but his effort was offside, Angel arrived for Alfaro but the game was slipping away by then. Messi showed his skillful control to latch onto a cross and fire a 4th goal, Culebras was just about playing him onside. It was a flattering end for Barcelona and Tenerife trudged off soaked but with plenty of pride.

Dragging Racing Santander into the relegation dog fight, CD Tenerife were good value for their 2-1 win, only defiant goalkeeper Coltorti prevented a bigger winning margin. This weeks press spoke of a 20,000 euro squad bonus per every league point, if Tenerife stay in La Liga, but when it comes down to it, the character of the players will make the difference. Against a useful Racing side, Tenerife looked hungry and pushed all the way to the final whistle.

Roman had an early chance for Tenerife but Coltorti made the first of many strong saves to deny him. Sergio Canales (below in centre) is the rising star of Spanish football, at 19 he is poised for a big money summer move to Real Madrid and showed his potential forcing a save out of Sergio in the home gaol and putting 2 other efforts narrowly wide. Tenerife worked their way into the game, Nino missed a close range shot and Juanlu was unlucky to see his thundering 25 yard free kick hit the post.

Racing put some good attacks together with Canales and Tchite combining weel, but the CDT defence looked calm, captain Bertran mopped up several of their efforts. Canales sent his free kick over the bar and Ayoze headed over the visitors goal from a Bertran cross. All square at half time would have been ok but Tenerife had other ideas, Ricardo launched a telling cross and in form Roman was on hand to head home a lead just before the sun kissed 18,945 crowd took a shade break.

Juanlu opened the second half with a charge on Racing’s keeper but he was strong and blocked him. The Swiss stopper made his only bad mistake of the afternoon after 56 minutes, bringing down Alfaro for a penalty. Ayoze (below) took his time and delivered the perfect spot kick into the net to send the crowd wild. It was no more than Tenerife deserved, they looked by far the better team. This relegation tussle looks determined to keep us on our toes all the way, Arana put in a low cross and Xisco tapped it in from close range to add some doubt to the result in the last 20 mins.

For the remainder of the game there was a real duel between Coltorti and Nino, the diminutive Tenerife striker was denied 3 times by the sheer prescence of the Racing keeper. Nino’s determined clashes with the keeper were typical of the home spirit. The referee didn’t have the best of games, missing many of the more obvious calls, and when he added on 5 minutes of injury time it sent a shudder through us all. Tenerife did the sensible things well and played out the game, Nino even had a chance to increase the scoreline at the death but found his nemesis there to deny him.

The final whistle saw the ground erupt, Zaragoza’s 1-0 win at Deportivo was a let down but home draws for Malaga and Valladolid mean Tenerife are now third from bottom with just goal difference putting Malaga above them in a safety spot. Tuesdays game in Barcelona is unlikely to bring any points, but all eyes will be on our relegation rivals. La Liga just get worse, they still can’t tell us when the last home game is next weekend, whenever it is another win should set it up for the final game away to Valencia. Vamos Tenerife.

Was that a clue to our fate? The back page advert on the Atletico Madrid programme was for sufferers of erectile disfunction, after the poor defensive show in the 3-1 away defeat,  a win for Valladolid and a draw for Malaga, it’s looking like a stiff challenge to stay up.

Diving in a taxi and heading for the Atletico ground we had one eye on being cautious in enemy territory but getting out at a bar  just down from the stadium we let rip with a chorus of “Chicharrero de Corazon” which was warmly greeted by the friendly home fans. Into the stadium and up into the top tier, it was clear that this was going to be a near 50,000 full house. Some sky divers parachuted onto the pitch before the teams came out as the 500 CD Tenerife fans turned up the volume.

Atletico had Diego Forlan on the bench and gave a full debut to 19 year old Salvio and he really grabbed his chance. It took just 10 minutes for Aguero to sting Sergio in the Tenerife goal and Salvio pounced to crack the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead. Atletico looked strong, former Arsenal player Reyes was tormenting Hector and the CDT defence looked shaky. There was worse to come on the half hour as Varela burst forward on the right and delivered a great pass for Salvio to make it 2-0. Aragonoses was kep busy and made some strong saves as Atletico kept up the pressure.

Tenerife came out more determined in the second half, Dinei came on for Juanlu and added some punch to the attack. The sub set up Roman who continued his hot form by calmly firing the ball past the home keeper. It was enough to make Atletico worry and they brought on Forlan and Simao who were benched with the Europa Cup second leg with Liverpool in mind.  Forlan was instumental in the third Madrid goal but it was Aguero who easily beat Sicilia and then placed the ball past Sergio. That killed off any Tenerife comeback hopes, the travelling fans did their best to lift the team but there was no way back.

Streaming out of the stadium we all got a bit seperated, my group started heading out of town before cutting back onto one of the main streets back up to the city centre. Needing a taxi we stopped at a bar for much needed beer and chatted to some local fans, all the ones we met were very welcoming and friendly even if the waiter was a miserable git and wouldn’t phone a taxi for us. We found that standing out in the busy road eventually worked and we sped back to our Irish bar for more beer and and chat with many of the other CDT fans. Sadly all good trips must come to an end and with 4am taxis ordered for the morning we headed back to the hotel.

It’s going to be tough to claw our way to safety in the last 4 games but there is always hope. As for Madrid, it was a cracking weekend and we will be back for more fun and games, whatever division we are in.

Smelling of fish, fire and sweat I was surprised that anyone would want to give me a hug but as Nino completed his hat trick in CD Tenerife’s 3-2 home win over Getafe, everyone was leaping on each other and dancing with joy. Malaga only drew 0-0 at home to Valladolid so the gap to safety is now just one point.

Lured up to Santa Cruz early by the pre match street party outside the stadium, I got the 111 Titsa bus and switched to the tram at Santa Cruz bus station. La Paz is the perfect stop for the stadium, a quick coffee and a stroll over the Barranco Santos bridge and I was in Calle Mutine below the Tribuna stand for noon. The giant paella was simmering nicely and the Dorada was going down well, a couple of nice young ladies were handing out flags and a decent crowd was building. The carnaval band didn’t appear but once the paella was served the queue swelled dramatically. By the time the CD Tenerife team coach arived at 2.15 there were nearly 1,000 fans in full voice with banners and drums in full support.

The match started with Getafe hungry to nail a European spot, they looked good with speedy wingers and Leon had already gone close by the time he hit their opener after 10 minutes. Tenerife got their bearings and started to take over the game, it was another scorching sunny day, a stark contrast to the freezing terraces when we went over to Getafe. The line up that won in Sporting was showing confidence and on the half hour, Nino levelled with a well met header from a telling Roman cross. It was all Tenerife now and Alfaro missed a couple of decent chances to snatch the lead.

Into the second half and Tenerife piled on the pressure, Roman saw his shot blocked by Torres and goalie Codina chased Nino wide of the goal and was grateful to team mate Mane for clearing the ball. The goal had to come and Bertran supplied the pass that let Nino in for a deserved lead. With the other scores going our way there was a bouyant mood in the crowd but Getafe were determined and equalised with a Casquero header. Now it was about character as well as ability, and CDT had plenty of both, Alfaro timed his pass perfectly to beat the offside trap and Nino was sharp to slip the ball past the keeper to round off a great hat trick.

Now all thoughts are on Atletico Madrid away next Sunday, many of us have booked flights and at the moment Madrid airport is open. If the planes are grounded we have a contingency plan that involves borrowing the Kon Tiki raft from the Pyramids of Guimar and finishing our journey on Space Hoppers.

Coach Oltra shuffled his pack, dropping below par Ricardo and bringing in Mikel Alonso and Roman Martinez in midfield, and giving a recall to Hector at left back to allow Sicilia to replace Manolo at the heart of defence. Sporting had the first chance of the game as Barral let rip after 4 minutes but Sergio Aragonoses made a confident save. Nino (below) looked more lively up front and went close racing through only to be denied by former CDT keeper Juan Pablo. Nino went agonisingly close late on in the half, his crisp shot shaving the Gijon post as Tenerife edged the play.

The second half started with Sergio again called into action, this time taking well from Cuevas. Tenerife looked more comfortable than on Saturday and put some good attacking moves together. Roman got in a strong header but the home keeper made a great save to keep the shot out. Nino was causing Sporting plenty of problems and shot wide again after 63 minutes but it had to be a win to give CDT any hope of avoiding the drop. The breakthrough came in the 70th minute, Sicilia put in a fine cross and Roman was on hand to fire the ball low past the keeper for a 1-0 lead.

We had been here before, so often the result has been snatched away late on, it was worrying to see Oltra bring on defensive subs, we can’t sit back on a lead. Thanks to a stroke of long overdue luck the second goal made the game safe, Arnolin made a half hearted clearance and Alfaro pounced to kill off the game and revive CD Tenerife’s survival hopes. That puts us 2 points behind Malaga in that safe 4th from bottom place but them and Racing play tonight, Valladolid won 2-1 over Sevilla to keep snapping at our heels.

Sunday is Getafe at home and the weekend after several hundred CDT fans will travel to Athletico Madrid with genuine hope of a win, the Armada Sur will be there in force.