The football diaries.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Bought the local rag this morning. On Wednesdays they print scores and league tables. The bottom end of the Bierzo “Liga de Amigos” interests me most.

13. El Rancho 13 points
14. Aluminios Dos 11 points
15. OMD 2 points

Two observations.
1.We are not the worst team in El Bierzo.
2.The worst team in El Bierzo is 80s synth-pop outfit Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. I wonder how many other pop groups have reinvented themselves as Sunday league football teams in far-flung places. Is ex-smoothie Midge Ure leading the Ultravox boys to glory in the South Macedonian combination league for example? I just don’t know. Perhaps I’ve been out the country for too long.

Our Saturday afternoon game (or Sunday morning?) is against the village team of Castropodame. This is another village on the fringe of the mining belt and probably with several players from nearby Bembibre. Castropodame’s football-playing mayor has ensured that their ground is the best looked after in the whole league. They’ve got a clubhouse with hot showers (although no bar… you can’t ask for everything!) The pitch is smooth, flat and covered with green grass. The touchlines don’t look like they’ve just been painted by a drunken man with one eye and the nets haven’t got holes. It’s a joy to play there. Just hope that the aluminium boys can behave themselves this time.