La Liga

Getafe’s historic year ends on a sad low

By Matthew Day ⋅ April 17, 2008 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

It has been a memorable couple of years for the minnows from southern Madrid. Getafe, only reformed in their current name 25 years ago, have participated in a truly romantic tale, emerging from the doldrums of Spanish football and ascending the entire pyramid in just two decades.

Mid-table prosperity in La Liga, two Copa del Rey finals in consecutive seasons and a memorable run in their inaugural European campaign have ensured the Getafe history books need an instant rewrite. It has been the most successful period ever for this suburban club.

Getafe have earned two top-ten finishes in their first three years at the top level of Spanish football, but their most eminent achievements have come this season and last.

Under Bernd Schuster, who is now Real Madrid coach, Los Azulones stunned the rest of La Liga by progressing to the Copa del Rey final at the end of the 2006/7 season. Although Getafe suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to high-flyers Sevilla, they had made the whole of Spain take notice with an incredible semi-final victory over heavy favourites Barcelona. 5-2 down from the first leg, the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez was transformed into a fortress and Getafe ran riot, making a mockery of Barcelona’s superiority in a 4-0 battering.

Despite defeat in the final, Getafe entered the Uefa Cup as a result of Sevilla’s qualification for the Champions League for their first ever experience in European competition. Having only scarcely made the group stages, new coach Michael Laudrup’s side adapted well to the rigours of peninsula competition, registering three victories out of four including success at Tottenham.

Laudrup’s outfit then easily disposed of Champions League dropouts AEK Athens before astounding Benfica by triumphing in both legs to secure their most famous victory. Then, in the quarter-finals, Getafe faced the favourites, Bavarian giants Bayern Munich – and almost produced one of the greatest shocks in recent Uefa Cup history.

Having scored a late equaliser in Germany for a 1-1 draw, Getafe led 1-0 with only ten men with just a minute remaining in the return leg only for Franck Ribéry to take the game into extra time. And despite further heroics – Getafe scored two more, through the influential duo of Francisco Casquero and Nobrega Braulio, inside the opening minutes of the extra period to move into a 3-1 lead – Bayern managed to peg them back in the final five minutes with two goals from Luca Toni.

A harsh and unwarranted climax left the players in tears but the Spanish press lavishly praised them the following day. Bayern were humble victors, most graciously acclaiming their opponents’ efforts.

Six days later, and Getafe were playing in another Copa del Rey final – this time against a Valencia side with superior players but enduring a miserable season. A third dose of heartbreak in less than 12 months followed as Ronald Koeman’s side outplayed the opposition to victor 3-1, but Getafe have comprehensively stamped their mark both domestically and on the peninsula.

The often withdrawn Laudrup has seamlessly assumed the reigns from the big personality of his predecessor. Accordingly, he has been linked with the top jobs at Chelsea and Barcelona but he must now concentrate on leading Getafe to seventh position – and a place in the Intertoto Cup, the alternative route into the Uefa Cup.

They lie four points off with six games remaining, but who would write off Getafe’s chances of achieving their highest ever finish considering the fairytale journey this tiny club has lived through over the past 20 years? Getafe’s history is brief, but a glorious new chapter is in the works. It will tell a story few of their fans will ever forget.

Tags: Bayern Munich, Bernd Schuster, Getafe, La Liga, Michael Laudrup, Ronald Koeman, Sevilla, Uefa Cup, Valencia

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