Real Zaragoza's fans watched the scoreboard clock up another minute and walked out the stadium. When it turned to 77, they started whistling. They whistled for a minute, booed a bit too, then made for the exit, raising an arm in defiant disgust as they did so. And who could blame them? Out on the pitch, their team were losing 1-0, could have been losing by two or three, and were on the point of completing a run of only one win in 17. They were bottom of the table for a 12th successive week. Worse, they were losing to Villarreal – the last of the safe teams, now easing 15 points clear of the home side.
Besides, this was becoming contagious. The week before, their team had given up on a game early and their coach had given up on a press conference even earlier: Manolo Jiménez walked into the Málaga media room, apologised for his brevity, accused his squad of playing for barely 30 minutes, insisted, "I feel ashamed, ashamed!" then walked out again. He'd been there barely a minute. The fans were even more ashamed and every bit as angry. And they'd held on 76 minutes more than their manager, 77 more than their president, who hadn't turned up to the game at all. Why shouldn't they give up too?
Why? This is why: in the 85th minute Luis García scored an equaliser. And in the 93rd, Abraham made it 2-1. Suddenly, those who had decided that if they go there will be trouble were leaping into the air celebrating. Those who had decided that if they stayed it will be double, were left feeling a little silly. They had missed two goals; they had sat through all that dross all season long and now they had only gone and missed the first win at La Romareda in almost five months. They had got it so very, very wrong.
Only they hadn't. Sunday's walkout was about more than Sunday's performance. It was about more even than this season's performance. Or the season before. Or the season before that. It was not about the fact that relegation looms. It was about the fact that if Real Zaragoza are relegated, it would be the third relegation in a decade. One of Spain's historic big clubs, winner of nine titles, ninth in the all-time table, had spent 24 consecutive years in the First Division until 2002. Now, the risk was that they would head to the Second Division for a third time in 10. And if they go down, they may go down. Permanently.
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Via: @sidlowe - guardian.co.uk
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