IBIZA RETURNS TO ITS LEAGUE ROUTINE BY HOSTING SAN SEBASTIÁN DE LOS REYES

With the emotions of the Copa del Rey over, it’s time for the league action to resume and return to a routine that Ibiza places an immense importance on. Tomorrow, the Sky Blues will return to the pitch at Can Misses to host the league’s current last placed side, San Sebastián de los Reyes. Having said that, the red light is far from being a struggling team. After a very ordinary start to the season, the club from Madrid has started to turn around its fortunes over the last couple of rounds. Pablo Alfaro used today’s pre-match press conference to point out that Sanse “would be placed in the playoff positions of the table if we only took in consideration their last couple of results”, which led Ibiza’s head coach to conclude that “this Sanse side is definitely not the team we faced in the first half of the league campaign”.

Responsible for the team’s turn-around is its coach Josico. A former player of Albacete, Las Palmas and Villarreal, signed for San Sebastián de los Reyes in round 12 of this current season. Up until then, the team only managed to collect seven point under the guidance of coach Manuel Cano. Josico took six matches until he got his first points on the board, but after doing so, he instilled confidence into his side which had been lacking previously. Under his leadership, Sanse has collected ten out of the last possible fifteen points. In the last two league fixtures, Sanse beat Racing de Ferrol on the road (0-2) and came out on top against Sporting B at home (1-0).

As far as Ibiza is concerned, the objective is clear. “What we’re really focused on and interested in is the league. The immediate objective is to beat Sanse and we’re entirely focused on that, because we know that it will require a big amount of energy and effort. The players left the stadium on Wednesday (after the Copa del Rey match against Barça) feeling disappointed and sad after putting on a fantastic performance, but eventually coming up short against a world football heavyweight. At the same time, they know that they did everything they could and left a brilliant image of themselves and the club as a whole. When you can’t fault any of your own efforts, it’s easier to pick yourself up and get going again”, explained Alfaro today, whose squad list for tomorrow’s match includes recent signing Borja Martínez to make up for the unavailable Kike López (suspension) and injured David Morillas. The coach reiterated that Ibiza’s primary objective is to “keep on collecting points” in a seventh match during the month of January, a time during which his side has won many new supporters and the respect of the wider football community after its recent exploits.