January 11 – There are underdogs and teams who punch above their weight – and then there is the tiny Basque club of Eibar.
This remarkable side have one of the cheapest squads in La Liga yet have finished the first half of the season in the European qualification places.
Sunday’s 2-1 win against Espanyol at their unprepossessing 6,300-capacity Ipurua stadium lifted them above Athletic Bilbao, traditional powerhouses of Basque football, and Europa League holders Sevilla into sixth place after 19 matches.
A sixth-place finish would earn them a lucrative berth in the Europa League next season.
Eibar, with a population of 30,000, finished 18th last term and were initially relegated. But they were given a reprieve when Elche were thrown out over unpaid taxes and are making full use of it with a squad that cost just €38 million, an amount some clubs spend on one player alone.
Coach Jose Luis Mendilibar, who is in his second stint at the club, said maintaining their top-flight status was the priority.
“Last season the team had a brilliant first half to be in the fight for Europa League places and then what happened happened,” he said.
“We are not thinking about records but collecting points so we can meet our objective which is to stay in La Liga.”
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