77,265 individuals reside in an space of 468 sq. kilometres. For context, each single individual from the nation might attend a recreation at London’s Wembley Stadium, and that will nonetheless depart about 13,000 seats empty.
That is Andorra in Europe. And on this nation, nestled in a candy valley of the Andorran Pyrenees, you discover the 530-seater Estadi Prada de Moles.
That’s the place, 18km past the Spanish border, a Barcelona legend dreamt to create new historical past. Gerard Pique’s dream is as lofty because the then stadium of FC Andorra, which sits 4,000ft above sea stage.
Gerard Pique’s game-changing arrival at FC Andorra
Whereas it’s regular for a rustic like England to have tons of of golf equipment in simply London, FC Andorra have been solely hoisting the flag in Spain for the entire nation. That is the place one of the crucial particular issues involves the fore. Whereas Andorra, as a rustic, shouldn’t be a footballing powerhouse, their consultant membership is properly on its technique to turning into a titan within the years forward, and never simply in Andorra.
FC Andorra have the distinctive state of affairs of being the one non-Spanish membership to be taking part in within the Spanish league system. Enjoying within the fifth tier as just lately as 2018-19, the membership has breezed by means of the leagues since. What modified? FC Andorra caught the attention of Gerard Pique, the legendary Barcelona defender who was trying to develop his enterprise empire by means of his holding firm, Kosmos.
FC Andorra stand on the cusp of a spot in La Liga SmartBank, the second division of Spanish soccer, only one step away from standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the massive boys. How did this come about? What function did Gerard Pique, and his holding firm Kosmos play on this rise?
In a world unique, FootTheBall was given entry to the revolution taking place on this membership.
“FC Andorra is a undertaking that we love very a lot right here at Kosmos. It’s a dream come true for most of the individuals concerned. It’s been thus far an unbelievable journey, an unbelievable expertise,” stated Ferran Vilaseca, the President of FC Andorra, talking completely to FootTheBall. Vilaseca is likely one of the chief architects behind the membership’s meteoric rise to get a glimpse of how an upstart membership from a small nation has defied odds at each level to turn into the quickest rising membership in all of Spain.
It’s regular for the supporters to really feel anxious when new possession arrives. Questions abound and the proprietor’s motivation is on the centre of the storm. For Vilaseca, Gerard Pique and Kosmos, being concerned with FC Andorra is a “dream come true”. This love and keenness have been transmitted to the sphere as properly, as seen by FC Andorra’s fairytale rise by means of the leagues.
The fairytale
“We took the membership once we have been in fifth division in Spain. The membership is now at Primera RFEF, which is the third division. We performed the playoffs final yr for promotion however didn’t make it. Now we have excessive expectations for this yr,” stated Ferran.
In fact, when an individual as formidable as Gerard Pique is concerned, there isn’t any cap on what may be achieved on the membership. In spite of everything, Pique is somebody who has overtly said that he intends to turn into the President of Barcelona sooner or later. This drive and ambition have been mirrored by FC Andorra as properly.
Champions League anthem at FC Andorra
Gerard Pique desires of listening to the Champions League anthem at FC Andorra. To place the dimensions of this aim in perspective, FC Andorra noticed a turnout of about 30-40 individuals on the stadium of their first recreation below new possession.
That was Prada de Moles, now it’s Estadi Nacional. The stadium modified, so did the fortunes of the membership.
“I feel within the first recreation, we solely had 30 to 43 anticipated followers attending the preliminary recreation once we took over the membership. And now as a mean, we now have a mean between 500 to 900 per recreation. Within the Spanish cup, we now have virtually 1800 spectators, which is a really first rate quantity for us. A really, excellent quantity,” he says.
The expansion has not simply been one in every of shock and awe, a sudden burst of life because of the new possession that flames out. A sustained marketing strategy has seen FC Andorra turn into one of many nation’s premier sports activities groups, an achievement all of the extra unbelievable, contemplating that rugby dominates Andorra’s sporting panorama.
“We have to discover our place throughout the totally different sports activities framework in Andorra. One factor I can let you know is that we went from 150 [season ticket holders] the day we took over the membership, to virtually 700. However then COVID occurred. In order that quantity has lowered a bit, round 500 members proper now, [We’re] making an attempt to extend the quantity on a day after day foundation.
“Now we have realised that there’s curiosity exterior the boundaries of Spain and Andorra and we’re promoting jerseys very properly in several elements of the world. We have to consider a technique of, reaching these markets as a result of we perceive there we’re totally different, we’re distinctive, and other people like uniqueness. Folks like issues that exit of the odd.”
FC Andorra and Eder Sarabia: The proper match
A membership can have all of the enterprise plans, however the easiest way to carry followers and a focus to the membership has all the time been the on-pitch success. By means of shrewd funding, exhausting work and an incessant need for achievement, FC Andorra have delivered. It has been helped by Eder Sarabia, the FC Andorra supervisor. Previously an assistant coach at FC Barcelona below Quique Setien, Sarabia impressed Gerard Pique instantly.
“Clearly, the relation between Gerard [Piqué] and the membership and our earlier relationship from my time in FC Barcelona was key. After which, I noticed rapidly that it was a strong undertaking, that not solely appears on the brief time period, but additionally on the long run, and that it was a particular place to develop a undertaking,” Sarabia says.
“Additionally, the nation, the surroundings and, clearly, the best way the workforce performed since Gabri’s arrival [Garcia, former Barcelona player and first coach since Kosmos and Clayton acquired the club]. After which the dialog I had with Jaume [Nogués, FC Andorra’s sports director] two or three days after the chat I had with Gerard, it made clear the solidity, professionality and familiarity of the membership, not as widespread to search out within the soccer world.”
Whereas the membership maintains that the long-term aim is to create an “FC Andorra philosophy”, the Barcelona affect stays heavy proper now. Eder Sarabia has performed an enormous half in translating that type of play.
“The essence is just like the one the membership had earlier than my arrival. Being the protagonist, having the ball possession, making an attempt to have a look at the opponent’s aim greater than ours and constructing the workforce from the attacking half,” Eder says, about his philosophy as Head Coach.
“Often, the principle weaknesses of our type are once we lose the ball and the opponents transition. We ought to be much less weak in these conditions. Then we add some issues like placing the fullbacks inside, beginning to construct the sport from the keeper and the defenders, shortening the gap between the gamers within the first third. Additionally making an attempt to know when it’s the perfect second to have the ball, make runs, defend with the ball and when it’s higher to be extra direct.”
That type has been bearing fruit this season. Sarabia’s Andorra sit third within the league desk, a playoff place, with the primary place guaranteeing promotion to the second tier. For a membership to have gone from fifth division to 2nd in 4 years is scarcely plausible. The one different instance of such an increase has been Salford Metropolis FC within the UK.
Spain’s Salford Metropolis?
Considerably just like FC Andorra, Salford have been within the eighth tier of English soccer when Manchester United’s famed “Class of ‘92” purchased the membership. Within the 8 years since a meteoric rise has adopted. Salford At the moment presently in League Two, the fourth tier, and function as a completely skilled membership. They’ve confronted allegations of economic doping and going towards the spirit of competitiveness, with the monetary means at their disposal far outweighing these of their rivals within the division.
FC Andorra’s rise has given rise to related issues. President Ferran Vilaseca disagrees and gives knowledge to again this up.
“I feel we now have been fairly simple by way of exhibiting our monetary commitments. We took over the membership, and we paid round 250k to pay all money owed. Then we invested a very good amount of cash the primary yr to advertise as a result of we thought it was key. We at that time within the fifth division had the best finances of the competitors. That’s true. Not by that a lot, however we had the best of the desk,” he says.
An sudden alternative then arose for FC Andorra and being as proactive as they’re, they took it with out hesitation. It has labored out spectacularly.
“We had the chance to purchase a ticket to advertise from fourth to the third division. We took the chance and we have been the final within the desk to have this chance. The opposite 19 both didn’t have the assets or they didn’t wish to spend that cash. Proper now, if you happen to take the desk, we’re within the mid to low a part of the desk by way of budgeting, there are golf equipment with greater budgets than us.”
The highway forward
The allegations of an unfair taking part in benefit additionally vanish when FC Andorra’s outlook as a membership involves the fore. “We wouldn’t have such an ideal fan base as many golf equipment do. They’ve quite a lot of earnings with reference to tickets and season tickets, and so forth. And we now have to take a position as companions. However the finances that we now have, it’s not that top, you already know, what we attempt to do is maximise as a lot as potential, every penny that we make investments into soccer,” he says, citing the hole within the extra “common” sources of earnings that golf equipment decrease down the ladder have, which is the gate receipts.
“Yeah, we face some opposition. Some individuals say that we spend some huge cash, we’re towards the spirit of competitiveness. I disagree. We invested some cash, but it surely’s an affordable amount of cash. And we’re not on the prime of the desk. It’s true that we prefer to seek for the proper gamers, that they may play the proper type for us.”
Typically, even speedy progress can pose a problem, which has been the case with FC Andorra. The membership has been restricted in its growth potential on account of causes past their management. FC Andorra play their video games on the stadium located at one of many highest altitudes in all of Spain. Moreover, the stadium is shared with the rugby workforce. This makes the maintenance of the stadium to be football-ready one other problem.
“Andorra shouldn’t be a simple nation by way of having an space to place a stadium as a result of there’s quite a lot of mountains. So we have to discover the proper location to really set up our house floor. We at the moment are because of the federal government utilizing a facility that traditionally has been for rugby and we at the moment are sharing it with rugby. Now we have to additionally practise some other place. Typically we’re rising too quick sporting-wise. From a membership perspective, it’s tough to maintain up with our sporting efficiency. That’s our problem. Our aim is to maintain reaching and maintaining with the sporting achievements.”
FC Andorra- A imaginative and prescient realised
Syncing the on-pitch success with off-field success is a problem they’re able to tackle. If the imaginative and prescient is realised, it might have a transformative impact on Andorra as a complete. Consistent with the “Barcelona DNA”, Ferran stresses that the membership places nice emphasis on the gamers who “drink out of the FC Andorra type DNA”. Rising fan numbers already point out success on this regard. Children are selecting soccer in Andorra, partly right down to the success of FC Andorra. Fruitful partnerships with native golf equipment, like Gimnastic de Manresa, would bear fruits in the long run.
“You could begin from the foundations of the membership. We began proper from the highest. Andorra didn’t have a giant youth squad. We’re very happy with the deal we now have reached with Gimnastic Manresa, which is a city in the course of Catalonia in between Barcelona and Andorra. That’s fairly properly positioned to draw younger gamers who we will purchase for our youth squad. So, we’re bringing into our organisation quite a lot of data and quite a lot of potential gamers. We’re doing the strategic plan so that each one the younger gamers drink out of this FC Andorra type DNA.”
There’s an extended technique to go but. That’s unlikely to daunt FC Andorra, although, as higher obstacles have been conquered already. “I’m going to mattress, and I’ve these visions, desires,” Ferran says of his aspirations for the membership. These desires look nearer to coming true with every day. Possibly proprietor Gerard Pique’s dream of listening to the Champions League anthem at FC Andorra isn’t that far-fetched both.
