Know Your Enemy....

Photo : Original Cartagena FC badge (Efese).

Efese, FC Cartagena, Cartagena FC, Cartagonova.....o como pijo se llame. Be clear that the team that nearly gained promotion to Primera (FC Cartagena) IS NOT our historic "Efese" rival from Cartagena. This version was only founded in 1995, when they purchased a place in the territorial league from Balsicas. This is a Frankenstein club, cobbled together and shamelessly usurping from the agonizing original version Cartagena FC, just changing the position of the FC letters.

As Alejandro Oliva wrote in La Combina.....under the title "A Monstrosity that exites a whole city"..... "After a decade of projects for promotion to the second division, the young FC Cartagena finally made that step. On a June afternoon in Alcoy, the Cartageneros left behind the phantoms of Cordoba and Vecindario (two sides who denied Cartagena promotion at the last hurdle), and finally achieved the highest level for a side from Cartagena, the historic Cartagena Efese (founded 1919, but with some gaps). Because, despite the silence and indeed deception that the media and the majority of regional and Cartagena public opinion peddle, this team is, so that we all understand, a "Ciudad de Cartagena" (This is a reference to the team started in Murcia by Quique Pina, who tried to be a carbon copy of Real Murcia, copying even team colours and blackmailing politicians into giving them joint use of our old La Condomina stadium). This team started life as Cartagonova when it looked like the original Efese was dying in the 90's, searching for the sentimental and economic seam that could be left by the sick Efese. This was aggravated by, with the arrival in 2003 of the current owner, Paco Gomez, sentimental aremed mugging; he changed the name and the club crest, to make them the same as the older club which NEVER WENT OUT OF EXISTANCE and had recovered as a senior side in 2002. You can't inherit from someone who hasn't deseased. We always welcome all our neighbours, but never those who userp sentiments and club badges, elements that make football great and special".

So when someone supporting this club give you that bollocks about the EFESE name being inherited, you now know the real story. From between 600 to 1000 attending home games, now, only this successful season, are they getting 10,000. This is like the empty church that fills to the rafters for "Songs Of Praise", or the whole town that used to turn out for "It's a Knockout". They are on telly and want to wave and be seen and shout the name of their town and be noticed.....all spiced up with their historic victimism against the Murcian oppressor. Yes, politics in futbol. All year they have displayed the "Cartagena is not Murcia" slogan around grounds. Even when beating us, their "supporters" did not cheer their team's success, preferring to goad Murcia with "Murcia Murcia Shiiit" (unbelievably to the tune of Barcelona's club song), or to celebrate our lowly position. Their behavior on their last day capitulation against Albacete was a complete disgrace. Celebrating each of Albacete's goals that although not directly responsable, helped to relegate Real Murcia. However, there is a glimmer of light. One ashamed Cartagena supporter wrote a letter to the La Verdad paper...... "I was born in Cartagena, and am a member of Efese this year and last year, and also 20 years ago when we beat Hercules 0 - 3 with Boria, Naixes, Requena, Rai, Bartolo, Pedro and company; but last Saturday, at the game against Albacete, I finally realised that I should not be a Cartagenero. It was the worst display of how miserable people can be I have witnessed at a football match. It was a palpable demonstration of a city who's only possible pride is in what the Romans did 2000 years ago, and whose only possible happiness is the misfortune of the envied neighbour city, with double population, that is the capital of an autonomous community, the prosperous, happy and very lively city of Murcia.
It is difficult to express what you feel when your people cheer the goals scored by the opponent. The 0 - 4, which isn't authentic joy, but rather collective schizophrenia from born losers, mediocres and pure meanness. It was a shameless betrayal of colours, of sentiments and of the players. I could only remove my black and white kit and leave the stadium half an hour into the game. I feel sadness and shame. Cartagena has much more that the Cartageneros deserve".

I'll leave it at that.


Photo : New FC Cartagena badge....spot the difference? Why build your own history when you can nick someone else's?