Eibar sit in sixth place in La Liga, just one point behind Villarreal, the team they visit on matchday 12 of this La Liga season.
The visit to El Madrigal is the perfect opportunity for the smallest club in the division to prove they belong in the top half of the table.
Villarreal are one of the archetypes for smaller clubs in La Primera; small city, relatively small stadium holding just 25,000 people, but in spite of this a magnitude of success. While having never won a major trophy, several second-place finishes in the top flight and semi-finalists in the Champions League shows that they can punch above their weight both at home in Spain and on the continent.
Eibar need to look at the Yellow Submarine as a guide of how to succeed from modest beginnings but also need to see them as a direct rival for a possible European qualification spot heading into Jornada 12.
The fact that Eibar are even in that position is both lucky and a testament to the hard work put in behind the scenes at the Basque club.
When Eibar reached the Segunda Division just two years ago, the league imposed on them new rules meaning they had to increase their capital by €2 million in a situation akin to revenue sharing wherein the bigger clubs help prop up the smaller ones. Despite being a small club in size, Eibar was an incredibly well run club which meant the burden was on them to figure out a way to find the money.
The money was not in the club, but was found in a similar vein to that which saved Real Oviedo just one year prior – crowd funding. Through the power of social media, Eibar were able to get the money necessary for their participation in the second division. The club now has over 10,000 shareholders from over 65 countries around the world.
Things all went right for the Armeros until midway through last season. Having successfully competed in, and won, the Segunda, Eibar embarked on their maiden season in the top flight. Their stadium, the Ipurua Municipal, which seats just over 6000 people, would now be visited by the biggest clubs, and best players, of world football.
Up to the middle of the season, Eibar were flying. Sitting in a similar position to that where they are now meant they were arguably candidates for Europe, but it would all go wrong. Winning only two of their last 19 games, the smallest team in the division would plummet to 18th and relegation.
Depending which side of the fence you were on, something either miraculous or unjust then saved the Armeros. Priding themselves on being a well run club, it was one at the opposite end of the spectrum that would ensure that Eibar were able to take another shot at the top flight.
With compounded debt from overspending, Elche were demoted from La Liga after season 2014-15, with Eibar being the main beneficiaries of their downfall. A second season was to come which now brings the club to Jornada 12 and Villarreal.
Once again flying high in the league, Eibar must now use the prototype for success as their proving ground. Their position on the ladder does not quite reflect how Eibar have played this season, or more how they have struggled.
In their first 11 matches, Eibar have played five teams in the top half of the table. From those five, they have only recorded five points and have had a hard time making an impact on the big boys of Spanish football.
Two of those top teams have been Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, who coincidently have also faced Villarreal this season. Unlike Villarreal, who recorded a 1-0 win over Atleti before falling 3-0 to Barcelona in a match whose score is far too polite to the Blaugrana, Eibar have failed to impose themselves, losing 2-0 and 3-1 respectively.
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Matches against other European rivals Sevilla and Celta Vigo have seen some improvements, with draws in both, but not quite enough to show that they really are on the same level.
They have, however, a very good record against teams in the bottom half of the table. Having taken 14 points from six matches against teams 11 downward, Eibar have shown that they are at the point of breaking out of being a ‘small’ club.
From three years ago, in the whirlwind that is the Segunda B, through to the second tier, where the little club that could find a way not only to compete with, but to win, against ‘bigger’ opposition. From a season that promised so much, ended in heartbreak only to be reborn from the ashes. To now, where sitting at the top looking down feels oh so vindicated, Eibar, one of La Liga’s most heartwarming stories, look to make a charge.
And if they can travel to El Madrigal, the bastion of all that is possible by ‘small’ teams in La Liga, and knock off Villarreal, a team which is idolised for their ability to punch above their weight, maybe then Eibar can not only say they deserve to be in the top flight but point to the reasons why.
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