On my first tour of the nearly finished Tenerife Top Training centre in La Caleta, I had to cover my head. Returning a couple of weeks ago, I tried to put the blue plastic bag I was offered over my head, before the euro dropped and I realised it was one of 2 shoe covers, so I could go through to the swimming area to watch Dutch and German internationals in action.

The T3 centre looked impressive with the final touches added, you can see my interview with Dutch Olympian, Femke Heemskerk, in the latest free copy of The Paper.

Manchester City may have been and gone, but the 2 football pitches, one real, one artificial, are in constant use and during Semana Santa (Easter Week) they will be home to a youth football academy, at the same time as open tournaments are held for local tennis and padel players. Padel is a fast growing form of tennis, originating from Mexico and popular in Spain. It’s a doubles game, less reliant on strength, and played with an under hand serve and use of the walls-as in squash.

The 56,000 square metre centre is state of the art, and includes a water flume ( a high powered treadmill) and a gym with machines driven by air pressure rather than weights. There are already many more professional teams from various sports booked to come to Tenerife to use the centre, a much needed boost for tourism.

I shall be popping in over the Easter week to add new content and photos for the new T3 blog site, one of many Sorted Sites websites I copy write for. Hopefully the young athletic types won’t be too put off by an old blonde fogey snapping and scribbling as they push themselves to the limit. If I get too tired, I will have to adjourn to the sun drenched juice and snack bar, after all, at my age I have to pace myself.

It’s worth the hangover, CD Tenerife are sitting proudly on top of the Spanish Second Division after a comfortable (eventually) 2-0 home win over Cordoba yesterday, in front of 19,202 fans.

It was an uncertain start for Tenerife, without influential midfield players Juanlu, Ricardo and Kome, they struggled to find their shape and rythm, and lowly Cordoba took advantage, pressing forward on the break and exposing the home defence.

CDT had their chances, Alfaro was at his lively best and went close a couple of times, but former Tenerife goalie, Raul Navas was in good form. At the other end Luis Garcia showed his growing confidence with 2 decisive saves when Cordoba broke free.

Tenerife needed to be a lot better in the second half, and they were, fast out of the blocks they took the game to the visitors. It took just 4 minutes from the restart for Alfaro to open the scoring with a perfectly flighted free kick that gave the Cordoba keeper no chance.

There was better to come 6 minutes later as Alonso fed the ball to Alfaro, who took it wide and squeezed it in the goal from an acute angle. That really ignited the crowd, the Mexican wave swept around the stadium and the volume went up another notch. It was pretty much a stroll from that point, Cordoba were broken and Tenerife were able to play at their own pace and dictate the game.

The final whistle was greeted by scenes of celebration on and off the pitch, there is such an electric atmosphere among Tenerife fans these days, and no sign of a power cut. Next week at Rayo Vallecano, there will be upwards of 600 CDT fans, the rest of us can’t wait for the Noon kick off (shown live on Canal Plus) at home to Levante on April 12.

Have you heard about CD Tenerife and their drive for promotion to the Spanish Primera division? If not, where have you been, hiding in a cave? The island is in a frenzy of excitement, and around 400 fans made the trip to Salamanca in the north of Spain to see the latest 2-1 win on Saturday.

What a bunch of scamps CDT are, they teased their fans by going 1-0 down after 13 minutes, defender Luna failed to make a telling tackle and then Miku, with his back to goal, turned and shot past an unsighted Luis Garcia in the CDT goal, 4 Tenerife players gave him acres of room. These days Tenerife can shrug off such setbacks, and after 32 minutes, Nino blasted home a slightly fortunate penalty.

Tenerife got better as the game went on, and their constant probing paid off with Alfaro crossing from the right, in the 67th minute, for Nino to head past the home keeper. There was no way back after that for the team coached by former Tenerife manager David Amaral, and their misery was completed when Bustos was sent off after 76 minutes for a second yellow card.

Tenerife in top position? well they would have got away with it, if it hadn’t been for those pesky Pios at Las Palmas surrendering a 2-1 lead over Xerez in the final minutes to lose 3-2. Well at least with that goal surge, Xerez couldn’t be subjected to chants of “Score in a brothel, you couldn’t score in a brothel” Their club President resigned in the week after he and his chauffeur were caught in his car, after the chauffeur fired a gun at a local house of ill repute. Hercules also staged a recovery. on Sunday morning, losing 2-1 at Elche they scored late to pick up a point.

Anyway, hopefully a 23,000 sell out next Sunday in Santa Cruz as CD Tenerife host Cordoba in a 5pm kick off. If you are lucky, you may still be able to travel up with the Armada Sur, this is one party that will run till the end of season in June.

Confession time. I missed the game yesterday, the lovely Pam is over for the Los Cristianos Carnaval (post below) so I was on my best behavior. CD Tenerife drew 1-1with Albacete, Alfaro scoring with a lovely low header after 29 minutes, but the visitors levelled 3 minutes later with a hotly disputed penalty from Toche.

My sources tell me that Luis Garcia had a great game in goal and was given a rousing ovation before, during and after the match, which pulled in another bumper 18,431 crowd. If, like me, you are eager to catch up with the action, visit the Armada Sur website, where they have a brief highlights video.

The other results were fairly kind to Tenerife, so they are still in a promotion spot, third on 49 points, 3 above Rayo Vallecano, equal to Hercules and 2 behind leaders Xerez. The dream is still very much alive and in CD Tenerife’s hands.

You don’t have to look far for excitement in Tenerife, there’s always something going on. Take Las Galletas for example, a 15 minute drive or bus trip from Los Cristianos, and you are in a charming Canarian fishing village. Sleepy, you might think, but on Saturday 4 April they stage the Arona Blues Festival, followed the next day by the 13th annual Las Galletas half marathon.

The Arona Blues festival has become a popular event on the musical calender, and once again the FREE event has 3 acts performing in the Rambla area from 7.30pm. Take your choice from Six Fired Guys Dixieland Jazz Band, D’Ebony (with a little funk for your pleasure) or Anna Paula and her Brazil Blues. Maybe a drink or 2, the warm night air, and good company, sounds just the thing to ease you into another month.

If it’s not too taxing a night, you can then get up to see the Las Galletas half marathon hit the streets from 9am. Better still, if you are energetic, you still have time to register and take part. There are various age groups, so you can find a level to suit you, and the route is a pleasant one. Leaving from Las Galletas, you run up to El Fraile, turn off right at the Palm Mar roundabout, head for Guargacho, and back past the Costa del Silencio turn and into Las Galletas.

To join in, get yourself signed up by April 2, it will cost you 10 euros, including your electronic timer tag, and you can sign at the Los Cristianos sports hall on Avenida de Chayofita (the main road into Las Americas) or go via the race website.

Maybe it’s just best to bank the point from this 2-2 draw in Alicante, and hope we can laugh about it later as we sip promotion champagne. CD Tenerife played some great football and at 2-0 up after 36 minutes, were sitting pretty. However a defensive howler and a late sucker punch meant a share of the spoils against their second from bottom hosts.

Losing inspirational goalkeeper Sergio Aragoneses, possibly for the rest of the season, in the week with pancreatitis, was a big blow but with the message of support on the players training tops and the opening TV shot of the Armada Sur flag held proudly aloft, their was a feeling that we would overcome all. The spirit was clear to see as Tenerife tore into Alicante, Richi blasted the ball past both goal posts in the first 10 minutes and Luis Garcia, guarding the CDT net, had to wait until the 23rd minute for an easy pick up, his first action. A few minutes later, the replacement keeper made a good save from an Alicante free kick, and Sicilia made a great clearance to repel a rare attack.

The first goal, just aftet the half hour mark, saw Nino feed the ball through to Alfaro, who wrong footed 2 defenders and slotted the ball in the net. Three minutes later it was 2-0, Nino (pic in previous action) heading past the keeper this time, it looked so easy.

There was an early second half warning as Gill flashed a free kick wide of the CDT goal and Sicilia made another of his telling blocks. Alfaro fired a shot straight at the home keeper, Nino was squeezed out by 2 defenders, and at the other end, Luis Garcia did well to save a low awkward free kick. The confidence was punctured though after 66 minutes when Garcia failed to punch away a header from Jorda, and Martinez, well placed at the goal line couldn’t make clean contact with his head, and the ball continued into the net as it glanced off him.

Ricardo came close to restoring the 2 goal lead, and a lovely back heel from Kome just failed to find Nino. On the 82nd minute Borja was on the end of a move that sliced Tenerife open, and he tied the game. Angel came on and prompted a few late chances but in the end Tenerife had to settle for a draw.

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Colour, noise, passion and wild excitement in Santa Cruz, it’s expected at Carnaval time, but this year the biggest show of all was in the Heliodoro stadium as CD Tenerife added more momentum to their promotion push, with a 3-0 win over Celta Vigo.

Even the most ardent Tenerife fans couldn’t have expected such a storming start, 2-0 up in 10 minutes, and looking hungrier than Fred Goodwin at bonus time. The 18,740 fans once again did their bit, welcoming the players with thousands of blue and white balloons, flags, banners, and a wall of sound. Carnaval characters danced with the crowd and long before half time, a Mexican wave was rippling around the stadium.

Alfaro started the scoring after just 3 minutes, blasting the ball in the net from outside the area, after Juanlu had led the charge. Tenerife now have the confidence to attack their opponents from the start, knowing that the rearguard is solid,and defenders will push forward to add to the threat. Centre back Luna was up in the thick of the action and perfectly placed to head a second goal just 4 minutes later, with Alfaro turning provider this time.

Tenerife’s dominance was total, they created chance after chance, Kome and Ricardo were in top form in midfield but it was the all round team display that had the crowd purring. Into the second half, and that all important killer goal arrived after 10 minutes, Juanlu again involved, but the little magician, Nino produced one of his trade mark moments of quality to give the keeper no chance.

So CD Tenerife hold firm in the 2nd of the 3 promotion places, with lowly Alicante away next week. At the other end of the table, the Pios (Las Palmas) are slipping into the relegation zone after a 4-2 loss to Hercules – how sweet would it be to see the teams go in opposite directions at the end of the season. Promotion rivals Rayo Vallecano have their own internal problems, this week defender Carlos De la Vega was arrested with 2 former players in a 600 kilo drug bust. But CD Tenerife have their destiny in their own hands, and there has never been a better time to proudly wear the blue and white.

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With a bit of luck CD Tenerife could have had all 3 points from this 0-0 away draw at Huesca, but at no stage could I see them losing, so on balance i’m well chuffed to see the rich vein of form continue. Huesca had a litle flurry in the first 10 minutes, but after that CDT keeper Aragoneses had little to do.

The home side had a half hearted shout for a penalty after 22 minutes but the ref wisely ruled there had been no foul on Helguera. That spurred Tenerife into a busy spell as Alfaro headed for goal, only to be denied by Eduardo with a strong save. The keeper looked as dazzling as his blinding pink shirt as he followed up with a tip over from a Richi header, set up by Juanlu

Tenerife had the better of the second half as well. Huesca are the only current Second Division team that Nino (left) has never scored against, but he thought he had completed his set when his header bounced back off the post and was gratefully pounced on by the keeper. CDT coach Oltra had said before the game that his side would go looking for the win, and he was as good as his word, bringing on Angel for Juanlu after 67 minutes. It nearly brought an instant result, Nino beat 2 defenders to put in a cross but Angels faint touch was not enough to divert it in.

The busy sub squeezed another shot just over the bar but found a speculative cross from Kome a little out of his reach. Aragoneses was alert late on when a rare Huesca attack ended with a cross cum shot that he easily mopped up.

A good days work all round, I can’t wait for next Sundays home match against Celta (should be 5pm). The Frente Blanquiazul peña (fan club) have issued another rallying cry, this time for 40,000 blue and white balloons to greet CDT onto the pitch. The Armada Sur will be there in force as always, and have added to the fun with a call for any other inflatables to swell the party. Sadly I can’t bring a blow up item, well not since the regretable love bite incident, but i’m sure we will break the 20,000 crowd figure this time.

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Before you can grasp how big this 3-2 home victory over Elche was, I need to drag you down and set in it context. Influential left sided players Kome and Ayoze were out after picking up niggling injuries a few days before, Iriome and Martinez were on the bench but on the way back from injury and not match fit. On top of that, the club chairmans cat had been run over in a bizarre accident, the tea lady’s goldfish had a splitting headache, and Tenerife were 2-1 down after 62 minutes and under the cosh. Last season, that would have spelt disaster for Tenerife, but this is the new improved version, full of fighting spirit and desire, and things were going to change.

It all started on a high with 19,119 fans welcoming the players onto the pitch with a stunning cascade of tifo (newspaper confetti) that swirled and hung in the wind, turning the Heliodoro into a wild noise filled snow scene. Roared on by their fans, Tenerife took the game to the visitors but found it hard going with Elche proving to be stubborn opponents. The breakthrough came after 39 minutes when Juanlu Hens put in a telling cross from the right and Luna rose to head it into the Elche goal.

The second half was just 2 minutes old when Perez levelled for the visitors, after former Tenerife player Santos had got the better of Hector. Santos inflamed the home fans with his celebrations to add to less than impressive memories of his efforts in the blue and white shirt.

Worse was to come, and Santos was involved again, this time feeding Fuster to put Elache ahead after 62 minutes. Coach Oltra showed his attacking mentality, bringing on Iriome for Hens, and he hardly had time to bed in before Nino hit a typically cheeky goal, turning to grab a half chance and beat the visiting goalie. Now the crowd volume was cranked up, and another attacking substitution prompted the perfect response. Cristo replaced Hector, and Tenerife pushed forward for the winner, and Ricardo sent the crowd crazy when he fired his free kick past the Elche goalie to restore the home lead. It was an anxious last 14 minutes but Tenerife stood firm, the final whistle was the cue for players and fans to celebrate a hard earned win that keeps Tenerife in second place and still dreaming of promotion.

Football fever is growing all the time now in Tenerife, the Armada Sur ran 2 coaches this week, the Oasis Bar half way stop on the motorway, had lots more independent parties of fans stopping for some singing juice, and the streets around the ground were teaming – we even had a trumpet player stood in the road serenading drivers in return for a fistful of euros.

Promotion would be a huge boost to the island and some are already realising the commercial benefits. The weekend editions of local paper Diario de Avisos contained a full page advert for the big car park near the stadium, 120 places up for grabs at 150 euros a month. The headline screamed “Don’t wait any longer, be first to enjoy the promotion of CD Tenerife.” That’s a confident claim, lets just get behind the team and savour these special moments.

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