Ouch, Raqui San Isidro football team, just inland from Tenerife airport, Â have been slapped hard for the riot at the end of their promotion game at home a month ago.

They won 2-1 but it was not enough to wipe out the first leg score, tempers became frayed at the end and a mass punch up ensued, that ended with the Policia Local and Guardia Civil being called to split them up. The San Isidro ground will be closed for 3 months, and the 7 players sanctioned have racked up over 4 years of bans, led by Estaban Delgado with 8 months and a 228 euro fine. Oh, the name of the visiting team from Gran Canaria, is very aptly Teror.

Tom Daley may have won a Gold medal for diving at the World Swimming Championships in Rome, but I am equally impressed by the Spanish ladies synchronised swimming team,who have also scooped Gold. Their winning performance was to the rock classic “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zepplin, I bet that made the band proud. I believe synchronised swimmers perfect their facial contortions by clenching a one euro coin between their buttocks.

To be honest, I can’t get very excited about tennis, although Maria Sharapova does stir me somewhat. But even a non fan like myself can see how great it would be for Tenerife, if a major Davis Cup match was held here. Last year Tenerife missed out on staging the mens semi final between Spain and U.S.A, as Madrid got the nod, but now there is a new bid in to put on this years semi between Spain and Israel, from September 18 to 20.

Yesterday, delegates from the Spanish tennis federation visited the proposed venue, the Antonio Dominquez football and athletics sadium on the edge of Playa de Las Americas to check out the facilities. Anyone who has seen football there or one of the many music concerts, may well be scratching their heads to see how it can work.

Two courts would be set up on the centre of the football pitch, with seating extended down from the terraces. The expected capacity for spectators would be 12,000 to 14,000 and would cost about 80,000 euros to stage over the 3 days. Against that you can look at television rights, advertising, and concessions for food and drink, bur best of all the prestige and tourism promotion for Tenerife. It seems unlikely that this bid will suceed, rivals Oviedo, Gijon, Cordoba, Tarragona and Zaragoza are strong contenders, but Tenerife was highly favoured for last years bid, and if they keep applying, their persistence should pay off in the next few years.The decision is made on 23 July – fingers and toes crossed.

Yippee, here they are, the CD Tenerife fixtures for La Liga 2009-2010, the route map of my life for the next 10 months. Not too upset with them, a fairly gentle start away to Zaragoza (they just signed Jermaine Pennant from Liverpool) then a weeks gap for International games, and the home debut on Sunday 13 September, or maybe the day before. This season more than any other, we will be at the mercy of the television companies, especially Canal Plus, who will move us late on for live coverage, usually at late kick off times, we even have 4 midweek games.Â

AUGUST

30       Zaragoza                                     away

SEPTEMBER

     13     OSASUNA                                 HOMEÂ

     20     Mallorca                                     away

     23     ATHLETICO BILBAO             HOME    WEDNESDAY

     26     Real Madrid                                away

OCTOBER

      4      DEPORTIVO                             HOME

     18     Espanyol                                     away

     25     XEREZ                                       HOME

NOVEMBER

       1     Villareal                                      away

       8     MALAGA                                  HOME    Â

      22    SEVILLA                                   HOME

      29    Real Valladolid                           away

DECEMBER

       6     SPORTING GIJON                    HOME

     13     Getafe                                          away

     20     ATHLETICO MADRID            HOME

JANUARY

      3      Racing Santander                        away

     10     BARCELONA                            HOME

     17     Almeria                                       away

     24     VALENCIA                                HOME

     31     ZARAGOZA                              HOME

FEBRUARY

      7      Osasuna                                       away

     14     MALLORCA                             HOME

     21     Athletico Bilbao                          away

     28     REAL MADRID                       HOME

MARCH

      7     Deportivo                                     away

     14    ESPANYOL                               HOME

     21    Xerez                                            away

     24    VILLAREAL                             HOME     WEDNESDAY

     28    Malaga                                         away

APRIL

      4     Sevilla                                          away

     11    REAL VALLADOLID               HOME

     14    Sporting Gijon                             away        Wednesday

     18    GETAFE                                     HOME

     25    Athletico Madrid                         away

MAY

    2   RACING SANTANDER                HOME

    5   Barcelona                                         away       Wednesday

    9   ALMERIA                                      HOME

   16  Valencia                                           away

Meanwhile, there have been crazy scenes at the Heliodoro this week as the season tickets went on sale. On the first day , 3,000 tickets were sold and 2,000 fans were shut out as queues swamped the ticket office staff. It’s definately the hottest ticket in town.

A banquet of football will be served at Spains La Liga top table in the new season, today CD Tenerife fans found that it’s theirs to enjoy from as little as 11 euros per game. The new season ticket prices have been announced and although it has brought squeals of protest from the upper end of the price range, even percentage rises of 60% on last season mean that the dearest seats in the Heliodoro, are just 670 euros for 19 home games, that’s just under 36 euros per match, including Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Surely a mistake I hear you cry, no ( and don’t call me surely) I yell back with delight. CD Tenerife have been good to the loyal hard core of Peñas (fan clubs), we all gather in the Grada Popular end of the ground and our renewal season tickets will cost just 205 euros. There are no new season tickets either upstairs or down in that section, once the current holders have renewed, it will leave 40 % of the places up for grabs in the week before matches – you can bet they will sell mega fast. Your best bet elsewhere is the Herradura for 375 euros, 210 euros for under 16’s and 165 euros for over 65’s.

Match day tickets will be hard to come by this season, and the club are aiming to sell 15,000 season tickets before the action kicks off on September 13. Just to put these prices in some sort of context the cheapest prices for the new teams in the English Premier go from 441 pounds at Burnley,444 pounds at Birmingham and 643 pounds at Wolves.

Full price details are on the CD Tenerife club website or you can get in touch with The General , at chrisarmadasur@yahoo.co.uk and sort out your tickets and your new Armada Sur membership (20 euros), ready to enjoy the complete match day experience. Fixtures will be out on July 10, it’s a big season so get behind your local team, and don’t miss the tram.

Withdrawal symptoms are common this time of year for football fans, we have to get what crumbs of comfort we can. In that respect, yesterday was a good day, in the afternoon I went to the amphithetre above Siam Park for the Red Bull Street Style football competition.

This is an international competition that comes to a head next year in South Africa, just before the World Cup, and yesterday was the last of the 4 Spanish rounds. Four players would be selected to go, all expenses paid, to the grand Spanish final in Valencia on 29 August. The advertising tag for the event is “3 minutes, 2 players, one ball” the players started with individual rounds to eliminate a few and get in down to 6 finalists. Then they went head to head in a series of challenges to see who could do the best moves.

Now I know you are thinking, was I tempted to get up and show my own silky skills, sadlyI had a little twinge in my leg and had brought a sick note from my Mum to excuse me. The youngsters were all very good and did well not to wilt in the scorching heat, I had to leave before the end but will look out on the website for the progress of the competition.

Meeting The General and Neal and Karen (the Bournemouth section) we set off north to Santa Cruz to represent the Armada Sur at a very special function. Our Canarian terrace comrades the Frente Blanquiazul have a locale near La Paz which they use as a social club, and they had invited CD Tenerife club captain and legend, Cristo Marrero, in order to pay tribute to him.

One of the best organised and most respected of the Peñas (fan clubs) the Frente live and breathe football and their “home” is a credit to them, strewn with souvenirs of many seasons of devotion.  Cristo is a local Tenerife boy, from Las Zocas, and what he lacks in talent he more than makes up for in heart, blue and white blood courses through his veins.  That dedication to CDT shows itself not just on the pitch, but in the way he always gets involved in social events run by the fans, and he was more than happy to come along and mingle with us supporters.

Speeches were given and presentations made, and the great man cheerfully posed for pics with us all. The plaque that was unveiled says “To Cristo Marrero, always our captain, who in defence of the colours of CD Tenerife has shown the qualities of the Canarian people, never to be forgotten, thanks for everything.” The Club have not renewed his contract but have said they will offer him a job at the club to make use of his popularity, enthusiasm and inspirational qualities, we look forward to seeing him around for many years.

We knew we were in trouble when The General started selling T shirts proclaiming CD Tenerife as champions. The other results had gone for us and a home draw was all that was required but Castellon hadn’t read the script and sneaked a 2-1 victory. The day was about so much more than just the game, and coach Oltra’s strange starting line up owed more to sentiment than logic. Club legend Cristo got a rare start for his final game and there was no place for Alfaro or Kome.

The biggest pre match cheers were for Cristo, hanging up his first team boots after 6 glorious seasons of pouring his heart and soul into everything he does for the club. Tenerife dominated the first half and should have been a couple of goals up within 10 minutes, Nino, Ayoze and Richi all spurned good chances. Cristo had the ball in the net after 19 minutes, and the stadium was ready to erupt but it was ruled out as the ball had already gone out of play.

Castellon had few chances and it seemed a matter of time until a home goal arrived, Cristo played a part when it did, setting up Nino to nip in and score after 41 minutes. This confirmed Nino as “pichichi” the divisions top scorer with 29 goals, a great achievement. Seven minutes into the second half Cristo was taken off for Alfaro, a chance to milk the richly deserved applause for a true local hero.

That was most of the boxes ticked for the night, time to put their feet up and relax, Tenerife didn’t just take their foot off the pedal, they got out of the car and went for a snooze in a layby. It all got a bit sloppy and casual, Castellon took advantage of the half awake defence to level via Arana after 55 minutes. That should have been a wake up slap for Tenerife but this was a deep sleep, the errors kept coming and even the introduction of Kome, the Whip of the Atlantic (see banner) couldn’t lash them into action. Alfaro and Iriome both missed late chances before the unthinkable happened on 90 minutes, Sampedro hit the winning goal and the championship was gone.

A bit of a let down, but after such a superb season, we can take this one on the chin. The crowd swelled onto the pitch at the final whistle and the slightly subdued celebrations began.  Cristo was carried round the touchline shoulder high and fans danced among the sprinklers that had sprung into life. There was some serious scavenging for souvenirs going on, chunks of turf were dug up, someone got the penalty spot, and a few people used lighters to burn off bits of goal netting, I tried to tuck the blonde security guard under my arm but she wasn’t having it.

Personally, I am so in awe of what the club has achieved this season, all on a small budget, everyone from the President down to Gladys the tea lady, should be bursting with pride. Next Sunday, the B team have the big final of their season at home to Sporting Mahones from Menorca, and a chance for promotion to Segenda B. The Armada Sur will run a coach is their are enough numbers, The General awaits your call. If anyone is after some natty t shirts, The General says he has a few of the “promotion” ones left, in fact he has a wharehouse full in Las Chafiras.

Hardly time to sober up before heading to Santa Cruz today for the official reception for the CD Tenerife team. The police and Guardia must love CDT, it was unlimited overtime as the forces of good took up key positions around the entrance to the capital. I met some of the Armada Sur up by Plaza General Weyler, it was heaving, but we found a good spot just down the road by the bridge over the Barranco Santos, and waited for the open top bus.

Cars bombed by, waving flags as the crowds swelled, and it was clear it was going to be a late start. TV Canarias had a camera in a helicopter keeping an eye on the progress of the bus from Los Rodeos airport to Santa Cruz, when the bus swung into view, the crowds went wild. The players were clearly loving the attention, sadly yesterdays hero Kome was missing as he was back on duty for Cameroon.

Having got a few pics, we dived through the back streets, stopping for a beer, before hitting the Plaza de España. It was heaving, a giant stage was the focal point of the attention, and many people were already in the lake. As the team bus arrived and the players transferred to the Cabildo balcony, fire crackers and smoke bombs went off adding to the party mood. The players, a little worse for wear, led the singing and the crowd gladly joined in. I left them to it after a few hours but it looked like another long night, still another party to go with the last game at home next week-it’s a hard life.

All the years of suffering slipped away yesteday at Girona as CD Tenerife clinched their place in La Primera with a 1-0 win. It was a fantastic day with around 1,000 CDT fans invading the Catalan city, and dancing, and singing on the terrace and then on the pitch.

It started at an unearthly hour, I got picked up by The General and a few of the troops, and we headed to Reina Sofia airport. The concourse was already a sea of blue and white, some of the Canarian lads were already at the bar and limbering up. The check in staff had fun putting the flags, banners and drums through their machines, bu it was a pretty smooth process. Once on the plane, the singing started, our Halcon Viajes tour reps even led some of the singing on the microphone, and at one point the captain cut in with a tune.

Landing at Girona, I was surprised what a huge airport it is, very busy with mainly British passengers from RyanAir, they seemed startled at the mob of all singing, all dancing Tenerife fans, the shuttle buses from the plane were bouncing up and down as we drove across the tarmac and the pick up area outside the airport soon became a mass of Tenerife voices.

The coaches, with a police escort, took us into the heart of Girona, I had always thought of it as an after thought to Barcelona, but even with a limited tour I could soon see the beauty and history of the city. Once dropped in the centre we found a bar – of course – as a base to phone others who had arrived in advance. Trust us to find the only Chinese bar in the city, the staff were not keen on us taking bottles away as we looked for friends, nor were they taken with us putting up our flags and banners, but they were won over as the till started to ring.

The General did a good impression of a waiter, carrying a full tray of drinks one handed-until he dropped the lot, we just about salvaged the precious liquid. Moving on later, we joined the biggest group of CDT fans in another plaza, some of the passers by were less than impressed by being picked up and danced around by well oiled Canarians but the bar staff were great, even bringing out a large round of free shots. We got our times a bit mixed and arrived at the ground early, so had to adjourn to another bar till kick off.

The Girona ground only holds 6,000 and has a strange grass bank at one point, it seemed a bit like one of the old non league grounds I used to visit. The surround wall was low and never going to deter us from spilling onto the pitch, a fairly even game exploded after 40 minutes as cult hero Daniel Kome pounced on a half chance to give CDT the lead, and the blue and white wave washed onto the playing surface. We only needed a draw to go up but with Sergio Aragonoses in commanding form in goal, we were never going to surrender that lead. The final whistle was met with an almighty roar as we swamped onto the pitch to congratulate our heroes. Kome had been substituted in the second half and was touring round with his camera, he got mobbed and at one point was knocked over-whoops. The players came out among the fans and the CDT officials took their bows in the stand as “Chicharrero” the club anthem was sung with pride and power.

We had to fly back out of Barcelona, just down the road from Girona? I dont think so, it took us about 90 minutes for our coaches to get there and we were rushed through to our waiting plane. The Guardia Civil kept me waiting as they detached all the poles off the flags I was carrying – not even time for a cheeky beer. Most people were knackered by the time we took off, but a few more beers flowed and the singing carried on. So now its another party, I have to drag my carcass up to Santa Cruz for the open top bus parade and reception, I’m loving every minute of it.

Despite greed reering its ugly head, I am finally booked up and paid up for Saturdays CD Tenerife game at Girona. Like the last away game at Sevilla, the football club used Viajes Halcon to produce the promised cheap charter flights, and again the prices were inflated with overnight accomodation being pushed. This time an independent fan club one day charter looked a good bet at 180 euros, but once the official club version was announced at 300 euros, the cheaper trip rocketed, and became unviable as fans cancelled. Some of us have paid the ransom, in order to see this historic game but many will now miss it, a shameful way to treat loyal fans.

We still expect up to 1,000 CDT fans to converge from Tenerife, mainland Spain and the UK, all with our party heads on. For those left behind, Santa Cruz is the place to be, a giant screen will show the game in Plaza de España (pic), kick off 5.30pm, and the huge fines for dancing in the lake have been lifted for the promotion season.

The team arrive back at the north airport on Sunday at 1pm, and will take an open top bus into Santa Cruz, through Avenida de la Salle, along over Barranco Santos bridge, past Plaza General Weyler, down Calle Mendez Nunez and Calle del El Pilar, finishing around 3pm at the Cabildo headquarters, where the players will take to the balcony overlooking Plaza de España.

All this is of course dependent on getting that vital point at Girona, and then the week after, there is the last game of the season, at home to Castellon, a chance to ensure they go up as champions. Lots of chances to party and cheer the players for a fantastic season. Next season has just taken another tasty turn with Ronaldo agreeing to joing Real Madrid, Â Tenerife had a bid of 79 million in but Real offered 80 million-damm so close. Wouldn’t it be good to get Real Madrid at home the first game of next season, just imagine the media attention the island would get, we would even plant some extra soft grass for when he does a dive.

Just when you think the season has got as good as it can – along comes a performance like this. Xerez was always going to be one of the toughest games, and with 4 key players missing and them still needing a point for promotion, it sounded a tough nut to crack. In the end, despite being reduced to 10 men for an hour of the game, CDT were brilliant and won 2-0.

From start to bleary finish, this was a perfect day (don’t worry, I’m not gonna start singing) 2 coach loads of Armada Sur gathered at the Toby Jug, we even had a stag party complete with Batman and Robin. The plaza outside our bar just down down from the ground was heaving, there was a big group of  Xerez fans, we had a few beers and some good natured banter with them.

Entering the ground these days is like entering a wonderland, the tifo gets better and better. This time the banners and streamers were all around 360 degrees, and when the players came out , a sea of blue and white cards was held up in an amazing mosaic – truly inspiring.

Tenerife made Xerez look pretty ordinary and a 16th minute goal from Alfaro ignited the crowd. Then came the big set back, Ricardo chopped down a Xerez player to stop a goal threat break, and was sent off after 26 minutes. Xerez sensed their chance had come and put Tenerife under the cosh, Aragonoses was on top form, mopping up any loose balls and high crosses, the objective now was to survive to half time.

There was more pressure to soak up in the second half, but as the clock ticked on the Xerez threat began to fizzle out. Coach Oltra hasn’t always got the credit he deserves, but again he showed his worth by bringing on striker Angel for midfielder Juanlu, the message was clear, don’t sit back on the lead-attack the game. The reward came with 5 minutes left on the clock, Nino pounced on a half chance to score the decisive goal, cue a pitch invasion.

The scenes after the final whistle were wild, car horns beeping, flags waving, singing, chanting and much downing of Doradas. just one point needed now to ensure promotion, and a good chance of going up as champions – what a day.