The story of Marcos Contreras, CD Ibiza goalkeeper: from playing against Messi to cleaning changing rooms in Formentera

Five years ago,

(Sevilla, 1985), goalkeeper and captain of the CD Ibiza Islas Pitiusas, became one of those guys that the national press went looking for in the Copa del Rey qualifiers every time they faced a Primera, to ask him if he will be able to sleep that night, or who he is going to ask for the shirt of the game of his life.

But fate has wanted Marcos Contreras to have already played a lot of games in his life.

"There are 20 now, which

- You should take the balls out of the draw.

- If they asked me!

But I was going on Christmas holidays to Seville and there was no return AVE.

When he was captain and goalkeeper of Formentera, he faced

, whom they eliminated by winning in San Mamés, when they were still playing two legs.

Now, as captain of the team from the neighboring island,

of the Second RFEF, he had a team that will play the Super Cup.

- And who did you want?

- For the fans, for the children of the club, and all that, I preferred Barça or Madrid.

But for me, selfishly, I'm excited to face Betis.

If Betis should know something, it is that tomorrow the most important thing is not to go to penalties against Marcos Contreras.

In his it can be said that he has a long career in the Copa del Rey, that is how he has passed

That is to say, all in which it has reached the batch.

And it seems that it continues to be his specialty because this season they have already thrown three at him and he has saved two.

- Any tricks?

- I'm pretty intuitive.

It has several things, the player's profile, their hitting technique, if they are, for example, good centerers, they don't usually do it crossed but to the natural side, if they are midfielders with a good interior touch they tend to do it to the unnatural side with the interior open, I don't know, a lot of intuition.

Marcos was going to be a tennis player.

His brother Sergio became a professional, and in the town house a tennis court.

But

.

It was the team of his grandfather, former president of the

and his father, who was first a doctor in

and as it seemed little to him, he 'resurrected' the soccer team.

- Who was your idol as a child?

- I didn't have, but they said that I looked like

... because of the gestures, the towel.

- And now when he's older?

- The one I have always liked the most is

, but today, for me, the best is

, although I always say the same thing, depending on which team, for example, for Barça

is better than Courtois.

Marcos Contreras grew up in the Betis quarry, came to play against

in youth and scored three goals.

"It was one of the most shocking things that has happened to me in my life. It was in a friendly tournament in Nerja in 2003. He was 16 and we were 18, and he danced for us but badly. We lost 3-1, we started winning, then he scored two and he gave the assist for the third. It was very difficult. They had a free kick on the edge of the area and instead of kicking they gave it to him and he began to haggle around people.

I remember I got home and told my friends: 'I have faced one that is going to be

type '. The following year was when he debuted".

Marcos Contreras, with Betis, in a cut from Estadio Deportivo.

At the age of 17 they began to promote him to the first team, along with

,

and

, but Marcos ended up at Alcalá in Segunda B, and then at Regional in Formentera where, at the end of the games, he completed his salary by cleaning the changing rooms .

- And why didn't you arrive?

- Normally to this question people say that if the point of luck, but that is the easy way.

You have to have a point of luck and a lot of work.

I didn't have discipline, I would tell you, until I was 28 or 30 years old.

I lived in Seville, I went out, I had dinner, for me it was normal.

I did not have the sacrifice that professional football requires.

And I see that now, because at the time I didn't see it.

Yes, it is true that there was a year, when I was 17, that I trained once a week with the first team, and the thing always remained with me that

... Well, all these things that I tell you that I did, going out and going in, I would have done less.

It could have changed my life, but I'm telling you now that I'm signing the life I've had, and it wouldn't change anything.

His first experience with a Primera was a derby, at least for him.

Against Sevilla in the first stage of

.

- How do you live that in a locker room?

- We live it past emotions, with a lot of nervousness.

In fact

We went overboard.

The game already has a brutal emotional charge and the coach, with the best of intentions, put the family in the locker room before the game...

- And how are the First Division players behaving with you?

- Very well as a general rule, with much respect.

And those of Athletic?

The one they eliminated in a double tie, winning 0-1 at San Mamés with a corner goal in the 96th minute. That day they weren't around to be asked for shirts, that's why Athletic asked Marcos for one.

"When I went to ask for it, everyone had already left, but since I had made the offering (floral to the bust of

for being the first time that Formentera played in San Mamés) the delegate asked me for mine, which apparently the shirts of those who make the offering stay there, and then he asked me, which one do you want. It was just when

was going to be signed by Chelsea, and I asked him for Kepa's".

In the news they took Marcos out with impossible saves to

,

,

, but also going up to finish off and yelling at a teammate: "We are going to put it in, we are going to put it in, I dreamed of it."

- And you dreamed it?

- I always visualize the matches, the things that are going to happen, I imagine stopping, that everything goes well.

For them it was a bad drink, but they were also very elegant and very respectful.

I remember that when I got up from the ground to celebrate with my colleagues, on the way I ran into Raúl García, who is famous for... such, and quite the opposite, he shook my hand, told me that we had deserved it, that he we enjoyed ourselves, and that we had been better, it was very elegant in defeat.

Marcos Contreras in San Mamés as goalkeeper and captain of Formentera.

This year the Ibiza Islas Pitiusas aspired to promotion to First RFEF, but is in relegation places.

"Maybe that was one of the first mistakes, having too high expectations and not going one step at a time."

Now they have eliminated Eibar 1-0, and that the game was hardly played because

since their field does not have the necessary lighting power, among many other defects for a game to be played of this level

The other team in the city, UD Ibiza from the Second Division, created by

, signed an agreement with the City Council and kept his field.

Now there are two teams: the red Ibiza and the blue Ibiza.

A City and a United islanders but very badly matched.

Because CD Ibiza, the red one, have to play their matches in what is known as the town's "Athletics track", also renovated by Amadeo Salvo for his Ibiza training sessions, with changing rooms in construction booths, and in which the city's historic team must pay rent to play.

, by its mayor and by its Councilor for Sports, and I say it openly.

I am not entering into the debate with the UD, which looks out for its interests, and with which I do not have any kind of problem, but we are the only non-professional club in Spain to which its City Council does not give a free alternative to be able to play".

One day they came and they had taken the goals.

Another, while they were training, turned on the sprinklers, and another began to mow the grass.

"

. In fact, there was a risk that something would happen, because we were training and they put a lawn mower in the field. I thought it would serve as a turning point so that all parties could understand each other, but like the one who it has to mediate, which is the City Council, it does nothing, things continue to stagnate".

And that on the staff it has none other than the sons of two former mayors of the city, one from the PSOE and the other from the PP,

and

.

This Thursday, the Copa del Rey match will be played on the "Athletics track", with capacity for 1,000 spectators, considering that Amadeo Salvo's UD is demanding an abusive price for the use of its stadium, and the City Council has turned away.

Betis itself and teams from Mallorca offered to give up their facilities free of charge, but in the end the game stays on the island.

- You have been working with the youth teams of the teams you have been with for years and you are now 37 years old.

Do you consider your future working with children?

- I love children, and I have spent more than half of my life working with children, but

I already have the title of national coach.

I have a lot of respect for the profession and I don't know if it will be worth it, but I suppose and hope so.

- How do you live the previous hours?

- Well, I haven't been nervous for a long time, with a brutal illusion and

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