Big in Japan (and China): Asian faves Eibar end La Liga stay after seven seasons
- ‘My team play Real Madrid’ leave request went viral in China as shareholders travelled to watch club despite visa trouble
- Japanese star Takeshi Inui, in two spells at club, boosted Los Armeros’ popularity in Asia
When SD Eibar were relegated from La Liga, it was not just the 27,000 inhabitants of the Basque country town that mourned Los Armeros returning to the Segunda Division.
Rather, relegation was also felt across the world, including China and Japan, where the team have gained something of a cult following over the last seven years, not least for being the reason for the most shared leave letter on Chinese social media.
In the end it was fitting that the curtain was drawn on lowly Eibar’s time in La Liga with the visit of Barcelona.
Not because seeing the likes of Lionel Messi (who was absent on Saturday) at their Ipurua ground was the last thing on the club’s mind for most of their history, which was been spent in the lower reaches of Spanish football, but because that historic promotion was celebrated with confetti that had been earmarked for Barcelona.
The Catalans saw their title celebrations put on ice and the cut-price confetti went up to Eibar, who share the same colour scheme.