The renaissance of football in Reus: "We have gone from a dictatorship to being happy"

BarcelonaWhen in 2019 everything went wrong, surely few people imagined that the city of Reus would continue to enjoy its football. After years of irresponsible management that led to shameful scenes, La Liga decided to expel Reus Deportiu with the season already started in Segunda División. Joan Oliver, former general director of Barça in the first era of Joan Laporta, had managed to bring Reus to the Spanish Second Division for the first time, but he did so by playing so hard that he ended up hurting himself. He antagonized the fans, stopped paying, and couldn't find anyone to sell the entity to. Instead of bringing glory to Reus football, he sank it.

In 2020, Reus officially disappeared because it did not overcome a creditors' meeting. It seemed like the end, with the death of a centenary club. But six years later, more than a thousand people from Reus filled the stands of the Estadi Olímpic de Terrassa last weekend to see how Reus Reddis qualified to play the play-off for promotion to Primera RFEF. If they overcome two ties, Reus will once again have a team in the third division of Spanish football, where they could meet Nàstic de Tarragona to relive the great derby. The first leg of the first round is this Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Municipal de Reus. In six years, Reus has gone from experiencing a sad funeral to being more excited than ever.

of promotion to the First RFEF, in which the name of the city of Reus is once again placed in a position of footballing merit at a state level, I would say that not even a sudden burst of euphoria would have made me imagine a situation as positive and on the rise as the current one", he adds.

"What was done was to look for the club in the city that had the highest-ranked team, and it was Reddis, with a team in Segona Catalana. It was a club that had already been more or less a feeder for Reus at one point, and which ended up voting in favor of joining the project," comments Rauet. Thus, Reus Reddis was born, adopting the red and black colors of Reus Deportiu. Initially, this new team would gather just about 200 or 300 people. But it was the first step of a very beautiful story. "Between all parties, we understood what was needed at that moment. The name of Reus had been tarnished from a sporting point of view, and the decision was made by betting on the union of everyone who could push towards success. It was a challenge as ambitious as it was exciting for so many football followers who had seen a passion disappear that months before it was unthinkable that it would vanish as it eventually did," explains Alexis Gómez. "If you ask me now if I foresaw that things would be like this at that time, when we find ourselves in a semi-professional category and competing for a play-off for promotion to Primera RFEF, in which the name of the city of Reus is once again placed in a position of footballing merit at a state level, I would tell you that not even a sudden burst of euphoria would have made me imagine such a positive and upward situation as the current one," he adds.

Things in life, Reus Reddis qualified for the But if one name has to be highlighted, everyone knows who it is: Marc Carrasco, the coach. "He is everything. He practically invented the project himself. He was the coach of Reus's youth football and revolutionized things so much that many of those players were signed by Barça or Madrid. When the club was collapsing, he achieved the promotion of the youth team in the midst of a crisis. That's why he ends up being chosen to be the coach of the new Reus Reddis. A young coach who looked for players, called them and explained the project to them. He breathes Reus spiritwith two documentaries about Oliver's years in the boardroom

Things happen, Reus Reddis qualified for the play-off for promotion by winning 0-1 in Terrassa and leaving out Barça Atlètic, the club chaired by Joan Laporta, a partner of Oliver in the Reus Deportiu adventure. "It's poetic justice. People don't forget what they did, and when they played at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, they chanted against Oliver and Laporta. Oliver ran the club like a warlord. He was a kind of dictator. For example, music wasn't played over the loudspeakers at the stadium because it bothered him. When Laporta's son debuted with the team, he ordered that his surname not be announced over the loudspeakers. He let the fan clubs die, he ignored the fans... Now, on the other hand, we have an open club, with fan clubs, with good communication on social media, and that understands the city, with ideas like making a jersey inspired by Antoni Gaudí," adds the journalist, who has been key in exposing the mismanagement with two documentaries about Oliver's years in the stands.with two documentaries about Oliver's years in the stands.

"Right now we have five independent proceedings in preliminary phases. The thesis is that it could be proven that it was a scam, that they wanted to sell a club that was already ruined. Their idea was to get it promoted to the First Division to sell it at a good price, but they got their fingers burned. Now we are in the preliminary proceedings and awaiting trial. In some cases, they have even returned money to investors who felt cheated. In other words, they are already admitting some of the facts," comments Rauet.