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15 - 21 october 2010
Eddie ‘the Ego’ Has Landed Valencia Day EDDIE CAGIGAO, former President of the Torry Army and FC Torrevieja, has been called some names in his time: Eddie ‘the Ego’ is one of them; another is, unbelievably, Eddie ‘the Anti-Christ’ which RTN thinks is a bit strong... RTN met up with Eddie last week, when he explained that he wants to draw a line under the past and start afresh. He said: “Everyone has an ego and to say that you don’t is a lie. I think the nickname is purely a result of the fact that I refused to keep quiet. But why should I when I knew that the club was in danger of collapse?” He is referring to events earlier this year when the club was ‘purchased’ by UK Company, SAMM Inc, believed at the time to be the ‘Knight in Shining Armour’ to rescue the club from the brink. Sadly, that wasn’t the case; in hindsight, SAMM Inc really didn’t know what they were getting into. The company pulled out of the deal, leaving FC Torrevieja to get out of its mountain of debt.
celebrations LAST SATURDAY morning saw the celebrations all over the regions as Town Halls and residents celebrated Valencia Day. In Constitution Square in Torrevieja, the Mayor, Pedro Hernandez Mateo officially hoisted the Valencia flag accompanied by the sounds of the Unión Musical Torrevejense (UMT) who performed the Torrevieja Anthem, the
Valencian Anthem and concluded with the Spanish National Anthem. After the ceremony, the Mayor thanked the Valencian Regional Government for the support that they have given him, his councillors and the residents of the city and especially recognised the €5 million of investment that the city has seen from the Valencia Plan Confianza.
Eddie Cagigao
SUPPORT
and away matches: it started off with ten fans and after a week or so, we had over 70 members!”
Eddie’s hopes that the new Supporters Club (or Peña) will work closely with the club and President Elect Paul Hurrell, to ‘support’ and not to ‘interfere’. Eddie, who owns a local supermarket, felt he might have walked away totally from the club to concentrate on his own life but in May, he and his long time friend and ex-Treasurer of FC Torrevieja, Alex Dunn along with Ian Gully, former Press and Public Relations Officer at the club, started their own supporters club as a traditional Spanish Peña. Eddie told RTN: “All we wanted was a quiet little Peña to support the team at home
The FC Torre Golf Society moved to the Peña with 85 of their members and so now the supporters’ club has nearly 200 members paying just €5 per year. The club is not in direct competition with the Torry Army; in fact, many people are members of both. Eddie explained: “In the new supporter’s club statutes it states that their only aim is to support the football club. All members vote by email on major issues. We learned from the past that there is a need for far more democracy and to allow the members to decide on every-
DEMOCRACY
thing.” He added: “It’s important that everyone has a say. Why would we need money for that? It is a Supporters Club. We would much prefer to get an extra 20 supporters in the ground.” The website is run at his own expense in the UK by Nick Edwards, a long time FC Torrevieja fan. All but one of the ten committee members are exTorry Army. Eddie concluded: “There is 100% transparency. We are all in this together. I want the bickering and back stabbing to end and for us all to support the football club. Paul Hurrell has our full support, we are committed to the club and we wish him and the Manager and team the very best of luck for the remainder of the season.”
The Mayor greets the leader of the UMT
Human statues restricted on city streets THE NUMBER of human statues on the famous Las Ramblas in Barcelona has been restricted by the city council. Now only 15 statues are allowed in the morning, and a different 15 in the afternoon. Carrying an imitation firearm is prohibited and the plinth on which the statues stand cannot be more than 20cm high. Any wannabe statues must present their CV to the town hall for approval.