In an unusual weekend for Spanish football schedules, Real Madrid will start their Copa del Rey season as they will face Olimpic Xativa, a third division team unknown to the general public. At Real Madrid News we are going to explore a little bit more the next rival of Los Blancos.
Olimpic was founded in 1928, following the first football team of the region’s –CD Xativa- disappearance. However, until 1932 the club didn’t become a member of the Valencian Football Federation, and that is why that is its’ official foundation year.
The club was named after a leather football brand of that time, which was called Olimpic. The club founders chose that name because the son of one official at Xativa military quarters’ Otumba regiment had one of those footballs.
The first shirt the team wore was yellow and black striped, although they would later change it for a green kit. Nowadays, they dress in white because the Spanish Football Federation gave them a shirt of that colour before the final of the Amateur Cup they lost 2-1 to Real Union Irun.
In their 80 years of history, Olimpic Xativa have never reached the second division of Spanish football. But that could change next season, because Real Madrid usually brings good luck to the third division teams they face in the Copa del Rey.
Since the 2007-08 season, all the clubs from that league that have faced Los Blancos in the Copa have ended up playing the promotion playoff: Alicante, Real Union Irun, Alcorcon, Real Murcia, Ponferradina and Alcoyano. Of all of them, only Alcoyano was unable to succeed in the playoffs and reach the second division.
