Menorcans Pedro Capo and Manuel Farrando were part of the CF Talavera side that pushed Real Madrid all the way in the Copa del Rey last week.
Farrando was the unfortunately scorer of an own goal on the stroke of half-time that doubled Madrid’s lead, after Kylian Mbappe had put them in the lead with his 58th goal of the calendar year.
Midfielder Capo came on at half time and was part of the second half fightback that saw the third tier side get a goal back with 10 minutes to play through Nahuel Arroyo.
Mbappe restored the two goal advantage on 88 minutes before Gonzalo Di Renzo set up a frantic few minutes with a goal to make it 3-2.
The round of 32 match was played in front of 4,200 spectators at Municipal El Prado.
Pedro Capo and Manu Farrando
Mahon-born Capo played for the now defunct Sporting Mahones before their unfortunate demise, and has gone on to forge a solid career as a defensive midfielder.
The 35-year-old made his debut in the professional ranks with CE Sabadell in 2020 at the age of 29, after helping them to promotion. His first game was a goalless draw against Real Zaragoza.
Since Sabadell’s relegation from Segunda Division, he has played for Eldense in RFEF Segunda and had a year in the Indian Premier League with Bengaluru, before joining Talavera ahead of this campaign.
Talavera, full name CF Talavera de la Reina, was founded by the merger of CF Talavera and Real Talavera CD in 2011 and they won promotion to the third tier (RFEF Primera) at the end of last season.
They previously played in the old third tier, Segunda Division B, for five seasons and also had two seasons at RFEF Primera in 2021-23. Talavera is based in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha.
Manu Farrando, now 30 and born in Ciutadella, came through the ranks at Mallorca-based Atletico Balaeares and has gone on to play for Celta Vigo B, Cordoba, UCAM Murcia and San Fernando, before joining Talavera in the summer.
He scored in Talavera’s Copa del Rey first round win over Majadahonda, and despite his own goal against Real Madrid, also provided an assist to one of the second half goals.
