CD Leganes in Leganes

CD Leganes defender Rodri Tarin at the municipality of Leganes in Iloilo

After a 13th place finish in La Liga this season,  CD Leganes decided to adopt this particular slogan: "This season, all Leganés will support C.D. Leganes, but only a few will be SuperPepineros (SuperCucumbers)."

To do that, they had a team that included one of their players, central defender Rodri Tarin, fly over sixteen hours to the province of Iloilo and document their visit to the municipality of Leganes.

Here is the first of a series of videos they put out of their experience in Leganes, done with the assistance of the LaLiga regional office that is currently based here.



Who is CD Leganes? Founded in 1928, the squad reached the top flight in Spanish football back in 2016. They would stave off relegation twice, before settling to just below mid-table this past season. African football legend Samuel Eto'o first played football in Spain with this team as a loan from Real Madrid back in late 90s.

They are considered as one of LaLiga's true up-and-coming sides, managing a run to the semifinals in the Copa del Rey two seasons ago. They also are considered as one of the more creative teams in LaLiga Santander with regards to their social media, whether through the use of clever posters or through their tweets involving fans, players, and even opposing clubs. Take this, for example.

☀️ Good Morning! 🎵 It's Friday, Friday 🎵 Time to go to the beach in Leganes!! #LeganesBeach #PhilippineCucumber 🏖️😎🥒💙 pic.twitter.com/j8MYionwz7

— C.D. Leganés 🇺🇸🇬🇧 (@CDLeganes_en) May 31, 2019

The nickname Los Pepineros came about from the Spanish city's agricultural past, Lega has since adopted the monicker and made it their own. One of the segments in the video sees Tarin looking for cucumbers (called pipino here) in the local market.

In addition, other segments saw Tarin visit a Gawad Kalinga community, check out not only the municipal hall and meet its mayor, Junjun Jaen, but also visit Philippines Football League side Kaya FC.

One thing that can be directly gleamed from the video is the quest to build Filipino support for the Spanish club.

Who is Rodrigo Tarin? The Valencia native and former Spanish Under-17 international is 5'9 and can play either fullback or centerback. He started off his career in the Barcelona football pyramid, eventually reaching FC Barcelona B and becoming its captain, before transferring to Lega this past season. He helped Barcelona win the UEFA Youth League title in 2014, scoring one of the team's three goals in the final against Benfica.

Rodri made 18 appearances for Lega this past season, with fifteen of those coming as a starter.

The team and LaLiga has made note of the welcoming and helpful nature of their sister city brethren during their stay in the country.