THE PAST RETURNS TO MUÑOZ PÉREZ | MATCHDAY 1: CD ESTEPONA vs. XEREZ CD

Some games are just another matchday.

And some games are unforgettable.

This Saturday, CD Estepona returns to action at the Francisco Muñoz Pérez Stadium for the opening match of the 2026/27 season.

They’ll face Xerez CD.

And on their bench will be Xavi Molist.

Yes. The very same Xavi Molist who managed CD Estepona for nine matchdays last season.

9 matches.
1 win.
8 losses.
0 draws.

A stint that left the team in an increasingly difficult situation and ultimately led to a downward spiral that seemed to have no other outcome than relegation to the 3rd RFEF.

And there was one quote that many fans still remember.

When asked about the team’s situation and his future with the club, Molist replied:

“It doesn’t matter whether one coach is there or another.”

He also spoke at the time of a “very complicated” situation, a “very cruel and very large” physical deficit, and the fact that, despite everything, he liked the roster.

And during that period, other phrases also emerged that stuck in the fans’ memories: “first-stringers,” “second-stringers”…

At times, those press conferences seemed more like an armory than a soccer locker room.

But beyond the phrases, there was an underlying issue. Molist insisted that he had encountered a “very complicated” situation, with a physical deficit that was “very cruel and very large”, and that, given that reality, “it didn’t matter whether one coach or another was in charge”.

Time, however, ultimately provided a different answer.

Months later, we all know how that story ended.

Julen Guerrero and Manolo Sánchez arrived.

A new coaching staff arrived.

A new way of understanding soccer arrived.

And that team, which in December seemed practically doomed...

SURVIVED.

It didn’t just survive.

It started competing again.

It started winning again.

It sparked hope once again.

And it ended up giving Francisco Muñoz Pérez—who just months earlier had been suffering for his team—one of the most exciting nights in living memory.

That’s why this Saturday is about more than just three points.

There’s history.

Because the CD Estepona fans know where they came from.

They know what they went through.

They know who stepped in when all seemed lost.

And they also know that it did matter who was on the bench.

Now Xavi Molist returns to the Muñoz Pérez.

This time, sitting on the visitors’ bench.

And in front of him will be fans who, just a few months ago, were fighting to keep their team from disappearing from Segunda RFEF and who today are facing a new season with more than 1,500 season-ticket holders and a completely renewed sense of hope.

Football has decreed that this be the first match.

Let the field do the talking.

Let the Muñoz Pérez speak.

And let the fans speak.

Because here, no one forgets where they came from.

THIS SATURDAY, EVERYONE IN RED AT THE MUÑOZ PÉREZ.

Because we have a date with the past.

But above all, we have a date with the future.

The journey begins at home.

And we all have to be part of it.