This Sunday, from 19 pm, the world of football will be paralyzed for what will happen at the Monumental. River and Boca, the two most popular clubs in the country, will face each other again in a new edition of the Superclassic.
For more than 100 years of rivalry, several parties remained in history. One of the most remembered is the great comeback of the Núñez team to win 5-4 against Xeneize in the 1972 championship. In the last second the Puma Morete appeared to unleash the delirium of all the Millionario supporters who came to the court of Velez.
The goalscorer, in dialogue with Infobae, recalled this famous match, explained his ease in marking the people of La Ribera and the reasons that led him to wear the blue and gold shirt in 1981.
-If I tell you the word Superclassic, what is the first one that comes to mind? And why did he cross paths to play in Boca?
The same one that comes to you, heh. The famous 5-4 of '72. But there was another classic, in '74, that we beat them 3-1 on the River court the week I got married and scored 3 goals. The marriage brought me back luck. Now in November I am 48 years old married to my wife Graciela, imagine. I was also lucky that all the goals I scored against Boca were to win, always. I didn't score goals to decorate classics, but to define. But the 5-4 of the 72 was never repeated. There were more than 30 goal situations, penalties saved. It was a goal. We won 2-0 and then we lost 4-2. Then I put the tie and in the last second frame that of victory, that's why it went down in history. In '75, when we were champions, I also scored a goal on the Boca court. A 3-2 on the Velez court in the championship. It was always goals that defined the match, that's what was important. In 5 years I scored more than 100 goals in 200 matches. I was sold at the age of 23.
-The negative thing in my career was in '81, when I had to go back to Argentina and I called Rafael Aragón Cabrera, who was the president of River, and I told him 'look I have to go back and I want to finish my career in River'. And he told me that there were Kempes and other strikers. I had Racing and Boca, but Boca was the only one who could afford Sevilla my pass. I had to come back because of family problems. They paid for the pass and I wore the one in Boca. I was champion, but I played little because Boca played without 9. There was Escudero, Perotti, Brindisi and Maradona. The minutes he played he played against the line. I didn't have continuity, but I'm not complaining. In '82 Labruna takes me to Talleres and I score 20 goals in 20 matches. River returned there, but I had already given the floor to Independiente, who was going to sell to Alzamendi to River. A year before River didn't give me a ball, and then he got desperate. Football has these things, which are incomprehensible. I wanted to retire in River. I have 9 goals for Boca, and if I had returned I would fight Labruna about goals in the classics. At the time it hurt, but that's how it is.
- Do you remember the famous goal of '72?
-Yes, both goals. We were losing 4-3 and I think it was 15 minutes into the second half. I grabbed the ball in the number 10 position and faced. I threw it long at Mouzo and when I stepped on the area I crossed it to the archer from left to right. The other was a free kick from the right at the last minute. There was a center past, and I just a meter from the arch inflated the net and ended the match there. They didn't even get off the middle of the court. Imagine what that match was, it was very shocking, and I remember it as if it were now.
That ease of scoring so many goals in a Superclassic is not normal. Why do you think it was?
-The goalscorer scores goals for most, but some team has more difficulty and with another it is easier. I knew I was going to score goals for Boca, and those in Boca knew I was going to score, and I did. I was confident recontra before playing these games. But then there was Hurricane, which was hard for me. I don't know why. In a Superclassic it's not that they're afraid of you, but I do respect. The most important thing for the scorer is the coach's guarantee, that you are going to play the 90 minutes. You can score goals at any time. You know you have 90 minutes to score.
- Do you regret your time in Boca?
-No. The Boca fans welcomed me very well, even though I always scored goals for them. Sure they expected more from me, but Marzolini didn't play with 9 and when he came in he did it wing. I was champion, I met a great squad; but nothing, they are the things that football has. I am grateful that Boca bought me and helped me to return. Sports is another matter.
-In Boca he shared with Maradona. What is playing with Diego and who is up to him?
I didn't just play, but I trained every day with Diego. He trained with mud and his laces untied and his boots did not come off or step on his laces. Seeing him every day, with the things that the ball did, was huge. I also had the experience of watching Messi play and I had the great experience of playing against Johan Cruyff, who is the greatest player I've ever seen. I played three years against him, and what he played... At that time I had 5th or 6th, a tremendous physical development. And with a quality... I scored goals, played, it was something huge. I am lucky that in the last match he played in Barcelona, which was a Copa del Rey final, he gave me his shirt and captain's armband. It was the biggest thing. If I make a podium it's Cruyff, Messi and Maradona.
A few years ago, Jordi, the son, called me. He found out I had his shirt and asked me for it. I told him I understand, but it's the greatest treasure I have. I told him not to offer me money, that I wasn't going to sell it to him. I said 'you can offer me two apartments, whatever you want, but I don't sell it. It remains for me, and then for my son tomorrow. ' What I have in my heart is worth more than anything. It's the best I ever saw.
-A new Superclassic is coming, a scenario that he knows perfectly. What are your feelings?
-There are injured players, in Boca the same. You don't know how they're going to form. I have the idea that it can get complicated for River if Boca attacks him. We have to see if he will, or if he will go to speculate. River hurts locally when they attack him. The teams that came to attack, whether big, small or medium, when they attacked him complicated it. River is a team that by technique, and because of the way the coach is, which is extraordinary, attacks everywhere. I don't know what Battaglia will think, but if he sets up a match by attacking River, it can make it quite complicated.
-He named Battaglia, which last week was the central theme in Boca. How do you see it?
He got things, but you saw what it's like. Two or three games go by where the team doesn't play as many want and they begin to say about the experience and all that stupidity that is always said. The guy made Vazquez debut, who with the previous coach did not play and they desperate looking for a 9. And on the 9th he was in the Reserve. The kid responded and scored his goals. Now Benedetto came and he'll have to fight her. But he also put kids in other positions. They have young people with projection, as does River.
It's like everything, football sucks everywhere. Look what they're doing with Messi in France. Then former players, former world champions like Valdano, come out to speak, saying that stage fright killed PSG. It's a stupid thing he's been saying for 20 years. In the first half he danced it and he should have scored two or three goals. Valdano said nothing about Real Madrid's stage fright in the Parque de los Princes, which did not pass half the court.
You can have your opinion here, but I don't know what's going to happen. You can injure someone, some expulsion or be charged an idiot penalty. The only stain that the Gallardo cycle can have is that it has been won by teams that attacked it. But whoever doesn't attack him dies. It makes you four, five.
-He praised Gallardo. How important is your figure for this moment in River?
-That's all. He is a guy who is in communication with the lower ones, he knows who is the 9th of the ninth and the 10th of the eighth. He knows what you can count on to climb. In Santiago del Estero he played a final, in which he beat Racing. He arrived at 2 in the morning and went to see the Reserve. Not just anyone does that, I'd tell you none. For Reserva players it is motivation to see it there. It's not easy to play at River. Or give you another example. Why is City buying Julián Alvarez? Because of what he does in River. But they don't pamper you there and if two or three games happen where you don't get wet they start questioning you and then lend. It's hard in Europe.
- Do you have to be strong in your head?
-You have to be very hard-minded. The one who is like that, in the long run triumphs. There was a year when they recontradicted me in River; but if I fell, I pooped. If you're not tough and blame, like I don't adapt or family... that sucks. You have to overcome adversity on the green lawn, not talking. That's why you have to be hard-minded.
- Who is your favorite player on this squad?
-I really like Enzo Fernández, also Enzo Pérez. Julian Alvarez, logical. But I'm touched by Simon's back and forth, he has hellish lungs. It goes 80 meters and comes back as if nothing happened. He's a physically touched guy, he reminds me of Brindisi. He had a huge back and forth, besides being a crack. We were partners in Las Palmas and in Boca. Not everyone has that physical capacity and this kid has it. It has everything: it arrives, overflows and throws good centers, not anywhere. He is a future player of the National Team level. And since Scaloni also has European teams in his sights, such as Enzo Fernández. They are players that do not abound in the world.
-Since he moved away from the world of football he has been an agricultural producer. What can you tell us about your new life off the courts?
I have been since '81, when Boca bought me. There I bought some fields in Margarita, in the north of Santa Fe, where Chino Maidana is from. I blew them up when I could, but now they're rented. I also have in Capilla del Señor, which I am an hour away from my house. I've always dedicated myself to that, that's what fascinates me. That's why I didn't take the coaching course. I don't like being a coach, you have to feel it. I dedicated myself to the countryside. I'm very happy. The only thing I have is my lady, who is in a bad health. This is also for the little ones. Although he quit smoking 17 years ago today he has COPD and is oxygen dependent. But I have two children, three grandchildren. I'm very happy. They're really good people. I also watch football a lot, I like to watch English football and now French. And French is difficult, and I say that to the giles who say it is second-rate. You get caught by the descendants of Africans, who are 1.90 and break everything. It's not easy. It may be the hardest of all. They throw themselves, they step on you. Now I look at him for Messi, who is the only one who would pay a ticket. I'm also a big fan of F1 and Max Verstappen. This prick is a monster. I've been after him for three years. When I saw him, I said he's Senna's heir. On Sunday I'm going to have fun, I have F1 in Bahrain and the Superclassic.
He told me that he is fascinated by the countryside, but there are many people who say that he would never go to live in the country
-Because people have no idea what quality of life is. It's not having money, it's breathing oxygen, having a nose for grass, the cow. Talk to humble people. That's quality of life, that's what makes me fall in love with the countryside. Watch the field thresh, take mate. I have a friend in Capilla del Senor, the Vasco, who has a fodder. I buy fried cakes and drink mates. Those are moments. You'll say what a jerk, but that's living and being happy. Being happy is not going to Cancun or the Eiffel Tower. This happiness I find in the countryside is priceless. That is happiness. I have fanaticism for the land. I live in Belgrano, but until Capilla del Señor I have 50 minutes. He took me the thermos and walked, I kick. I'm coming out of the madness of Capital. It's beautiful.
-It is also not easy to work in the field
-It's very hard, you depend on the sky, on the right moment when it has to rain. If the chaucha does not receive water, the plant suffers and does not explode as it should explode. Or you have a lot of water and the whole crop rots. Then you have the government, who grabs it with the countryside. He's the only one who has genuine exploitation. It is the only country in the world that puts withholdings.
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