10 years without Luis Aragones

Yesand was going to pay the tribute that Pena Athletica Alcobendas wanted to pay to Luis Aragonez just a few months ago by installing a memorial plaque on the monolith in front of the house that was the residence of the legend, but no matter how excited she was, Pepa Fernandez could not even get out of the car. So, at the event, the family was represented by Maria José and Yolanda, their daughters. Luis’s widow has been in a state of contemplation of constant displays of affection for ten years now (the previous one was a bust discovered in her native Ortaleza). As her husband would say, happy without showing off.. Because he forgives, but does not forget that there were those who for a long time denied him bread and salt. While he was a coach and before Euro 2008, reasons came to him. Decade, yes: Aragones died on this day, February 1, but in 2014.

It happened late in the evening or early in the morning, depending on how you look at it. At 6.15, to be confirmed. He was admitted to the Cemtro clinic after an exacerbation of leukemia. He was a child of the Civil War and was born on July 28, 1938 in what was then a city near Madrid, now a district of the capital, making him 75 years old at the time of his death. It was Saturday, so League day dawned. This news shocked the country. Not only football, which, of course, too, but also the whole society, before which his figure has already surpassed. In fact, there are many Louises, but we all know who the one who says Louis refers to.. Just four letters, but so much can be said…

It’s even absurd to recall now the historical trajectory marked, one way or another, that Atlético Madrid in which one day the player went to bed and the next day the coach got up, deciding in a short period of time to treat like you those who were your teammates and became your students. By that time he had won three championships and two cups. Already on the bench he added one and three respectively, in addition to the Super Cup and Intercontinental. With Barça he also won the tournament by knockout, but otherwise, fully clothed, Betis, Espanyol, Sevilla, Valencia, Oviedo, Mallorca… and Fenerbahçe – the only international experience . Before the Turkish national team selection. From 2004 to 2008. Unforgettable.

“Iñaki Saez’s La Roja remained in the first stage of the European Cup, losing to the two teams that would eventually play in the final, surprise Greece host Portugal, and MARCA sent out a commemorative cover on June 22, 2004: Spain Needs a Wise Man.” Said and done… although several weeks passed during which Angel Maria Villar flirted with Benito Floro for the position, although Luiz had to terminate his contract with Mallorca and sign a contract with the Federation, in which he earned four times less than island. Then came the “great sit-in”, an attempt to replace the fury, the 2006 World Cup that didn’t go as it should have, and the decision to do without Raúl (among others).painful media pressure for the return of the Real Madrid player…

And finally, the Euro was won in Vienna. Torres goal. From “his” Torres. “He caught me alone in the corridor before going out into the field. There he pushed me against the wall and grabbed me by the chest. He told me: “Our time has come, Child. You go out on the field, score two goals, and we will become champions.” Then he crossed my forehead and released me.“, Fernando recalled. “I miss him. Luis and this group of players changed history,” he admitted.

Let’s travel back in time to relive that weekend of bad memories. A minute’s silence was observed and the flag was flown at half-staff in all stadiums, but this pain took its final form at the Vicente Calderon. Where the match against Real Sociedad on the second day became a permanent tribute to which We still remember the handkerchief with which the great “Pechuga” San Román, who was a representative but above all a friend (and who went to “search” for Luis only a year and a half later), tried to wipe away his tears, or the impressive silence until the 8th minute, because of the number, and in which Atlético assumed that “to win, win and win, and win again, win and win…” He won, actually scored and rose to first place in the classification, the same one he will also take place at the end of the championship. Diego Costa, Miranda and Diego Ribas scored, but the red and whites’ first goal belonged to David Villa, who celebrated by pointing to the sky. For him.

Diego Pablo Simeone was then and is the coach now. The same one who was coached by Luis when the Argentine, as a Sevilla player, received an offer to play for Atlético: “But what are you waiting for?” The one who, many years later, wrote a letter to Luiz, having surpassed his number of games as coach of Rojiblanco: “I know that Atleti was your life and you know that Atleti is mine too, so I didn’t want this moment to go unnoticed because I know that today only you can understand me.By the way, Aragones became the preface to the only book authorized directly by El Cholo.

Louis’ anecdote could fill an encyclopedia. Any conversation with him at any time of the day or night was an entrance into a land of wonders, laughter and experiences lived for decades. “There are so many that I feel unable to choose just one,” explains Joan Capdevila, for example, the left-back with whom Luiz won the 2008 European Cup. this word Victory in the national team was a reality, and we had never before felt it as anything other than a chimera, an unattainable goal. Louis opened our minds and eyes to realize what we were capable of. That’s what changed everything“Kapevila recalls.

Indeed, he preferred Zapatones to Sabio. “All I know is that I don’t know anything,” he joked. But I knew. And so much that I knew. Ten years have already passed. Ten years without Louis. Always in memory.