“For them he is like Maradona” | Relief

From July 25, 1995 to June 23, 2000. From his move to Real Oviedo after two seasons where he failed to perform as expected at Real Madrid, to his tragic death while on holiday in Thailand. “It’s been 24 years, how time flies” – Paco Sanz, colleague and close friend Peter Dubovskywhich even today refers to the figure of the Slovak who became a football legend not only of his country, but also from Oviedo. It is this Sunday, 24 years after saying goodbye, that the Carbayon team will try to return to the First Division, and the Cordoba team of Ivan Ani, another of their friends in that dressing room, to the Second. Things of fate.

He arrived in Spain after becoming Tearly breath of Slovan Bratislava, with which he made his debut at the age of 17 and with which he won the championship in 1992 after 17 years as Czech champion. Josep Maria Minghella discovered him during one of his European tours, and Ramon Mendoza’s Real Madrid eventually paid 500 million pesetas – three million euros at the exchange rate – to hire him. “He arrived at Real Madrid too early,” those who lived through those two years in white told Relevo. “It was the kind of signing that the signing of Arda Guler could be like at the moment.. A young player who promises to be one of the best European players. He has already played an important role in his team,” says Oliverio Jesus Alvarez Gonzalez. Oliwho also shared a locker room with Dubovsky at Oviedo.

Slovan’s idol, at the age of 19 he already made his debut for the Czechoslovakian national team, and at the age of 21 he was chosen as the best Slovak player of the year.. “The Slovan fans soon fell in love with him. And signing with a team like Madrid made him stand out,” Tomas Jurigova, a fan and friend who witnessed the young Dubovsky’s explosion up close, tells Relevo. “When he won the championship with Slovan, there were 40 thousand fans on the field, but he turned to Emil Pazycki, the former Slovan striker. Pazitsky was in a wheelchair. Dubovsky turned and handed him the trophy.“Tomas Schugerl, press attache of the Slovak team, recalled Gradaoviedo explain the special character that made Dubo a myth in his country and which is the reason that the award for the best young man each year bears his name.

“He was a star, with a left leg that no one had seen for many years. Of the ten fouls, nine were in the line-up. It was a spectacle in training,” says Sanz.. “His left foot was perfect, both for the last pass and for long throws. But he was bigger, he had size and control. And he was a great penalty taker,” says Oli, who took advantage of this. quality of the Slovak language. “In my best years in Oviedo, Carlos, Dubo and I played up front. He was not a center forward or a midfielder, he needed to play freely.. But we appreciated his presence,” he adds, explaining the importance he has acquired in the Oviedo team.

But his performances, as brilliant as they were inconsistent, failed to take off at Real Madrid and Oviedo saw an opportunity to sign the star.. “For the first six months he lived with me. Ever since he picked me up from preseason, he’s been staying at my apartment. He felt so comfortable that he was in no hurry to leave. But in January his girlfriend Aurelia arrived and he had to leave,” says Sanz, whom he met on both teams and with whom he developed a close friendship. “We were like brothers, at that time we were Zipi and Zape, always together,” says, in particular, the former footballer of Real Madrid, Oviedo, and Mallorca.

This closeness made him enjoy Dubovsky as a football player, but also as a person who seemed so reserved to some. “It was difficult to get into it, and I understand that some people spoke poorly. It wasn’t gloomy, but it was difficult. But if I introduced him to someone as my friend, he would give you life.. He didn’t even let you take a taxi. He was very gentle,” says Sanz, who still has a framed photograph of the Slovakian in the basement of his Madrid home with San Salvador’s cathedral in the background. “He was an introverted person and he needed to feel like you were giving him confidence. He found it in Oviedo, a more manageable city than Madrid, and in the dressing room. You had to give him love to make him feel important,” Oli adds. who also shared a dressing room with a Slovakian in the old Tartiere. “Like all geniuses, and he was one of them, he had something special,” concludes Sanz.

This Oviedo remains in the memory of the most devoted fans. Like Diego Crespo, photographer and producer, as well as a passionate amateur., which even launched a documentary about Dubovsky, which ultimately remained a trailer. But it forced him to delve deeper into the life of the man who was one of Oviedo’s last great idols. “We had Paulo Bento, captain of Portugal, Onopko, captain of Russia, Peter, captain of Slovakia, Prosinecki… They were a source of pride,” he says of the importance the Slovak has achieved over time.or. “In those 90s, all teams had a couple of stars who were known to other fans. You ask me about Celta, and I say, for example, Gudel or Mostovoy. Now everything is different, the lineups change often,” says He. nostalgia for football of yesteryear.

“Peter was a much loved man, much more than you think when you say that. It sounds like a cliché, but it’s not normal that so many people always say first what a good man he was, even before football.. The contradiction of character seemed cold to people, but those who knew him said the opposite. And he had the desire to do something with his team,” says Crespo, who, during a trip to Bratislava, was even able to see with his own eyes the fervor of his country for the figure of Dubovsky years after his death. “I have a lot of anecdotes that reflect this. For example, in Palma I once met a group of Slovaks, and naming them was the same as if you called Maradona in Argentina or Magico in El Salvador. I told them he was like a brother to me, showed them pictures of him, and they invited me to everything. They carried me on their shoulders,” says Sanz.

Oli, who speaks emotionally about his former teammate, also experienced first-hand the recognition of the Slovaks in relation to the figure of Dubovsky. “My debut for Spain was in Slovakia and I saw what he had in mind there. I have his shirt from that day, as well as another one from Oviedo.. Now at the Euros, when I see the national team, it can’t help but come to my mind,” says the striker, who these days has mixed feelings of joy, remembering his promotion with Cadiz, the excitement of the Oviedo playoffs, but and this sadness every time the anniversary of Peter’s death approaches. “The first goal I scored after his death was dedicated to him. I took out his shirt. The news was shocking,” he adds..

And the memory goes to Thailand, on that fateful day of his death while traveling with his brother and girlfriend. “I remember it very well. My father stood for election in Madrid. He found out about it before I did, came out to tell me about it, and I couldn’t believe it. A few days later I got married and he was going to witness my wedding. ” he recalls, still emotional. Sans. Much was written then about this unfortunate event that put an end to the life of Peter Dubovsky, but the real story points to bad luck.. “The accident happened to him in the worst place that could have happened,” says Sanz, who knew everything that happened firsthand. “On the plane back, his brother gave him a box… He was wearing an engagement ring, and on that trip he was going to propose to her,” says the former football player.

“He loved to take photographs and would go out with a camera at every opportunity. He was hiking with his brother and girlfriend, telling them he was going to take their picture and that they should stay put,” Sanz says. about how the accident happened. But Peter did not return. When they went to look for him, they found that he had fallen and hit himself with a stone. “They talked to him while they called the helicopter. It took three or four hours to arrive,” his friend said.. Dubovsky eventually died from internal bleeding as a result of the blow. “It was impossible for me to walk into the dressing room and see his empty coat hanger. It was hard not to see him anymore. For years his personality crossed my mind,” Ivan Anya said in this documentary that fell by the wayside.

The death of a football player and the birth of a myth. “Dubovsky died after all attempts to save his life failed. He did not regain consciousness,” explained Dr. Chumchok Janwimaluang from Ban Don Provincial Hospital in Surat Thani. “When you die so young, you will become a legend. It was a premature death, but it will make you remember your whole life,” says Sanz.who prefers to preserve all the good things left by Petr Dubovský, a legend of Oviedo and Slovak football.