“You’re on a stretcher all day,” they told me; If you knew…” | Relief

He Royal Zaragoza They are a historic club in our country and, like any long-standing club, have in their archive a long list of legends who have worn the white shirt.. Diego Milito, Pablo Aimar, David Villa, Cafu, Pique, Ander Herrera, Valdano, Morientes, Rijkaard… The list goes on and on. Perhaps a notch below are those names who did not have such distinguished careers. in European football, but are much more loved by Zaragoza fans.

One of these players Cesar Lainez (Zaragoza, 47 years old), goalkeeper of that Zaragoza that He lifted two Copa del Reys in the early 2000s.. His serious dealings with knee injuries led to his early retirement at the age of 28. “The doctors told me that my daily life could be in danger. I need to think about the future and I want to be able to run after my son next year.“, he said on the day of farewell. Lainez left with tears in his eyes, with two goblets under his arm and with the greatest pride a person can have: he was the town crier for the Pilar festival.

The story of his injuries is included in the account of the experience of a torn ACL published a few days ago, but his story deserves its own article in itself.. Cesar’s case is very special: the first time he tore one of the knee ligaments, he was at school.. As a Zaragoza footballer, he was injured again, this time due to the unfortunate fact that he contracted an infection caused by bacteria in the operating room. Because of these bacteria He was left without a crusader and, without knowing it, managed to win the Spanish Cup against Real Madrid without having a team.or on one of the knees.

Once he found out that bacteria had eaten up his entire crusade, He kept the secret for several seasons until he was forced to retire.. “Why is this guy doing less? Why does he play and we don’t if we train more?” I understand that many colleagues were thinking something,” he says, looking back. Now, after almost three seasons as coach of Zaragoza’s reserve team and saving them from relegation to the first team in 2017, he has become the main commentator on the team’s day-to-day affairs.

I understand that your relationship with trauma has a long history.

She received her first knee injury at the age of 16, the day before a trip with the U16 team to the European Championships in Turkey. In school, I shot a ball in the basket and got a triad on my right knee (meniscus, lateral and crossed). We are talking about the 90s, then the entire knee was opened and then getting out of this operation was almost a success. I was suspended for six months until I can play football again.

This injury led to other problems with his left knee.

Yes, when one knee becomes destabilized, you tend to lean more on the other and make strange gestures. As I move up the ranks in Zaragoza, discomfort arises, and at the age of 20 I break the cross again, in this case my left knee. It was explained to me like this. The person supports more, makes more gestures with the “healthy” knee.

How was the work in the middle of your promotion through the lower categories of the national team?

In the second cross there is less recovery. I managed to appear again at the Under-20 World Cup, which we played in Malaysia in 1997. I’m still fine, but in 2000 with the under-21 team in Slovakia we qualified for the Olympics. (Sydney 2000). In such concentration, I ran into Dani Aranzubia and noticed discomfort in my knee. Trainer (Iñaki Saez) I wanted him to attend these Games, despite the discomfort. I’ll get married as soon as I get back from training. In the wedding photos I appear on crutches and everything. 15 days later I had surgery in Madrid and it turned out that I had a broken meniscus. During the operation, I caught a surgical virus. I get a high fever and my knee swells, but we find it quickly. I thought I solved this.

What happened to this bacteria?

Due to the operation, I cannot go to these Olympic Games, but I manage to gain a foothold in the elite. I’m playing the Spanish Cup in Seville against Celta de Vigo. (0(5) – 0(4), Zaragoza win on penalties). Over time I notice instability in my knee. At 23, I had confirmation that one of my knees was not crossed. The virus itself ate the ligament.

What was it like playing without a crusader until you retired from football?

I keep playing. In the meantime, I visit Dr. Guillem and Dr. Cugat. Cugat told me: “You have had surgery on both knees. If I operate on you, I cannot guarantee that you will get better.” “Can you play like that?” – he asked me. When you know you’ve been injured, it affects your head. I knew that forcing myself to play would lead to premature osteoarthritis, so I thought about it a lot. I knew that sooner or later it would end. The last two years I played without a cruciate ligament. The knee has no stability. I played in the Copa del Rey, the league and the Europa League, so I cleaned up my entire knee in two years.

At what point do you decide to retire?

In England, during pre-season training, pieces of cartilage begin to peel off. We are trying to clean the knee. I had to do nothing from Monday to Friday to be able to play on Sunday. Last year we sat down and I decided that I needed to leave because I couldn’t be in the elite. The knee can’t do it anymore. The club tried to extend the deadline, but I didn’t see myself doing it. It’s time to step aside.

How were the conversations with the doctors?

At the age of 27, I was examined, and the social security doctors asked how I could play like that. At the age of 17 I began to live with pain, but football compensated for it all. As retirement approached, I didn’t see myself competing, which made it even more painful. He already had cruciate degeneration in both knees, and the left one didn’t even have cruciate degeneration. I’m completely disabled and didn’t even have to take an assessment. Using MRI and X-rays, they determined that he was unable to play football or play any sports.

Going back to the knee triad in school, I read that your physical development allowed you to recover. Is that so?

I was lucky that I matured very early. This is illustrated by photographs of subordinates in Zaragoza. For babies, my companions reached to the chest, and for cadets, to the shoulders. I reached 1.81 meters when I was 12 years old. For the first injury, the diagnosis was to take an x-ray to see if the bones had healed. Fortunately, they had already closed and it was possible to work.

What was it like to continue those seasons in the elite despite missing the cross?

I always put my profession above my physical fitness. They already say that goalkeepers are a little crazy, but the fear disappears. I survived this stage thanks to prudence and physiotherapists, they made the process more friendly. Thanks to winning the Copa del Rey in Seville in 2001, we played in the Cup, Europa League and Championship the following year. From being part of the team’s rotation to playing in everything. I played with fluid in my knee on Sunday and had to have it drained to play again on Wednesday. If you had another hit on Friday, exhaust yourself again. The people around me have always created the best conditions for me.

You kept the secret until you retired.

Nothing was known until the day I retired. With a regular MRI, we see that the cruciate joint has disappeared due to bacteria. I can’t say that. Even his classmates didn’t know. It wasn’t something public until I retired. The doctor, physical therapists and rehabilitation specialists knew this. He was taken away secretly. Final of Montjuic (f.Cup final against Real Madrid (3-2)), play without a cruciate ligament if I ever find out… I played someone with a cruciate ligament!

At what point do you know you don’t have a cross?

At first I noticed something, but since I didn’t have an MRI, it remained a nuisance. When I find out, it’s a shock because we have a lot of meetings at this time. Dr. Cugat sat me down and said, “You played 42 straight games, what was your level?” “I think it’s okay,” I replied. Then he said to me: “Come on, why am I going to operate on you?”

When do you communicate the decision to staff?

They were surprised when I made this decision. The last year has been full of doctors trying to get better. He was going to train and named me Kani. (Ruben Gracia): “You don’t play, you come to train and you’re happy.” I was happy because I knew it would end. This was done to extend the internal shelf life it had. I arrived at 8:00 and left at 14:30. At that time people left much earlier, I was strange. “You’re on a stretcher all day, you’re too old,” they told me. “If only you knew,” he thought.

Did the team smell anything about your injury?

There were moments of tension with fellow goalkeepers because there were exercises that I did not do. The coach knew about my injury, but the other goalkeepers did not. “Why does he do less? Why does he play and we don’t if we train more?” I understand that many of my colleagues thought something. In the end everything was known. I understood that they were “flying”, but I could not tell what was happening. It wasn’t a question of stupidity or lack of preparation, but of living with the trauma.