On January 3, 1971, Madrid visited Valencia in a great emotional atmosphere. First day of the year, also first of the second round. Di Stأ©fano was the coach of Valencia. The one from Madrid, Miguel Muأ±oz. Very close friends, even roommates, when they played together, the relationship deteriorated when Muأ±oz, already a coach, removed Di Stأ©fano from the team after the 1964 European Cup final against Inter in Vienna.
Barça led the table, with 22 points, followed by Valencia and Atlأ©tico, with 21. Valencia had won at the Camp Nou 0-2, and Atlأ©tico at Mestalla 1-0. Madrid was fourth, with 19. On the first day they had beaten Valencia 2-0, now they needed to beat them to establish themselves at the top and present a serious candidacy for the title. He was still not seen as a candidate, perhaps because he had not won the League since 46-47. It was too far away.
During the week of the game, a very notable event occurred. Madrid, which suffered a plague of injuries in goal, decided to sign Pesudo, from Valencia. Pesudo had achieved great notoriety in the club at the end of the fifties, went to Barça in ’61 to succeed Ramallets and returned, after five years, to Valencia. But he was already 34 and had lost his position to Abelardo. For Madrid it represented a good solution. But the medical services surprisingly threw him back for finding one clavicle shorter than the other, something congenital that never prevented him from playing. In Valencia, and throughout Spain, they are the humiliation of a highly appreciated, and still useful, player. In fact, he would later play two seasons for Betis, in the First Division, and one more for Tarragona, in the Second Division, until retiring at 37.
Madrid left on Friday in the sleeping car, as was usual at the time, with the idea of waking up in Valencia. But the snow stopped the train in Bonete, at six in the morning. The train returns to Albacete, where several possibilities are being examined: going through Chinchilla-Hellأn and Murcia and then going up through Alicante, which would have arrived in Valencia already at mid-morning on Sunday. Or return to Madrid to restart the trip by air, but there are no places. Or complete the journey in several taxis, but the road is also closed. Finally, at 5:05 p.m. the road opens and the trip resumes.
They arrive at the hotel at 03:25 in the morning on Sunday, after 28 hours on the train and fed with sandwiches. All of this was dotted with negotiations to postpone the game that upset the Valencian fans, who were impatient to play it. There was another anger prior to the Pesudo case: the Federation sent an observer to the match, something that was only done in case something strange was expected. Two years earlier, Madrid had left Mestalla very dissatisfied with the referee, Franco Martínez, who was repeating now. Madrid was accused of having requested the federative delegate, something that the Madrid residents denied.
The atmosphere in Mestalla is passionate. That Christmas the club released the match program, on the English model, given at the door. Abelardo and Pesudo were in the centers. Bags of confetti were also handed out. Madrid is received with anger, and theirs with fireworks and confetti. Valencia comes out with a black armband because the day before a tremendous tragedy had occurred at Ibrox Park, with 66 dead at Celtic-Glasgow. Valencia had scheduled a friendly for Reyes with Celtic, which was suspended. Everything contributed to the emotional charge of the afternoon.
The failed Pesudo operation has put Di Stأ©fano in a bad mood. Having such a legend as a substitute was uncomfortable. Take out these eleven: Abelardo; Tatono, Anأbal, Antأ³n; Sol, Claramunt; Claramunt II, Forment, Pellicer, Paquito and Sergio. Muأ±oz plays with: Borja; José Luis, Benito, Touriأ±o; Pirri, Souk: Miguel Pأ©rez, Fleitas, Planelles, Velأ،zquez and Bueno.
Valencia comes out like a motorcycle and corners Madrid. Borja delayed the goal until the 32nd minute, when Forment completed a good escape by Sergio. In the second half, Valencia keeps its clothes, waits and breaks Madrid’s attacks with the offside trap, into which Fleitas and Bueno insistently fall. He scores a goal through Miguel Pérez, but Franco Martínez notices the raised flag and cancels it. The game ends 1-0, between fireworks. At the press conference, Muأ±oz loses his temper due to the annulment of the goal.
At the same time, Barأ§a loses at home against Athletic. Valencia is the leader for the first time, tied with Atlأ©tico, but with a better goal quotient, and is definitely seen as a candidate. They will win that League, with the coincidence on the last day of their defeat in Sarri, with the tie at Manzanares between Atlético and Barça.
