In the summer of 1963, Betis tried to sign Carmelo, Athletic’s international goalkeeper. If he had succeeded, he would have released Pepأn, whose height of 1.70 seemed too small for the position. Signed from Las Palmas, he had been a substitute for two years.
But it didn’t happen, the new coach, Balmanya, trusted Pepأ³n and Betis started the season like a motorcycle: 3-1 to Sevilla, 0-1 to Levante and 1-0 to Oviedo, always with Pepأn outstanding. Now, on the fourth day, Betis visited San Mamأ©s where Carmelo was the one in trouble. Athletic had just lost 4-0 in Sarri, and it was a bad afternoon for the veteran goalkeeper. In Bilbao there was nervousness, because the great team of eleven villagers was disappearing: Gaأnza retired, Garay in Barça, Maguregui in Sevilla… Everyone was celebrating their birthday, new faces appeared and in each position there was discussion between the veteran and the young. The previous League, Athletic finished tenth and looked for a remedy in Juanito Ochoa, a coach with two recent medals: in 61-62 he promoted Deportivo and in 62-63 he classified Oviedo third.
But now he was uncomfortable, and this is evident in his statements from the evening before. He complains about intolerance towards veterans, about impatience with young people. Ask San Mamés to help, to give him breathing room to calmly modify the equipment. Carmelo was among those discussed for the presence of Iribar, who had only played two and a half games the previous year due to the veteran’s injury, but his enormous quality was already present. At 33 years old, Carmelo gave the impression of being nervous for the first time.
That October 6, 1963, people went to San Mamés. The alignment was discussed in almost all of his positions. What if Carmelo or Iribar, what if Echeberria or Etura, what if Iturriaga or Mauri, what if Artetxe or Sأ،ez, what if Arieta or Menchaca, what if Plأ،cido or Latorre. Athletic and the Andalusian teams had a certain resentment. Those from the South accused Athletic of flooding San Mamés, which was true; Athletic accused those from the South of receiving him on the field without watering it all week, dry and bare, and it was also true.
The prospect of receiving a Betis in such shape was disturbing. The match begins with Betis grouped behind and in their first start, in the 6th minute, a cross from Molina was headed very forcefully by Ansola; The ball comes out in a parabola, very loose, easy for Carmelo, but when he tries to block it, one of his hands collides with the post and sneaks in. A gift. Athletic continues to attack, but in the 35th minute, Betis’ only corner in the entire match ends in a weak shot by Pallarأ©s that catches Carmelo off guard.
At half-time the two goals are the talk. The second half is pure offensive by Athletic, but little Pepأn grows bigger. He makes extraordinary saves and only concedes one goal, the work of Iأ±aki Sأ،ez after a rebound from Mauri. Athletic has thrown 18 corners to Betis’s one, the Andalusian midfield has been played almost the entire game, but the result is 1-2. Betis returns to Seville as a consolidated leader and Athletic is second to last. For Carmelo it will be the end at Athletic after 14 seasons. The following Sunday Iribar will play in Mestalla and will be the starter for the remainder.
At the end of the League Carmelo was transferred to Espanyol, with whom he would now play in the Cup. There he would still perform three seasons at a very good level. That week, the coach, Villalonga, gives the list for the second leg of the Euro Cup tie against Northern Ireland. In the first leg we tied 1-1, we have to win there. He mentions three goalkeepers: Araquistain, Carmelo and Pepأn, who at 31 years old had never been called up. Only Araquistain, as the announced starter, and Pepأn travel to Belfast. But the Madrid player suffers a strain the day before, so the player plays.
The match is televised and the fans look with distrust at this debutant goalkeeper in his thirties, whose stature is so short for a British field, where it is taken for granted that high crosses and charges will rain down on him. But he keeps the door open with his electric reflexes and his courage. A solitary goal from Gento gave us the pass, in the 65th minute, but the hero of the day was Pepأn. He would only play one more game in the National Team due to the emergence of Iribar, but without him we would not have passed the round of 16 in that 1964 Euro Cup that we ended up winning with Marcelino’s goal.
