“Gento and Di Stefano raised the announcer’s mood when he came into play,†remembers Alfredo Relaأ±o. The journalist maintained a close relationship with Paco Gento as director of the newspaper AS, and was previously able to see him play at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, when he was starting out in the profession. The Cantabrian had a devilish speed, becoming nicknamed “the gale of the Cantabrian”. Despite a somewhat hesitant start at Real Madrid after his transfer from Racing de Santander, which Relaأ±o compares to the current player in the squad Vinicius Jr, he soon established himself in the team in which he played for 17 years, in those who won 12 Leagues and six European Cups, being the only player in history to hold this last award.
In the video that accompanies this news, Relaأ±o reviews his career in the white club and his value for the institution. In addition to being a contemporary player, he tried his luck on the bench where he did too well. But Real Madrid knew how to honor his efforts on the field by offering him the position of Honorary President, succeeding Alfredo Di Stefano after his death. The Argentine was his partner on the field along with other myths such as the Hungarian Ferenc Puskas, marking an era that went down in history, with Santiago Bernabéu as president.
Relaأ±o is confident in his video analysis that the club’s current leader, Florentino Pérez, will find a way to honor his memory. “After Di Stefano and Bernabأ©u, he is the most important figure in the history of Real Madrid,†he says. When asked about the last days of the player, who died at the age of 88, the journalist defines him as affable and happy with very little: “He came to develop a kind of ataraxia.” With four friends, playing dominoes and walking the dog was enough for him. He thought he didn’t need anything else.
