On July 15, 1989 he passed away Laurie cunningham in a traffic accident on the outskirts of the capital. Born in London on March 8, 1956, he was 33 years old at the time and wore the shirt of the Real Madrid between 1979 and 1982. In fact, he was the first English footballer to wear the merengue jersey and the first black person to play for the English Under-21 team.
Cunningham, who also played in Spanish football with the jerseys of the Sporting de Gijón and from Vallecano Ray, died as a result of the impact received when the car he was driving in the La Coruña road, the N-VI, and colliding with a protection bar in the vicinity of Madrid.
Cunningham landed in Spain in 1979 under the pressure of being the most expensive signing in the history of the Real Madrid. The white club paid about 127 million pesetas (as published at the time) to the West Bromwich Albion for the ‘black pearl’ and signed him a contract of 90 million for five seasons. A capital investment for the time that did not have the expected result on the field of play.
As a madridista, he played 66 official matches in which he scored 20 goals. In addition, in his Madrid stage he won a League and two Spanish Cups. Among his most memorable moments is an unforgettable performance in a
Classic played at the Camp Nou on February 10, 1980 (0-2)
, which made him win the ovation of the culé fans.
International with the English national team on six occasions, he played for Leyton Orient, West Bromwich Albion, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Sporting de Gijón, Olympique de Marseille, Leicester, Rayo Vallecano, Charleroi and Wimbledon. It stood out for its elegance, one-on-one skill and versatility in attack. With the same speed that the band ran, they left this world 32 years ago.