García Calvo, from the Madrid quarry to captain Atlético

If in recent years it has become common for players from the Real Madrid quarry to end up taking the Atlético path (case of Llorente, Morata, Hermoso, Adán, Juanfran and company), It used to not be a frequent occurrence years ago. And less to end up becoming one of the heavyweights of the locker room, as he did a José Antonio García Calvo (Madrid, April 1, 1975) who became part of the shortlist of mattress captains (behind Torres) after having taken his first professional steps as a white player. Two teams that, together with Valladolid, marked the sports career of a central defender who had been through the National Team and who after his retirement dedicated himself to two of his great passions: wine and music.

And it is that García Calvo touched both extremes in the capital's teams. He won LaLiga 1996-97 with Real Madrid, still as a young man who sought to settle in the first team and was key in the rojiblanco ascent after two years in hell, already as a central defender of a lot of hierarchy and a luxury incorporation so that, with Luis Aragonés on the bench, Atlético returned to its rightful place. A rojiblanco feeling that ended up possessing the center-back for life.

Protagonist with Arsenio Iglesias

Returning to its origins, García Calvo came to the Real Madrid quarry when he was eleven years old and he had begun to stand out in futsal and to take his first steps at Moratalaz. Born in Madrid, his childhood and youth were spent in Torrecilla del Pinar, a town in Segovia where he currently continues to travel long stages. Although it was difficult for him to gain a place in the white lower categories, coming out on several occasions, he ended up settling in Castilla when he had already reached the age of majority. A generation where he shared a wardrobe with Guti, Álvaro Benito, Víctor Sánchez del Amo, Fernando Sanz or Koke Contreras among others.

During the 1995-96 season, while Atlético achieved their historic double, the losses of the first white team ended making García Calvo a fixture for Arsenio Iglesias. The coach made him debut with the Real Madrid first team on March 2, 1996, on matchday 29, beating Salamanca 5-0. Since then, he would participate in eleven more meetings that course, including the full knockout of the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Juventus, where the Italian team came back from 1-0 in the first leg (goal by Raúl) with goals from Del Piero and Michele Padovano.

However, the following year his presence in the first team was less. With the arrival of Fabio Capello, he started the championship as a starter against Deportivo, but later he fell from the schemes until the end of the season, participating in only seven games. Of course, he ended up lifting the league title with Real Madrid, which beat Barcelona by two points. At the age of 22, it was time for García Calvo to say goodbye to the white house to seek to settle in the First Division, in a Valladolid where he took the keys to the center of the rear as soon as he arrived.

Signing to get Atlético out of the well

In the Pucelano team he had enormous growth, arriving with stripes and with the title for the 1998 Under-21 Eurocup, where a great generation of the National Team, with Morientes, Celades, Valerón, Guti, Etxeberria, De la Peña, Míchel Salgado, Ballesteros, Víctor and company ended up lifting the title thanks to a lone goal by Iván Pérez in the final against Greece. García Calvo once again stood out as a center-back who commanded the aerial game, shortened spaces well and took the ball cleanly from behind. He would play three more seasons for Blanquivioleta, in all of them as the undisputed starter, until receiving the call from Luis Aragonés with a clear mission, to return Atlético to Primera.

A year in hell had been enough and the coach returned to the club recruiting key players so as not to spend any more time away from the gold category of Spanish football. In a team with Mono Burgos, Santi Denia, Aguilera captaining from the right wing, Petete Correa leaving his claws from long distance, Diego Alonso scoring the goals and Fernando Torres taking his first steps as a star, García Calvo did not think about it despite the fact that Valladolid had achieved permanence in First. He downgraded and took control of the rear, being able to also play as a pivot, and he played 35 games in a season where Atlético finished first and got out of the well.

International award

The central role in completing Luis's mission aroused the interest of Iñaki Sáez, who made him debut with the senior team in the friendly on August 21, 2002 against Hungary. It would also be the game in the qualifying match for Euro 2004 against Greece (09/07/02) and in the friendly against Paraguay in October of that same year for a short but intense participation as international. As an athletic man, he would play four more seasons in the First Division, with a participation of more to less since the presence of Perea and Pablo Ibáñez formed a practically immovable pair in the red-and-white rear.

As one of the captains of Atlético and after 124 games for the club (six goals), which earns him a plaque on the Paseo de Leyendas colchonero, said goodbye to the club in the summer of 2006 and returned to Valladolid to host his last evenings of football. Three more years in First, with a very important role in the 2007-08 season, before deciding to hang up his boots at 34. Although he did not leave the Pucelano team, where he would end up practicing during a year of sports director.

It was his last direct contact with football before turning to his other two passions. And is that his fanaticism for Héroes del Silencio and Enrique Bunbury, whom he had been able to meet in person, led him to found a tribute band to the group, The influence of Bacchus, where he was the singer covering the group maño. He came to play in important venues before shelving the music. In addition, he stayed to live in Valladolid and began to know and study in depth the wines of Ribera del Duero and he decided to direct his professional life along that path. This is how he created his company that is dedicated to the distribution of wines and gourmet products, in addition to being Grand Ambassador in Spain of the French champagne brand Charles Heidsieck.