By
Are you Futre? Well, I signed you. “ Thus began the special relationship they had Jesús Gil and Paulo Futre, the Portuguese footballer who had amazed in the 1986-87 European Cup final and that Gil had just hired. Jesus Gil was Atlético president from 1987 to 2003. He was not an ordinary manager, he became a different person and from the beginning he showed it with something that seemed impossible: the signing of the young Portuguese star, the player who was called to mark an era in European football. Gil had successes and errors throughout his years as president: he won a League and three Cups and saw Atlético descend to the Second Division. turned out controversial from its first day to the last.
Under his mandate he tried in every possible way that the rojiblanco team was important both in Spain and in Europe. He did it by the dropper, but it wasn't because he wasn't looking for it. Gil signed footballers of the stature of Futre, Manolo, Schuster, Kiko, Caminero, Pantic, Juninho, Vieri, Lardín and Hasselbaink. Shining stars, important international players, signed with a checkbook. With some of them he had his pluses and minuses, and the figure of Futre represents him perfectly. “Gil had defects, temperament, sometimes lack of patience … but he was good and generous,” says Futre, for many one of the best players who has worn Atlético's shirt and who always considered Jesús Gil almost as a second father. “If uncles were me, Futre would be my boyfriend”, the president came to say about the forward.
The story at Atlético de Jesús Gil, which marks the 16th anniversary of his death, began on June 26, 1987. On March 24, Vicente Calderón died at the age of 73 after suffering cardiac arrest. Vice President Javier Castedo assumed the presidential functions and May 4 was the date set for the start of the electoral campaign. They presented themselves four candidates: Jesús Gil, Agustín Cotorruelo, Salvador Santos Campano and Enrique Sánchez de León. On June 26, long queues formed at the entrances to the stadium and the voter turnout was overwhelming. Gil had already given a blow of effect when signing Paulo Futre. The night before the elections he presented the crack in the Jácara party room, in Madrid. The media expectation was enormous and, if Gil became president, Futre would wear red and white. It happened like that. Jesús Gil became the twenty-sixth president of the history of Atlético de Madrid. He was 54 years old when he became president and had been a director for five months with Vicente Calderón in 1982. On July 8, he officially took office as president of the club.
“Gil had flaws, temperament, sometimes lack of patience … but he was good and generous”
Paulo Futre
On June 27, Atlético played the final of the Copa del Rey against Real Sociedad in Zaragoza and the president He traveled by train to the Aragonese city accompanied by Futre, devoured by the rojiblancos followers that filled the wagons. On the 30th, after the final, Gil spoke to the squad: “I am a winner, I just want winners and I would like to know who are the players on the squad who do not have that character because those are superfluous.” A declaration of principles. Futre was everything for Gil. It was his great sports love. He built a chapel on the estate of Valdeolivas to baptize the children of the Portuguese star. “Paulo, you have to get married and baptize your children”, constantly repeated.
Enlarge
Baltazar signs his contract with Atlético.
Gil lacked patience to form teams and from the beginning it was devouring coaches and players. In his first year he signed, in addition to Futre, Goicoechea, Eusebio and played Marcos. He threw Luis Aragonés as coach and brought César Luis Menotti. The team finished third. In the second season Baltazar, Donato, Manolo, Orejuela, Torrecilla, Luis García, Carlos and Sergio Marrero arrived. The team finished in fourth position.
The following campaign, with Javier Clemente on the bench, Pachi Ferreira, Pizo Gómez, Bustingorri and Abadía joined. Atlético repeated fourth place. Manolo did make history at Atlético and formed a good pair of forwards with Futre. In the 91-92 campaign he was the league's top scorer with 27 goals.
Rodax and Jesús Gil, in 1990.
In the 1990s Gil continued to hire players. He signed Rodax, striker of the Austrian team, Juanito, Vizcaíno, Pedro, Sabas … That 90-91 campaign Atlético was second and won the Cup, against Mallorca. October 9 arrived Schuster, who left Real Madrid to dress as a rojiblanco, and with which he also had his pluses and minuses. “I have exhausted all possibilities for respecting his beliefs,” Gil said, after an altercation he had with Schuster and his late ankle recovery. Schuster and Gil had shared another passion besides soccer, horses. Even the president gave one to the German midfielder.
Atlético, in the 91-92 campaign, won the Cup again, this time at the Bernabéu and against Real Madrid (as he has always done every time he has been measured for this title against the white team), in a historic night for Gil and all the athletes. That year one of the most bizarre signings took place, Losada's, whom he signed for 200 million pesetas and was disappointing. A year later, campaign 92-93, the Mexican Luis García was the most famous signing, but it only worked halfway. That was the season in which he suppressed the quarry and found Raúl at Real Madrid, and also that of the club's conversion into a Sports Public Limited Company.
“Kosecki is a mercenary, a fool, an asshole, and the sooner he leaves, the better.”
In the 93-94 exercise, Atlético ranked 12th. Jair Pereira, Cacho Heredia, Emilio Cruz, José Luis Romero, Iselín Ovejero and Jorge d'Alessandro on the bench. Caminero, Kosecki, Kiko, Quevedo, Tilico, Moacir, Pirri, Benítez, Maguy and Soler arrived. Caminero and Kiko triumphed, who found it difficult to join the team, but later exploited at Antic's command. Caminero came from Valladolid and Kiko from Cádiz, and they became two important players of Atlético. Two of the best of Gil's stage. Caminero's dribble to Nadal the year of the double is one of the images of that championship, the same as Kiko's goal to Albacete, the day of the title. Kosecki was the opposite. It had exploded in Osasuna, but in Atlético it didn't work and Gil was very tough: “Kosecki is a mercenary, a dummy, an imbecile and the sooner you leave the club the better. “
M. ÁNGEL FERNÁNDEZ
In the 1994-95 campaign, among others, Simeone and Geli, who did curdle. But it was also the exercise of the failures of El Tren Valencia and Dobrowolski. “I cut the black man's neck. I'm sick of putting up with it.” The season could be summed up in that phrase for the Colombian striker. In the 1995-96 season, the expected success finally came. Signed Antic to the bench and Gil joined Pantic when he actually wanted Prosinecki. “Bring me Pantic. Tell me about my payroll,” Antic told him, before the presidential doubts. But Pantic was one of the most profitable signings: 360,000 euros and ended up having a bust in the Calderón. Molina, Santi, Penev, Roberto, Correa, Biagini, Fortune also arrived … Atlético won the League and the Cup, their first double. Gil adorned the streets of Madrid in red and white, walked Imperioso, his favorite horse, and said that of “I can die calm now, Well, I had a dream and I have fulfilled it. “An Atlético, finally, champion.
The joy did not last long. The following year Pablo Alfaro, Bejbl, Esnáider, Paunovic, Tomic …
AND In season 97-98 Gil threw the house out the window. He signed Vieri, Juninho, Lardin, Andrei, José Mari, Jaro, Bogdanovic … Vieri came from Juventus and showed attunement to the president: “I like him because he has balls, like me,” said Gil. He was only there for a year, but he left a goal to remember in Europe: the one achieved against PAOK from the baseline, with hardly any angle. He scored 24 goals in 24 league games. Juninho came from England and showed his great class. A terrifying entry by Míchel Salgado left him with consequences and he was no longer the same. And it also came Lardin, scourge of Real Madrid. “Is your clause 4,000 million (pesetas)? It is very low. They take it away from us”, he went on to say the day of his presentation.
The Sacchi era brought in a lot of signings in the 1998-99 season: Chamot, Jugovic, Mena, Njegus, Serena, Torrisi and Valerón. And the following year there was the descent, in one of the most disastrous seasons in the history of the entity. And that contracted players like Capdevila, Gamarra, Hasselbaink, Hugo Leal, Celso Ayala, Toni Jiménez arrived … It was Ranieri's year and Antic ended again. AND in between the judicial intervention of the club, the Civil Guard in the Calderón and some images that stayed forever. A convulsive stage and the team went to Second.
“I like Vieri because he has balls, like me”
The two years of hell were hard, very hard, but they brought great news: a kid from the quarry, Fernando Torres, made his way and began to forge his legend in the club of his loves. Iván Amaya, Carcedo, Carlos, Cubillo, Dani, Juan Gómez, Hernández, Hibic, Lawal, Llorens, Antonio López, Salva, Sergio and Zahínos arrived. Salva had offers of important First team teams, but preferred to dress in red and white.
Jesús Gil with his horse, Imperioso.
In the second and final attempt to ascend, Gil signed Diego Alonso, Armando, Germán Burgos, Carreras, Colsa, Del Pino, Garcia Calvo, Jesús, Movilla, Nagore, Ortiz, Otero, Stankovic … And, finally, Atlético returned to Primera. And Gil renewed practically the entire squad. Sergi, José Mari, Coloccini, Albertini, Javi Moreno, Contra, Jorge Larena, Esteban … For Javi Moreno and Coloccini, Jesús Gil paid 12 million euros. The president was able to attend, calmly, to the centenary acts of an Atlético who little by little, step by step, began to regain his place in Spanish soccer.