Lorenzo Sanz, the president of the Seventh and the Eighth

Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo (Madrid, 08-08-1943), died in Madrid of the coronavirus pandemic. Sanz, a Madrid native, was president of Real Madrid from 1995 to 2000. Born into a humble family (there were 10 brothers and he was the eldest of all), he became a doorman for modest teams in Madrid, such as Puerta Bonita. A successful businessman, he started a wallpaper factory. As a very young boy, the football bug entered him, coming to the club as a director in 1985. It would be in that year, when Ramón Mendoza proclaimed himself the winner of the white club elections when he would begin to climb the white board. At that time he was appointed Member of the Board, along with Fernando Asúa, Alejandro Bermúdez, Nemesio Fernández Cuesta, Mariano Jacquotot and Pedro Zapata. It would be ten years later, on November 21, 1995 when Sanz appeared as the new president of the white team after resigning Mendoza (he had won the elections in February 1995), being endorsed by the Members Assembly on February 4, 1996: he obtained 699 yes, 154 no, 21 abstentions and five null votes. His term established that he would be president until February 1999, when the Mendoza stage would end.

With command in the square he got down to work: after falling to Rayo Vallecano he struck down Valdano, then coach, put Del Bosque first and then Arsenio Iglesias, the Fox of Arteixo, but began to build the base of the team that would win the coveted Seventh European Cup: He understood that he had to sign players that excited white fans, but above all, that they change the atmosphere of the dressing room. He signed Suker, MIjatovic (he paid 1,284 million pesetas, just over six million euros in exchange), Seedorf, Roberto Carlos, Illgner and Secretary. In Christmas of that year the Italian Christian Panucci would arrive due to the failure of the latter on the right side. The youth squad Victor also went up and would go to war with Barcelona by the transfer of the Frenchman Karembeu, that he would arrive at Madrid in 1997. Fabio Capello, a prestigious Italian coach, was placed in charge of the ship and would give the staff character. Capello would sign for the Whites on May 20, 1996 as the new white coach. Two years later, Madrid would defeat Juventus in the Champions League Final held in Amsterdam. But in between, the whites returned to regain the league title, Capello would leave due to the bad relationship with some players, his continuous requests for transfers that ended up burdening the president with the appearance of Milan, who wanted to play him back, made him leave. Heynckes arrived, a German coach who had triumphed with Athletic and Tenerife, more Morientes, Karanka, Savio and Canabal. On May 20, 1998, the whites prevailed over Juventus: the long-awaited European Cup, the Seventh, reached the showcases of the Madrid team after 32 years of waiting. He would also lift the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo thanks to a goal from Raúl.

Under his mandate, in February 1999, the club made a qualitative leap with the premiere of the club's television channel: Real Madrid Televisión. TOThe era of great white signings opened with the incorporation of Anelka, for which he paid 5.5 billion pesetas (about 36 million euros in exchange). It was to be the cornerstone of Madrid in the 21st century, but the French failed. But before he had to dismiss Toshack for some controversial statements (“It is easier to see a pig flying over the Bernabéu than for me to rectify”), and he again had Del Bosque. With the Salamanca coach, The Whites raised the European Cup again after defeating Valencia in Paris (3-0), with great versions of the team at Old Trafford (they won 2-3) and against Bayern (they lost 2-1, but with 2- 0 of the first leg served to pass).

After this success, Sanz decided to call elections even though his term ended in 2001. Reaching the club's Centennial (it was celebrated in 2002) prioritized his interest. They were set for July of that same year, but the bomb exploded prematurely: at the wedding of her daughter Mari Luz (Malula as she was known in the family sphere) with Míchel Salgado, player of the squad, José Ramón de la Morena confirmed that Florentino Pérez, his rival in the white elections, had signed the signing of Luis Figo for 60 million euros (10,000 million pesetas, its termination clause). This one won with 16,469 votes in his favor by 13,302 from Sanz. There were also 2,796 voided votes, 344 null and 205 blank. On July 16 Sanz left the presidency of the Madrid club. Sanz returned to his seat at the Bernabéu stadium, until a few years ago, Florentino invited him to the box, of which he became a regular. Rest in peace.