Meeting of illustrious madridistas in Alalpardo

The town of Alalpardo enjoyed a meeting of Madrid legends at its Casa de la Cultura on the occasion of the presentation of the V Vicente del Bosque Tournament. Emilio Butragueño (who received two plaques, one on behalf of the club as director of Institutional Relations of Real Madrid and another in a personal capacity), José Antonio Camacho, Jorge Valdano and Vicente del Bosque, godfather of the tournament since its foundation, were awarded by the organization for the contribution they have made during their career to the world of football. They also received awards, among others, Luis de la Fuente, current Olympic and Under-21 coach; Ana Rosell, sports director of the Women's Real Madrid; the singer Dani Martín; and Iker Casillas, who could not personally collect the award for an engagement abroad.

The event brought together personalities from other clubs and from other fields that orbit around football, such as politics, medicine or communication. Ten days after the market closed, Mbappé's frustrated arrival is still a topic of conversation. The response of Atlético's president, Enrique Cerezo, was surprised, who when asked if he felt relieved by the failed signing replied: “I would have liked that Mbappé had come to Real Madrid because for the competition it would be fantastic and wonderful.” A sign that many presidents see the arrival of the French forward as a new franchise player for the League. “The great mistake of Spanish football has been to let Messi out,” lamented Ángel Torres, which at the time proposed that all the clubs join forces so that Barça could retain the Argentine. The president of the fourth Madrid team in the First Division, Raúl Martín Presa, put his chest out for his brand new signing: “From my humble point of view, Falcao is, along with Hugo Sánchez and Pelé, one of the three best finishers in the history of football “.

Valdano spoke about what he expects from the white team this season: “Madrid is gifted, as always, ambitious, as always, with a very good squad. It is time for young people to lengthen their steps. If Madrid achieves that, they will have many possibilities “, he predicted. And Camacho praised Del Bosque: “I have a special relationship with Vicente. Most of them are teammates on the pitch. Then you have good friends and Vicente is one of those who remain after football. When I came I put myself in his hands and he welcomed me into his home. Vicente is a great exponent of football. “

The event was attended by Ángel María Villar in one of his few public appearances since he was dismissed as president of the Federation in 2017 after the outbreak of the Soule case. Villar was one of the awards and received the support of some of those present. He did not want to speak when collecting the plaque (he did attend the press at the end of the event, but without getting wet about current affairs that affect the RFEF), but Del Bosque asked for the floor to make a plea in favor of Villar. “I am very happy for all the awards, but especially for Ángel's. He has done a lot for the base, women's football, the coaches … I am very happy for the award he receives today.” Camacho, Ángel Torres and Alejandro Blanco, president of the COE, also had words of affection towards Villar.

The organization also awarded our colleague Manuel Esteban, editor-in-chief of AS, for his professional career, who received the award from his friend, also editor-in-chief of this newspaper, Tomás Roncero. In the field of communication, Cristina Cubero, deputy director of Sports world.

The event, which had the journalist Roberto Gómez as master of ceremonies, was also attended, among others, by the mayor of the capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who was also awarded; Paco Díez, president of the Real Madrid Football Federation; and the mayor of the municipality of Valdeolmos-Alalpardo, Miguel Ángel Medranda Rivas, who presided over the table together with Del Bosque.

The tournament, which celebrates its fifth edition after last year's suspension (and this has been moved from its usual date to the end of the season), will bring together on September 25 and 26 in the Madrid town of Alalpardo to the cadet teams of the four Madrid First Division clubs (Real Madrid, Atlético, Getafe and Rayo Vallecano), Las Rozas, Alcobendas Levitt, Adepo Palomeras and the host Alalpardo.