Last Saturday something happened to me that left me speechless and that makes me especially excited to share with you. In fact, it was the only positive of that bitter derby. As I told you last week, I had the great honor of being invited to the meeting in Valdebebas as ambassador of The league. At around seven o'clock in the afternoon the driver of the transfer company with which he works came to pick me up The league. A 43-year-old man named Rachid. At that time, he still did not know that he is actually the company's chief driver officer and that he had not performed a service as a driver for two years. But when the order came in to pick me up, he personally asked to take care of it.
I asked the driver, do you like soccer? And he replied ‘Oh, if I told you… The last time I cried was at the farewell to Calderon when you took the field with the 92 'Cup
When he received me it was all normal, 100% cordial. A great professional. In the car I asked him “Do you like football, friend?”, To which he replied “Oh, if I told you … The last time I cried was at the farewell to the Calderon when you took the field with the 92 Cup ”. I was looking at my cell phone when that answer surprised me. I put the phone aside and we chatted nonstop until we reached the Di Stefano. Unfortunately I do not have space to tell all his great stories with which he left me with goosebumps, I would need several articles. So I asked him for his phone number so he could write one of them to me. This is the tale of the great Rachid:
“I was born on Morocco in 1977 and Futre has always been my great idol since that end of the Champions 1987 against Bayern
from Munich. I moved to Spain when I was 3 years old and grew up in Vallecas. Since I can remember I was always the Athletics and I managed to convey to my brothers the love for the best club in the world. As a child I had other rojiblancos idols until I reached the Calderon a Portuguese with long hair. I have not had others after him. As a child I would go down to the neighborhood bar to read the newspapers and look for Futre in its pages. It was striking that an 11-year-old boy spent the day at the bar.
One day they told me I was training the Athletics at Vincent
Calderon. At that time football was not like now that footballers live in a bubble. Before it was much closer and you could access the players. I asked a mattress friend of mine to accompany me to the stadium, but we had no way to go. So I told him “Uncle we are walking from Vallecas. From here to the Albufera Avenue and we continue straight ahead until we reach Atocha. While there we will find the field ”. All this with eleven or twelve years.
There we went. After more than two hours walking and asking people, we finally reached the Vicente Calderón Stadium. Destroyed with fatigue but excited. It was the first time I had seen the stadium in person. Until then he had only been in the Lightning. Then came the disappointment: training was over, only the maintenance guys were left in the stadium. I dropped the world.
Since we were there we decided to take a look at the field and cross it from one side to the other. How can I forget my first time in “The
Boiler”. A mix between freaking out and being sunk at the same time. When we were reaching the southern bottom vomit, I suddenly had a heavenly apparition. It couldn't be true. Paul
Futre. He alone, in a tracksuit, freshly showered. A miracle. It also didn't make sense, because players used to park on the north end at that time, but that day he decided to go out the other side.
That day he was wearing a white T-shirt with a huge picture of him on it. He treated us with all the love in the world, we were two children. It was only a couple of minutes. Super nice, he signed my shirt and said goodbye by touching us on the head. We left there super happy. From being very sunk to floating in the most absolute of glories. Another two hours were waiting for us to walk back. But what a blessed two hours! The happiest day of my childhood and adolescence.
From being sunken to floating in the most absolute of glories thanks to Futre. There were two hours to walk to get home. But what blessed hours!
Futre He was always my great idol. When the service request came in to pick you up they called me instantly “Rachid guess whose service there is… ”. He knew they were referring to him. It could only be him. Mr. Paulo Jorge Dos Santos Futre. I haven't worked as a driver for a long time but I would take him to the end of the world if necessary. “
Friends, what am I going to tell you after this? What a soccer player can mean to his fans is priceless. And even less if it is a mattress amateur. On the way back I got out of the back seat to sit next to him as the passenger. I had a great time with him philosophizing about football and our dear Athletics. Feeling that affection is worth more than a thousand trophies. Thank you very much for making me so happy Rachid. Um forte hug friend and Aúpa Athletics forever.