THE FIGHT FOR LALIGA “A monument had to be built for Simeone in the stadium”

Marcos Alonso (Santander, 61 years old) played five seasons as a rojiblanco divided into two stages (1979-82 and 87-89) and five as a Barça player (82-87). As an Atlético player, he faced Barça nine times. Four games won, one tied and four lost. A goal. As culé he played 12 games against his former team with six victories, three draws and three defeats. He scored two goals. He was a mattress technician in 2000-01 in Segunda.

Then we agree that he has a broken heart.

Totally. Barça at home are favorites, but Atlético has been up all year for something. I am one of those who believe that Atleti can win at the Camp Nou. If Granada has won, why can't Atleti win? He has a team to beat anyone. It is essential that Messi does not have the day. Atleti has weapons. Barça will take the initiative, but it can hurt the counter and Atleti is a specialist in that. I would not go to press up. I would wait for them. Barça attacks so much that they all go up and in a loss they can be hurt.

What part of the credit and blame does Simeone have for the current situation?

A monument should be made to Simeone in the stadium. What you are doing is impressive. He is the ideal coach, whether he wins the league or not. If the results are those that mark the lives of the coaches, Cholo's have been very good since he arrived. His way of understanding the game is what has led Atlético where it is. If he is guilty of throwing the team back, he is also guilty of the victories. What you have to look at is where Atleti is and how many years it has been there. That had never happened. It is not worth blaming him for everything now. The club's goal is to be in the Champions League every year and it has been with him.

Let's go back to his time as a gamer. He has been at Atlético for three years and goes to Barça.

They kick me out, I'm not leaving. Atlético needed money. I didn't want to go. I was delighted. I spent almost the last year playing here and I already belonged to Barça. In the end, it turned out that I was sold, they removed me from the team for the last two months and it was difficult for me not to go to the 82 World Cup.

His father, Marquitos, five times European champion with Real Madrid, was his representative.

He was special, as he was. He knew the world of football and it was not easy to fool him. He got a good contract. So I was the most expensive transfer in the history of Spanish football, 125 million.

In your second season, 80-81, you experienced a situation similar to the one Atlético now experiences. On matchday 27, they beat Barça and took 39 points, four ahead of the Catalans, six over Sporting and Real Sociedad and eight over Real Madrid. They lose four games, draw three and are third behind Real Sociedad, champions and Madrid, tied at 45 points and you are left with 42.

As to forget it! That goal for Barça was scored by me. The League was doing very well for us. Very strange things have happened since our president, Alfonso Cabeza, began to make statements against the Federation and the referees. The straw that broke the camel's back was at home against Zaragoza. The referee was Álvarez Margüenda. Robi and I were expelled. We lost. And we no longer lift our heads. They closed the field to us. We also lost at the Bernabéu against Madrid, the day Cabeza invited the Atlético fans to have an omelette at the Calderón. It was incredible to lose that League …

Barça stage. He arrives with Maradona hand in hand …

It was the best stage of my professional career. I won titles, I played well, we had extraordinary experiences. My coaches were Lattek, Menotti and Venables. Menotti was the best. He understood the footballer. He was an advance. All training was done with the ball. He saw football very well and planned the matches like no other.

With Venables he wins the League and loses the Champions League final in Seville against Steaua.

Venables brings Lineker and Hughes. I came from being the top scorer of the team and he took me away to put those he had brought. I said: what is it that I lost my position on the beach during the summer? He didn't know me at all, but he took me away. Then I ended up playing with him. I injured my ankle, but recovered for the final of the European Cup. It wasn't quite right, but I played.

That was worse than the League that lost to Atlético.

It is the biggest trauma of my life. Everything was done wrong from the beginning. It was a bad game. On penalties we missed four. I the last. It stopped me.

The following season, Barça offered him a five-year renewal, but he found out that Venables was going to continue and decided to return to Atlético.

My relationship with English was very bad. I went free. I said no to the renewal and a month later it turns out that Venables does not continue and Luis Aragonés arrives. If I had continued I would have found him and our relationship was perfect. He had had him as a coach at Atlético in the first stage. Atlético offered me to return while Calderón was still president (86-87). I signed a contract, although it couldn't be done and I finished the season at Barça. It was when Gil came to the club and when he saw my contract he said he did not accept it. Not that he didn't love me. What he wanted is for us to sign a new one and break the old one, and we did. We had to lower economic conditions a bit, but I didn't care. I wanted to go back to Atlético. It was my home.