THE REPORT “Scary, no; but it was unpleasant and dangerous”

Tonight, Real Madrid will visit the brand new El Sadar stadium for the first time and also without an audience. Very few of the members of the expedition will have knowledge of what it meant for the white team to play in the old Sadar against Osasuna in the 1980s. Only the delegate, Miguel Porlan, Chendo, lived that rivalry live and can tell first-hand what those matches were like in which the stadium stands disappeared behind the red smoke from the flares and the physical integrity of the men dressed in white was in some danger because the launch of any object that could be transformed into a projectile was the order of the day.

Not even the most veteran fans of Osasuna know exactly why and when that rivalry began with Real Madrid that did not exist with any other club. In the more veteran 'red' clubs and gangs, a couple of theories are used to explain the genesis and the reasons why the visit of the whites was considered 'non grata'. Because of the ingredients that both contain, they hold a high degree of credibility. In one of the theses, the animosity against those at the Bernabéu travels back in time to the middle of the last century.

In the 1956-57 season, Osasuna got his first win at home against Real Madrid (2-0) and the next, the eve of Kings 1958, at the San Juan stadium, (El Sadar was not inaugurated until 1967) the first serious incidents occurred in the form of an attack on the referee, González Echevarría, by an irate fan who took to the field. His arrest was immediate, but minutes later Marquitos, Real Madrid defender, was hit by a bottle and was left lying on the grass.

The match was about to be suspended and only after a meeting between the Armed Police, as it was called then, the field delegate and the two captains decided to continue to avoid greater evils. The atmosphere was quite rarefied and only the goal of Marañón, which gave the victory to the rojillos, calmed the spirits a bit.

The second version on the antipathy to the Madrid club focuses on the 1962-63 season when on the penultimate day, Real Madrid of Puskas (author of the goal), Gento and Amancio, among others, who were already mathematically league champions, tied at the San Juan stadium and Osasuna ended up descending to Second. In Pamplona it was understood that the whites could have taken the game with more relaxation. The 'rojillos' did not rise again until 79-80 and just the following year, in the first visit of the whites after 18 years, the first incidents occurred.

That supposed resentment of the Navarrese fans towards Real Madrid for what happened in those two precedents, certainly did not affect the relations between the two clubs. Osasuna transferred up to three players consecutively to the club chaired by Santiago Bernabéu. The first was Pachín in the summer of '59. Then, in April '61, Félix Ruiz y Zoco, for six million pesetas. The second was on loan for a year in Pamplona and also the white club left Miche and Serena on loan, who after two years as a rojillo returned to Madrid formed to be European champion with the Yeyés in 1966.

The players who starred in those Osasuna-Real Madrid can speak better than anyone of everything that happened in subsequent matches bathed in controversies and situations that over time have been parked but have not disappeared from the memory of those who lived them. Paco Buyo, due to his position in the goal, was during those years one of the most noted victims for that minority, the youngest and most radicalized, which was located in the lower tier of the southern end, the Indar Gorri rock (Red Force).

Now remember those moments with calm and resignation. “People have more in memory of the day of the firecrackers (28-1-89) that the game had to be suspended, but for us going to play in Pamplona was always complicated. The political atmosphere that surrounded the games was difficult to Some of the public was very hot and, as everything was worth to weaken the rival, the matches were very difficult. I don't know if you can talk about fear, but some of my colleagues (Míchel) refused to take the corners… If it wasn't fear, it was at least unpleasant, worrying. They threw everything at us and nothing happened. “

Buyo is convinced that what happened then is impossible to happen now. “It has not happened for a long time because now they close the field and not for one game, but for four or five and that can send you to Second. The mentality from then to now has radically changed. That environment was good for them. Always. We understood that those games were surrounded by a political issue. The referee did not suspend the firecrackers. We suspended it as we were leaving the field. I told the referee (Socorro González) as I was leaving for the dressing room. you are the goalkeeper and I go. When certain lines are exceeded the referees have to take action and since they did not do so we told them clearly. Either you suspend or we go to the locker room and no more play. The hostile environment against us did not allow keep playing. “

Enrique Martín Monreal is an institution in the Osasunista club. First as a player (nine seasons, 1979-88) and then as a coach in various stages, both in the first team (seven) and the subsidiary (six) he had all those experiences with Real Madrid in front of him. “The sensations that will be experienced in the new stadium and, also without an audience, will have nothing to do with those. For us, historically, the presence of the public can mean 10-12 points a season. It was already happening in my time. The games against Madrid were always special. It was a pretty tense political moment. There was the central government, the attacks … I think it was a more political issue than anything else. The sentiment of society was reflected there, in the stadium. With time everything was subsiding. In the later times of Figo, Roberto Carlos … there was tension but not the same. The people who went to the stadium changed and Real Madrid began to be accepted in a different way. There was desire, but in another way. There were even fans who were going to meet the team at the airport. “

Enrique also believes that the worst afternoon of all was the one that Buyo commented previously. “That day I was already with Zabalza as second coach. It is true that firecrackers were thrown and exploded there, near the goal. I don't know, our players said that maybe Buyo had exaggerated a little, although of course you have to be down…. The best thing is that with time everything happened. For us the stadium was very important. It was real pressure. There was tension, tension with Real Madrid. More than with any other club. It is true that even we ourselves thought that one day anything could happen. The atmosphere was strong, intense. For us it was very favorable because it influenced Madrid, in the referee, like it or not, you had to be there “.

Asked about the fans' favorite 'enemies', Martín dribbles, as in his good old days. “With Juanito they got involved a lot at the beginning, they even took a pig out to the field with his shirt, but when I brought him to a San Fermines for a year, that ended. Later on they got involved with Hugo Sánchez, who was on the march, he they loved those environments. He enjoyed it. And with Míchel they also got involved a bit. He had an image that the public had pointed out and I don't think it really adjusted to what it was. But with the Camachos, Santillana… there were never problems. “

Ricardo Gallego, nine seasons at Real Madrid (1980-89) also experienced the atmosphere of El Sadar firsthand and in October 1986 he was hit in the eye by a chestnut. “Fear? No. Not scared, but it was unpleasant more than dangerous. It was bad. The referee 'shit', but the reality is that everything was created in a corner, young people who were going to fight, not the They let them fool around and they did it. It wasn't even the entire bottom. The rest of the stadium was phenomenal. If there were more from Madrid than Osasuna. That day a chestnut caught me. I saw her on the ground after He hit me. I approached the band because they had hit Valdano with a screw and then he fell. I was lucky that he hit me with the smooth part. His eyes were open and he hit me right. He hit me in the whole center. Since then I have a bad eye. When it is long sunny I have a hard time. My iris does not close at all. I have that sequel for life “.

Memories that are now anecdotal and that explain what those Osasuna-Real Madrid were like. Much more than football.

From a pig with Juanito's shirt to the suspension of a game through the throwing of bottles, screws, chestnuts, firecrackers … and an oil can.

Osasuna's identification with El Sadar is a historical constant that is intended to be kept alive. In the presentation video of 'Red Wall', the winning project of the stadium reform, this message beats: “What is Osasuna? Fight. Pride. Hobby. What is it to be an Osasunist? Emotion. Courage. Surrender. How must El Sadar be? Fearful. Thunderous. A wall for the visitor. The proposal maintains the essence of El Sadar, generating a thunderous, difficult and fearsome stadium that enhances the accompaniment of the team and the pressure of the public on the rival, Osasuna's hallmarks “.

A feeling of the present misinterpreted by a few in those 80s in which each Real Madrid visit to Pamplona was plagued with incidents more typical of a chronicle of events than sports. In February 1981 the whites visit El Sadar for the first time and the battle begins. Guruceta has to temporarily suspend the match because some fans, incredibly seated at the foot of the field, began to throw oranges and snowballs against the goal defended by García Remón. One of them caught up with a linesman. After a futile attempt to evict those fans, the match resumed and ended with a victory for Whites (1-2).

The following year, a pig wearing Juanito's jersey appeared on the grass, with the white end forming part of the white team. In 86 the objects that reached Gallego (chestnut) and Valdano (screw) meant the closure of the stadium for a match. The situation worsened months later in the Cup. The day before there was an exchange of statements between players from both teams and he had to intervene until the AFE to calm down. On the way to Pamplona, ​​in a car accident, the party's referee, Emilio Guruceta, and one of his assistants, Vidal, died. The meeting that was directed by Pes Pérez was not suspended. Despite tightening security, the incidents reached a heightened tone. The referee report stated that its line judges were bathed in wine and that a rabbit appeared among the thrown objects. The Competition Committee closed the stadium again, but the Appeal Committee revoked the sanction.

In January 1989 came what had been feared for a long time. The throwing of objects, including firecrackers, -one of them exploded in Buyo's feet- forced, after two interruptions, the referee Socorro González to suspend the match in minute 47, before the real threat of Madrid players to leave the field. Osasuna won 1-0 with a goal from Pizo Gómez. The Federation closed El Sadar with three games and the rest of the match was resumed at La Romareda in Zaragoza behind closed doors in May. Hugo marked the tie for Madrid.

The incidents with the new century did not disappear, although, it is true that the environment was no longer so hostile. On April 30, 2006, Daudén Ibáñez reflected in the minutes the fall of a “15-centimeter metal oil can” into the field. after the Brazilian Baptista's goal. That same year, On November 12, Casillas fell to the ground when he was hit by a lighter, as picked up by television cameras. Not step over.

The friendly face of the Osasuna stadium was experienced by Real Madrid on May 4, 2008. There he was proclaimed League champion with Bernd Schuster as coach and after an epic match. The whites played with ten almost the entire second half due to Cannavaro's expulsion. Osasuna took the lead in 83rd with a penalty goal scored by Puñal and the comeback came with Heinze injured and goals from Robben and Higuaín.