Without a doubt, it is one of the most iconic matches in Madrid's memory. Endorse a hand to Cruyff's Dream Team is something that stays in your retina forever. It was also a January 7, in which there was not a snowfall like the one that is falling today in the capital but there was a severe cold at the time of the game (9:00 p.m.). Of course, there was a lot of heat and an electrifying atmosphere on the pitch and in a Bernabéu that was too small. More than 100,000 souls clamored for sports revenge after the 5-0 suffered ten months earlier at the Camp Nou. It was the famous little hand that Benito Floro 'ate' against a Barça unleashed by Romario's hand.
But that January 7, 1995 was totally different. The whites were trained by Jorge Valdano, who promised to begin “to give back to Real Madrid what we took from them two years in a row in Tenerife.” Jorge kept his word by winning that League in an undeniable way, but the great joy of that course was undoubtedly the hand to the Dream Team of Cruyff, Koeman, Guardiola … I will never forget the passion with which it was lived in the stands. A kind of collective madness took hold of the Classic atmosphere. Stoichkov went crazy and expelled himself with a treacherous entrance to Quique Sánchez Flores.
The fans roared and asked for goals without restraint. Iván Zamorano, hot blooded and warrior, signed a hat-trick imperial at halftime, with Guardiola and Koeman staging their impotence by squabbling over the striking defensive imbalances. In 1-0, the Chilean burst the squad of Busquets (the father of the current Barça player) with a brutal left foot. In the 2-0, Bam Bam faced the Barcelona goalkeeper and beat him low. The ecstasy came when Laudrup, in pristine white, stole the ball from Bakero to masterfully assist Zamorano in the 3-0. The little birds shooting at the shotguns.
In the break, we all imagined a reaction of pride from the Catalans, but the best was yet to come. First with a goal from Luis Enrique, yes, they have read correctly, Luis Enrique. After scoring 4-0, the Asturian, who took advantage of a rebound from the post that would have been Zamorano's fourth, reached for the Madrid shield, addressing the stands in a vindictive tone. The current coach can always boast of having been an active part of that unforgettable hand to Barça … And then came the pithing of the 5-0, requested and claimed loudly from the stands. “We want five!” The dream goal was materialized by Amavisca, that Cantabrian with whom Valdano did not have six months before but who became a key man of that project, along with the also 'discarded' Zamorano.
The 5-0 drew bombastic headlines in the sports press. AS put “Glorious” and used up the print run. It was the perfect Three Kings Gift for the madridistas, who in the second half saw how Cruyff took Romario out onto the field (replacing Bakero) to eat the derision of the debacle. The white fans will never forget that eleven of the glory formed by Buyo; Quique, Hierro, Sanchís, Lasa; Luis Enrique, Milla, Laudrup; Raúl, Zamorano and Amavisca. Martín Vázquez and Alfonso had their minutes In the second half.
It remained forever as the little hand that advanced the Dream Team settlement, as we must not forget that a year before they had lost 4-0 to Capello's Milan in the Champions League final in Athens. Nothing was the same within that historical rivalry between the two. Two 5-0s in less than a year. The bill was paid and the madridistas stayed calm. That little hand is worth many. I will never forget the hug that my father gave me when the referee whistled the end. Those magical nights at the Bernabéu are to be remembered … and lived.