Last week the Spanish press echoed the story I commented in Portugal about my attempt to sign Rivaldo for him Athletics when he was a sports director. It may seem crazy, but it was the least crazy of the ideas that we had no choice but to try at that very hard time. I will tell you some more example. The truth is that that stage in the direction it was one of the most intense moments of my life and of which I am most proud.
To put you in context, my debut in the offices took place on November 6, 2000. A day earlier, on Sunday the 5th, Atleti was playing 12 noon against Tenerife and we lost 1-3 at home. If the league ended that day, we would be a second division team B. Jesús Gil was a person of very strong character, he was not afraid of anything or anyone, except the white handkerchiefs of Vicente Calderón. Around the stadium there were thousands of people protesting. The President asked me to stay with him. We were both in his office all day, until two in the morning it was impossible to leave. That was the day that I saw the most depressed in our 17 years of relationship. Throughout that day and night I always had my family and friends in mind. They were right, he was completely crazy for accepting such a challenge, also without having any managerial experience. I knew that if I failed all those insults would be for me too. But my red and white heart got the better of me. I gave up a lot more things than you would imagine to help bring the team back to Primera. “Easy Presi, trust me, we are going to get out of this.”
And we went out, but it wasn't easy at all. The team was under legal intervention, there was no money for hiring. Zero. We had to invent a competitive team based on loans and free players. I think we still have the record for the team with the highest number of loans. Along the way, I bet on a boy from the quarry with the face of a Child who ended up becoming a Legend.
I also had the easiest negotiation of my life in the summer of 2001 with Luis Aragones. He had done an extraordinary job at Mallorca that season, taking third place. He had a lot of teams behind him. But when I called him to be my coach, his red-and-white heart did not hesitate for five minutes. He resigned from playing the Champions League to get his Atleti out of second-class hell. Fans of other teams would not understand. They cannot understand it. A signing that we tried at that time was the great Eto’o, to which Luis He was directing in Mallorca and tried to convince him to come to Segunda that year. It was not possible, but I would have loved to see him as rojiblanco. Later, when we got to first, there was another attempt to sign the Cameroonian genius. Can you imagine an attack duo Eto’o and Fernando Torres?
About RivaldoYou will already know from the news last week. The club had already been promoted and he was free from Barça. We tried to sign him by being creative, offering him a 3-year contract, but paying him his salary over six years. It was the only way to pay him.
He was phenomenal with us, in fact we were the first he decided to listen to when he gathered all the interested clubs to sign him. Finally he decided on Milan. I send you a big hug if you get these words. What a crack it was, out of the ordinary! I would have been very excited to see him at the Calderón, I'm sure he would have left a great mark for the fans. Another option that was valued at the time was the signing of Ronaldo Nazario, before the 2002 World Cup. The phenomenon came from the drama of injuries, he had barely played at Inter in the last two years.
If you are patient, take a look at the newspaper library of those years and you will be surprised by all that was tried (and achieved!). As a curiosity, given the lack of budget, among the options that were considered to hire some ‘supercrack’ was what they now call “crowdfunding”. A consultation with the fans to ask if they wanted such a signing and if they would contribute a small contribution to cover part of the salary. If a certain number of donors are reached, the transfer would proceed.
It was never done but I always had the thorn of knowing if it would have worked. Today's salaries and transfers are light years away from then, but I wonder: Will we ever see a club propose crowdfunding to its fans?