Zubillaga and the scrap truck to save Logroñés

The clubs of life Javi zubillaga are the Real society, with which he won two Leagues and a Cup, and the Spanish, with the indelible memory of the 1988 UEFA runner-up. But there is another that marked his childhood, the CD Logroñés. To know his history it is pertinent to rescue the figure of his father, Caesarean, a native of Donosti and player of the Royal union when in 1951 the Riojan club signed him. “He worked at Discos Columbia and he combined it with football. Although for him this sport was his hobby, in Logroño he was already living from it”He remembers from his home in San Sebastián.

“He played far left and the first year in Second A they managed to play promotion promotion,” says Zubi who explained his father, who scored eight goals that year. That rookie CD Logroñés was second with 36 points in the 1951-52 campaign, but Huesca got in his way. Cesáreo was the involuntary protagonist of that tie: “With a kick they broke his tibia. And they lost”. 4-1 was the result. In the following three seasons, as a result of the injury, Cesáreo Zubillaga only played 13 games and went to Cádiz.

“But he returned to Logroño to live a second stage. He met my mother and they got married. That is why my childhood is related to this city”, Zubi explains. As a child, the family vacationed in Comarruga, where “my father told me about his years as a player and taught me to hit the ball. During the rest of the year we did not have as many opportunities. He worked in the hotel industry and in a workshop. I was studying at the Maristas and I started playing at school and at the Berceo Sports Club “.

Zubillaga Jr. began to stand out as a teenager when the Royal Society became interested in him. “My father was in a contradiction, because in 1974 he had returned to CD Logroñés with other former players to try to save the entity, which was on the verge of disappearing. He had financial problems. Memory the trucks that collected junk around town to sell and get money for the club“, explains the former player. But finally Zubi changed Logroño for Donosti and his career was relaunched.

He first lived six seasons at Real Sociedad in which he won three titles and participated in the best stage of the club. He then played four seasons for Espanyol. The best, the first, the unforgettable and tragic UEFA 1988 lost on penalties to the Bayer Leverkusen. “We went to the games on a charter flight. It was like going with the family, with the team and the fans. Each game was an indelible memory. The final was tough. I don't want to make excuses. Over time you realize that what we did has a lot of merit “, he values ​​as time goes by. One of those fans was his father, who traveled several trips.

Zubillaga hopes that Espanyol will repeat what he achieved in the 89-90 campaign. “We went up to the First. I was already very punished and I told Luis Aragonés that I could not continue. He was very competitive and I saw that I could not give more. I retired at the age of 32, in the 90-91 campaign, “he recalls. Later, he began a stage as a coach and sports director in different clubs, including the Real Unión. There he coincided with Oier Olazábal, current Blue and White second goalkeeper. “At the age of 17 we raised him to the first team and then Barcelona took him.”

Zubi also hopes that Logroñés will be saved, as his father tried so many times, scoring goals and collaborating from the board.