El Clásico week is here.
One of the world’s grandest sporting spectacles will once again take center stage, bringing an on rush of memories for supporters that flow as fast as the world’s grandest rivers. Millions have lived through the triumphs, the pain and the absurd — all wrapped into one. It’s now been 87 years since La Liga was founded and Madrid and Barcelona have been setting the table for sporting dominance ever since. The duo have combined for 56 league titles, 47 Copa del Rey’s, 16 Champions Leagues and just for good measure — 16 player of the year winners.
Over 1 billion people will tune in this Saturday to catch a glimpse of this rivalries latest incarnation, knowing full well that the league title may depend on the outcome. Many events have shaped and molded the characteristics that make this match-up of Goliath’s truly special, but you would be hard pressed to find any two that spawn such deep emotions as the transfers of Di Stefano and Figo. One would alter the course of a club forever, while the other proved that all is fair in love and war.
It’s the most confusing, controversial and famous transfer of all-time. Five clubs involved in three different countries and - quite possibly - the personal intervention of a fascist dictator.
Just another day in the life for Los Blancos and La Blaugrana.
In the spring of 1952, a 25 year old Argentine traveled to Spain for a friendly tournament with his Colombian club side Millonarios. As had been the case for much of his young career, his performances were jaw dropping, immediately catching the eye of Real Madrid, Barcelona and seemingly every other club on the planet with a pulse.
At the time, Alfredo Di Stefano was technically on loan with Argentine giant River Plate, who still held his rights. Taking the initiative, Barcelona approached first, entrusting a hard-nosed Catalan lawyer, Ramon Trias Fargas, to lead the negotiations. Wanting to get someone who was closer to the negotiating table, Barca also hired Joan Busquets who lived in Colombia at the time and would be able to visit Di Stefano at a moments notice. Unbeknownst to Barcelona, Busquets was the director of Millonarios’ biggest rivals, Sante Fe. His mere presence at the bargaining table made the Colombian side reluctant for fear of a public relations nightmare.
Despite this, both were dispatched to Bogota in an effort to hammer out a deal.
Millonarios president Alfonso Senior’s initial offer asked for a $27,000 payment in which Barcelona almost immediately refused. Another deal was offered that was accepted by Trias Fargas but when Barcelona’s president Enric Marti arrived in Colombia, the offer was withdrawn. Matri informed Millonarios that he would not pay such an exorbitant fee, and if need be, he would wait until 1954 when Di Stefano reverted back to a River Plate player and would be sold without resistance.
With seemingly all communication cut-off with the Colombian side, Barca struck a separate deal with River and Di Stefano packed his bags for north-east Spain. Meanwhile, FIFA signed off on the deal, despite not possessing knowledge that Di Stefano had left Millonarios without permission and still owing them money. The transfer was thought to have been so finalized that Di Stefano even suited up for Barcelona in a few friendly matches.
Undeterred, Real Madrid president, Santiago Bernabeu, continued to negotiate with Millonarios before finally reaching a deal of his own. He then sent team officials to Catalunya in an effort to convince Di Stefano to change his mind and instead suit up for their eternal rivals.
With both sides filing grievances, the Spanish Football Federation stepped in and decided not to recognize the deal for either Barcelona or Madrid on the grounds that both clubs -- Millonarios and River Plate -- needed to be in agreement and give their consent for the transfer. Somehow, the news of the inner workings of the dispute became very public, playing out in the papers, thus pouring kerosene on a fire that had long been burning out of control. Both sides reverted to political measures seeking popular support in an effort to apply pressure for a favorable decision, something that deeply embarrassed Franco’s regime.
Wanting to squash the debate once and for all, the regime issued a ban on all foreign players from playing in Spain. Fed up with the never ending saga, Barcelona tried to sell Di Stefano’s rights to Juventus. Dual owned, Madrid had to relinquish as well in order for the sale to go through but refused. Barcelona then tried to undo their agreement with River Plate in an attempt to get their money back, but they refused as well.
At an impasse, the RFEF eventually reached its verdict in September of 1953, imposing the startling declaration that Di Stefano would play for alternate clubs over the course of four years. He would first play for Madrid in 53-54, Barcelona in 54-55, for Madrid again in 55-56 and then for Barcelona again in 56-57. The costs for the player would be split and once the share deal was over, the clubs would come to an agreement on his future. Piece of cake, right?
Completely dismayed, President Marti resigned and a temporary commission took over until elections were held. The day after the share contract was signed, Di Stefano arrived in Madrid to begin his first year of the deal but he would never see the second. Barcelona’s new board decided to renounce their claim to him, effectively signing him over to Madrid outright. Two days after the deal was signed, Real Madrid beat Barcelona 5-0 with Di Stefano scoring twice and the rest is history.
Before Di Stefano arrived, Madrid had only won two league titles. Since, they have won 30 -- with the Argentine claiming 8 in 11 seasons. But far beyond the merits achieved domestically was what Di Stefano meant to the capital side on the European stage. With the Blonde Arrow spearheading the line, Madrid won the first five editions of the European Cup with him scoring in every final. His most famous victory was the 7–3 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup Final at Hampden Park, a spectacle many pundits and historians consider to be the finest exhibition of club football ever witnessed in Europe. He won two player of the year awards and scored 216 league goals in 262 games. Without him, Real Madrid would not be the most popular club in Spain and quite possibly the world.
To this day, the actual events of what went down continues to be debated more than Messi vs Ronaldo. It certainly was true that Franco had dealings over the years with Real president, Santiago Bernabeu, and occasionally exerted significant influence upon the RFEF. Many Cules also speculate that one or more of Barca's negotiators were acting as double-agents for Real, deliberately sabotaging the deal to ensure Di Stefano eventually moved to the capital side. Real supporters feverishly brush aside the suggestion of shadow dealings and remain adamant that they simply took advantage of Barca's sloppiness rather than enlisting the assistance of the Generalissimo. Where the truth lies is likely somewhere in the middle, something neither side particularly wants to hear, but the fact remains that Di Stefano’s transfer was history altering and something that will forever link the clubs.
First they threw the coins, soda bottles and lighters. Followed by mobile phones, half-bricks, a JB whiskey bottle and the infamous pig’s head, cut fresh from someones afternoon cochinillo. White handkerchiefs adorned the night sky, raised high by hands in a practice borrowed from bullfighting, only this time, there wasn’t any toro to be slaughtered. No, this gesture was directed at Real Madrid’s new number 10.
Luis Figo signed for Barcelona in 1995 after spending six years with Portuguese side Sporting CP. Starring alongside greats Patrick Kluivert and Rivaldo, Figo won two La Liga titles and a UEFA Winners Cup in Catalunya. He appeared in 172 games, scoring 30 times in the process. Regarded as one of the best players of his generation, Figo was world renowned for his feints, step-overs and seemingly endless array of skills.
Quick, elegant and an exceptional leader- Barca fans revered him.
But more than his skill was what the mere image of Figo in a Barcelona jersey had stood to represent, a symbol of greatness that bestowed on the region a sense of external approval. The world's best player, in our colors, championing our cause. Coming off a league title in 2000, a parade was held as is always the custom. With his teammates huddled close, Figo was front and center on the balcony of the city hall in Barcelona, with his hair dyed blue and claret, mocking Real Madrid's fans after Barca’s latest triumph by chanting, "White cry babies, salute the champions!” For Cules, it was a scene out of a fairy-tale.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid were doing some celebrating of their own, having just come off a win in the Champions League final, claiming their second such trophy in a three-year span. President Lorenzo Sanz was up for re-election and was considered nothing more than a shoo-in. His challenger, Florentino Perez, was one of the richest and most powerful men in Spain. Boasting a fortune of over $900 million didn’t hurt, but what Perez really possessed was an ace up his sleeve.
Perez knew Madridistas loved the taste of winning but if he were able to add a side of revenge at the expense of Barcelona, his candidacy would be intoxicating. So, Perez polled Real Madrid fans, asking which player they most wanted to sign and the answer was Figo. As a result, he promised to bring the Portuguese man to the Bernabeu if elected. In an unprecedented move, he told the clubs 83,967 members registered to vote in the election that if he failed to make the signing, he would cover each-and-every one of their fees for the following season.
“The pledge he made to Real Madrid’s fans was intoxicating," says Diego Torres, a journalist for El Pais in Madrid. "This promise fulfilled all the superpower fantasies of Madridistas. Will he destroy Barcelona with a single cheque? They didn’t give a s--t for Lorenzo Sanz and his European Cups." "Real Madrid fans didn’t want to buy Figo to love him...[they were thinking] 'No, we will buy one of those Cules just to prove to ourselves that we can do it, to exercise our power, but deep inside we despise this guy because he’s a traitor. We will buy him just for the sake of f---ing the opposition.”
Once leaked to the press, Catalunya went ballistic. In an effort to fan the flames of the oncoming inferno, Figo gave an interview to SPORT in which he said:
“I want to send a message of calm to Barcelona’s fans, for whom I always have, and will always feel great affection. I want to assure that Luis Figo will, with absolute certainty, be at the Camp Nou on the 24th to start the season.”
In Spain, each player has a buy-out clause -- an official price at which a club is obliged to sell. The buying team deposits the money with the league and the selling club is seemingly powerless to prevent the departure. Knowing Barcelona would never sell Figo to Madrid, Perez found his opening.
According to Sid Lowe’s Fear and Loathing in La Liga, Perez offered Figo a guaranteed $2.4 million just to sign an agreement legally binding him to Madrid in the unlikely event he was elected. If Figo broke the deal, he would have had to pay Perez $6 million in compensation. If Perez lost, Figo would keep the money and stay at Barcelona. His agents looked at it as an easy payday, while also applying pressure on Barcelona for an improved contract they believed their client rightfully deserved.
On July 16th, the results were announced. Florentino Perez was Real Madrid’s new president and the results weren’t even even close.
Six days later, Figo knocked on Barcelona president Joan Gaspart’s door and pleaded with him to stay. The only chance of killing the deal was for Barcelona to pay $30 million to keep their own player. Making matters worse, Gaspar couldn't stomach the thought of himself being responsible for Madrid’s fans going to home games free of charge. Real finally produced the world record 10 billion peseta fee (£37.5 million) necessary to activate the player's buyout clause. The deal was complete, the betrayal done and another divisive chapter was written to a regional, cultural and political rivalry that stretches to all corners of the globe.
Figo played five seasons for Los Blancos, winning two league titles and a Champions League. Barcelona subsequently went into free fall, suffering three trophy-less seasons while getting over his departure
Despite everything that happened and all of the wrath he endured, Figo has no regrets about his decision.
"In the moment, one sees that it is a unique experience," he says. "I don’t think there’s another athlete that has played with a hundred-thousand-something crowd against only him. It’s good to remember that."
Writer’s note: Excerpts for this piece were taken from a prior work of mine published by SuiteSports.com. For the entire article please visit http://ift.tt/2gsJPsx
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