The love for the vest starts to extinguish with Raul (Yahoo)

Is it possible to play with the love for the vest in times of super professionalism? The question is difficult to respond and will be possible to prove in a few months when the process of extinction of the emblem-players will finish, of those who preferred to continue in the same club before to emigrate and avail of the conditions of the industry of football with exponential growth.

One of the most known cases is, without doubt, that of Raúl González Blanco, icon of the Real Madrid during sixteen years and now who weighs more in the lockers-room as leader and captain of the team who inherits from the strong personalities of his ex comrades Manuel Sanchos, Fernando Hierro or Fernando Redondo.

Raúl, who, in fact, started his career in the Atlético Madrid (always strong rival of the Real Madrid), had no opportunity to reach to the first division in his first club due to a strange decision, early in the nineties, to finish with great part of the youth divisions so he emigrated to another strong entity of the city, and in 1994 he overthrew one great figure Emilio Butragueño, when the current sport director Jorge Valdano, coach in that moment, bet for him.

Today, with 32 years of age, Raúl is not the same as he was, but not because he lacks in spirits but because the Real Madrid made an extraordinary investment in super stars that are leaving him behind (needing new markets and looking for a prettier game that not always is obtained), though they find in him a great example of fight to recover positions and never claiming for the first place even having rights to it.

“I know which is my place and will help from where I will be able because I am a man of the team”, Raul insists in statements that are clear as to his intention to collaborate always, something that the directives of Real Madrid value a lot, meanwhile the forwarder knows well that the fact of not playing continuously and having lost the chance to integrate the Spanish team in the last Eurocup, leaves him too far of the possibility to participate in the World Championship in South Africa, thus to crown his career.

It is needless to extend as to the enormous trajectory of Raul and perhaps the question whether in the next future we shall find players of such ample trajectory in the same club will bolt on observing that the light of his participation slowly dampers and adds to the other footballists with the same characteristics as his though every one somewhat different.

That is how the Milan was left without the emblem of Paolo Maldini (formerly occurred with Franco Baresi) in his defense and shortly will occur the same with Fillippo Inzaghi, meanwhile the Juventus confronts a similar future with Alessandro Del Piero and not long ago assisted to the withdrawal of another crack identified with the whiteblacks, the Czech Pavel Nedved.

Not differently happens in the Manchester United with the generation that saw shine a team full of trophies conducted by the Scotch coach Alex Fergusson at the point of his retirement, that of Paul Scholes, of Ryan Giggs, of Gary Neville, and not very different happens crossing the ocean with Martín Palermo, Roberto Abbondanzieri or Hugo Ibarra (Boca Juniors), or Marcelo Gallardo, Ariel Ortega (River Plate) or Juan Sebastián Verón (Estudiantes) in Argentina.

It also should be cited another player of the Real Madrid, who as Raul, debates as to his future and continues giving a lot to the team in spite of his ups and downs, his polemics and his indiscipline.: José María Gutiérrez, “Guti”, owner of an extraordinary shot and inimitable talent ( it is enough to see the sovereign heel) in the goal of Benzema in Riazor vs the Deportivo last week.

They are different players, those who even played for other teams, in the past, they will be identified with only one vest that they love over the different moments they had in the sport careers.

Does it agree with the present moment that the football lives where the agents of the players need that they change permanently the vest to obtain their commissions for the “job”? it does not seem coherent one thing with the other, it continues being very strange that the Argentine Lionel Messi, in times as these, does not want to listen to any offer as he is so comfortable in the club that saw him grow as football player and person, the Barcelona.

Generally it is on the contrary, most of them go where they receive better payment. It is the rule of the world in which we are living, but that has not much to do with the spirit of sport and what the fans pretend, it is a space that opens between the illusion and reality.

Days ago when the Atlético Madrid won by 4-0 the Racing of Santander in the first match in the semifinal of the King’s Cup in the stadium of Vicente Calderón there was seen a flag reading “we only want eleven Simeones”. It is due because the Argentinean ex mid fielder obtained this strange identification that occurs when the fans note the love of the vest.

Perhaps possessed by this spirit is that finally the players of the Atletico swept their rival but the clue will be that they should always have this character and that may feel the colors of the vest they defend, instead of being convinced by their agents on the advantages of a new transference.


Will this be possible in the future?