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Agustín: "If the final had been against Atleti, we won it"

2020-06-04T14:58:30.576Z


Agustín: "If the final had been against Atleti, we won it": 40 years have passed since the Cup final that pitted Real Madrid against Castilla, its filial team, which eliminated four 'firsts' before taking on the older at the Santiago Bernabéu


Agustín Rodríguez (Marín, Pontevedra, 10-9-1959) was the starting goalkeeper of that historic Castilla that was planted in the 1980 Cup final after eliminating Athletic in San Mamés, Real Sociedad de Arconada, Zamora and López Ufarte and Sporting de Quini, Joaquín and Ferrero. Tomorrow will be 40 years since that unrepeatable final at the Bernabéu and the Galician reminds us.

Before going into the matter, how are you after having gone through a difficult trance for the COVID-19?

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I think it is as if I have already been vaccinated! It was very hard. I started to feel bad on March 15, just when the Alarm State was declared. My head ached, I coughed, I had some fever… I swelled up with paracetamol but it was not improving. I saw that it did not cure me.

What did?

I was lucky that a cousin of my wife is a doctor and she controlled the subject a lot. He put me on medication, quarantined me in my own house and after 21 days locked up I was able to beat the bug. It was not easy, in fact I lost seven kilos. Other companions suffered more. I spoke on the phone yesterday with Castañeda, and he told me that he had to be hospitalized and that he lost eleven kilos. Many people are not aware of the severity of this virus.

Speaking of Castañeda, who was his partner in Castilla, let's get to the point. Tomorrow marks 40 years of the Cup final against Madrid.

Forty already? How old we are.

Tell me about that feat ...

The key is that we were a team in the broad sense of the word. Castilla de la Quinta del Buitre had great personalities, but our Castilla was a block, with quality people like Ricardo Gallego, but there was no other secret than union.

How were they able?

At first it was easy with Extremadura and Alcorcón. We also beat Racing Santander well. But against Hercules, who was in First, the trouble began.

Count, count ...

Hercules thrashed us there, 4-1, and we were already eliminated. But on the return at the Bernabéu we started to score goals, the club opened the doors and we ended up going back with more than 60,000 fans in the stands. There we knew that we could do something great. He discussed it with Casimiro and Pineda, with whom he was always chatting at the gatherings. And that in eighths we had Athletic Bilbao, who a few years later would win two Leagues in a row. At the Bernabéu we tied and nobody gave anything for us in San Mames against the King of Cups. Well we won 1-2 and it was a beastly triumph, with the Cathedral applauding us.

And in rooms?

If you don't want tea, have two cups. The Real Sociedad de Arconada, Zamora and López Ufarte, who had spent months without losing a game and who was ahead of Madrid in the fight for the League. We lost 2-1 at Atocha, but on the return leg the Bernabéu was full. We grew up and eliminated them by beating them 2-0.

Don't be humble ...

Well, it is true that I made López Ufarte a penalty kick. He threw it at me flat and close to the pole, but I guessed it and pulled it out with the tips of my fingers. In fact, they were touched and two weeks later they lost in the League in Seville, against nine, and that allowed Madrid to win that League. We put our grain of sand.

And Sporting de Quini and Ferrero in the semifinals.

De Quini, Ferrero, Cundi ... A great team. In fact, at Molinón we were well beaten (2-0). But the fans believed in us and filled the Bernabéu again for the return. It was a party and we put four in them. And in the end.

Before his older brothers, Real Madrid.

We were not amused.

How do you say

I repeat it. It was bad for us that the first team eliminated Atleti on penalties. Imagine, if we got to play the final against Atleti at the Bernabéu our fans would have taken us on the wing to do another machado, which would have been left for the remains. But facing people like Pirri, Juanito, Del Bosque or Santillana left us blocked, almost without the will to try.

In fact, in the final they dropped six and they could be more.

Our coach Juanjo, may he rest in peace, already warned us before the game that we had nothing to do. In addition, we noted that the club was not very interested in us doing the shoulder. We moved the concentration hotel. In the qualifying rounds we were at the Aitana and we walked to the stadium. Suddenly and without knowing the reason, they sent us to the Navacerrada retreat. And during the week we changed our training several times to not coincide with the first team. Everything was strange in the previous days.

And they played like reluctantly.

We left without a spark, overwhelmed by the situation. On top of that, there were only two thirds of the entrance to the Bernabéu, much less than those that accompanied us in the previous exploits. It was not the day. Look with what anger Benito, Juanito, Stielike, Santillana or Camacho celebrated the goals. They wanted us and it is logical. The press was rooting them and we were going through the roof. The fans themselves were more with us than with them. We paid it dearly. Already from the sixth goal if they approached us and encouraged us ...

But in the end there was a family photo of the two teams and all hugged with the shirts exchanged. You do not appear in the photo ...

I wasn't in the mood for celebrations after we got six. I am very proud and dreamed of that final. Losing is worth, but that way ... That win did not do us justice. It was not the real Castilla.

Doesn't it get anything positive?

Sure. We managed to get the Spanish Federation to change the Regulations and prohibit subsidiaries from participating in the Cup. We were a gang of kids from 19 to 21 years old who lived a dream for months and achieved an unrepeatable milestone. We even played in Europe the following year. All this will never be achieved by another subsidiary. We made history and I keep the affection that people gave us. In fact, forty years have passed and you still remember as I do ...

Source: elparis

All sports articles on 2020-06-04

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