Ramón Gómez
07/11/2020 - 9:47
- Clarín.com
- sports
Roberto Daniel Gasparini played all his life with the 10 on his back. Owner of a huge punch, it was hook when the hooks did not exist. Idol of soccer idols. In Córdoba he has his land secured in the sanctuary of the cracks and he even owns a gallery that bears his nickname and his name. And, as if all that were not enough, El Pato is also the man who won a soccer team's Prode. To his own team . A unique event in the history of soccer and sports betting in Argentina. And that not only forced to change the rules of the game that knew to be a passion of the Argentines, but also became a legend that was reconstructed in a documentary.
Gasparini's soccer life began in the Institute, where he was taken by Santos Turza, a discoverer of talents. However, when he was about to sign for La Gloria , Racing de Nueva Italia, the longtime rival, "stole it". And there began his long and successful career as a professional El Pato , who also paraded with his elegance through Rosario Central, Workshops, Students of Río Cuarto and also in Spain, Colombia and Mexico. He even gave himself the pleasure of playing for the Argentine National Team. All without ever losing the tune or the Cordovan humor .
Gasparini is proud when he enters the Mario Kempes stadium and sees the rostrum with his name. "And it is the one with the most capacity. I never dreamed that people would vote for me for that recognition," clarifies El Pato.
Roberto Pato Gasparini and the historic Racing de Córdoba who was runner-up in the 1980 Nacional.
Gasparini today is a proud father and grandfather who cannot help crying every time he returns from Spain, where his children and grandchildren reside. "With my lady, every time we go there, we leave with a smile from ear to ear, but when the plane begins to taxi, we hug and cry like two boys. It is because we know that for a year we will not see them. Fortunately, last year they were in Córdoba and we celebrated my wife's birthday in Córdoba all together, because this year I don't know if I will see them in their quarantine. Hopefully there will be flights to Spain soon, "he tells Clarín , in an intimate chat while crossing your fingers for the coronavirus pandemic to take a breather.
El Pato was born on January 5, 1958 in Córdoba capital. And not all were smiles in his life, which was marked by fire from the day his father and brother drowned when they went fishing at the Los Molinos Dam. However, he appreciates that he still enjoys his mother, although in these pandemic times he cannot give her a hug and a kiss.
Roberto Gasparini, in 2016.
In Córdoba everyone loves them and he tries it every time he goes to see a football match. "I am going to see Belgrano, the Institute and Workshops, everyone greets me. No one ever insulted me on the street. I never went to carry anyone and that is why they respect me," admits Gasparini.
He is a friend of Coco Basile and Negro Marchetta and always liked the style of play of César Luis Menotti, who summoned him to play for the National Team. Be careful, it was so good that Carlos Salvador Bilardo also mentioned it. But it was not easy to take hold with the light blue and white at that time. The 10 was the undisputed property of a certain Diego Armando Maradona and in Argentina, at that time, each team had a 10 that today would have chances of Selection.
What did Pato Gasparini do on the court to become a rostrum? He was the best Racing de Córdoba in history, the one who was runner-up in the National Championship in 1980 with Basile as DT and who became a fable thanks to that move by Prode on the first weekend of May 1984. In the middle was a season in the Malaga of Spain. He was not very lucky. He returned to Nueva Italia and later left Junior from Barranquilla. From Colombia he returned to Argentina to play in Rosario Central.
There, with the Canalla , he was part of the squad that achieved the unprecedented fact of ascending to First and in the following season taking the Olympic round in the highest category. Along with Omar Palma, another talented player, El Pato was one of the figures of the team that played a lot under the baton of Angel Tulio Zof. From there he went to Mexico. Necaxa, Tigres and Monterrey were their homes before hitting the lap again to put on the 10th of Talleres de Córdoba and later close their career with a handful of matches at Estudiantes de Río Cuarto. Always with the ball under the sole. With more than 200 goals scored and with the reputation of infallible every time he executed a free kick near the rival area.
Racing de Córdoba, winner of Prode, went to celebrate on a grill and reached the top of Clarín.
It was precisely thanks to a free kick that Pato Gasparini became the protagonist of one of the most curious stories in Argentine football . And that Argentine soccer is full of curiosities. It happened on the night of May 6, 1984 and everything is portrayed in the archives of the newspapers and sports magazines of the time. And also in a very interesting documentary called "Prode", which premiered in 2020 and travels the world winning awards without the help of chance.
This is the story that would never have become a story had it not been for Gasparini's hit. Prode (Sports Forecasts) was a game of chance that was inaugurated on February 27, 1972 with Francisco Paco Manrique, minister of Social Welfare of the de facto government of Agustín Lanusse, as ideologist. To win you had to hit 13 results of the weekend divided, generally, between First Division and Promotion matches. Almost everyone knows the story ofMercedes Ramón Negrete , the first winner, who took a well for the equivalent of $ 30 million and ended up losing much of his fortune after a string of bad investments and a divorce that led him to star in endless litigation.
The second most famous Prode winner is that Racing de Córdoba team that led Pato Gasparini. Motivated by the vacant well that reached 1.7 million dollars - from the parallel market, the blue of the 80s -, the team led by Pedro Marchetta played a card, which included doubles and triples - by having more chances the value of the bet - and, obviously, the cross in the triumph of the Academy of New Italy, which had coincidentally had to play the last game of the date against the then powerful Ferro Carril Oeste of Carlos Timoteo Griguol.
In full concentration, waiting for the start of the match, the Duck did not come down to snack because he suffered like crazy with that bet in which they already had 11 hits. They had placed a tie between Atlanta and River. Only a few minutes left and River lost. "I shouted it like it was mine because that gave us the possibility of reaching twelve points. I went down the stairs of the hotel like crazy and we hugged with some colleagues," Gasparini recalls.
And he continues: "Negro Marchetta's technical talk was simple. Today we have to win, as we always do. But let's not forget about Prode and the twelve points," Negro said. But the nervousness was stronger. Racing was not playing well at all that night. Until the Gasparini Duck appeared, who showed his magic to draw a great goal that included a little hat. However, Ferro's goal came thanks to an appearance by Héctor Cúper and the team felt the blow.
The tie was not enough. Until El Pato rubbed the lamp again five minutes after the end of the game. Free kick for Racing on the crescent. Caballito's team barrier seemed impassable, but Gasparini saw a crack and hit the goalkeeper's stick. Great goal. Another great goal. And nobody understood anything. There were jumps, shouts, hugs and more improper celebrations of a game in which only two points were played, as at that time. The fans who had populated the stands of the Instituto stadium did not know what it was all about.
Racing de Córdoba, winner of Prode.
Marchetta did not want anyone to find out. He repeated over and over: "It was a triumph for the team. That's why we were celebrating." Until Gasparini, amid the hubbub of the locker room, confessed to this chronicler: "We won the Prode and we invited you to dinner after the game." The correspondent could not accept the invitation because he had to rush back to the agency to write the party's comment. The campus, meanwhile, went to celebrate with a big meal. They even toasted champagne. When the bill arrived, bulging by the way, the cock was made quickly and the man who lacked the handle did not even think to grumble: "Tomorrow with Prode's money I will return it to you," they said to the man who covered his part.
However, there was a detail that the Racing de Córdoba players. There were 94 winners and, with so many divisions, added to the division between the squad, several players had to put money out of their pocket to return what they spent on dinner . Others were able to make a few small fixes at home ... But not much else. The important thing: the feat was accomplished. And there was more: the national government decreed that soccer teams could not bet on Prode. Not even making it a winner like the Gasparini team did.
"We live an unforgettable night, but the award, in the end, was useless," sentenced El Pato. And he says goodbye with a laugh.
Cordova. Correspondent.