Vividness psychologist

José Hernández Maeso shows the yellow card to Carvajal for taking off his shirt while celebrating a goal against Almería.ISABEL INFANTES (REUTERS)

Since they are in fashion, let's talk about the referees.

Guys, like you or me, narcissistic, impressionable, contradictory... There are weak ones, who respect the will of the majority, and there are brave ones, a virtue that when exhibited, reaches cocky extremes.

In general they are good people, but the psychology of the masses reluctantly accepts any decision they make.

Poor referees, they don't have their own fans.

To take advantage of the arbitral authority, money has been used, the crudest and most corrupt method;

fear, which there are many ways to summon;

or cunning, which is a nice shortcut that intelligence takes to influence.

In this last group there are hymnic characters.

Carlos Salvador Bilardo is one of them.

He owes his celebrity both to his titles and to his somewhat quirky personality.

A man who was obsessive in detail, austere, superstitious and with a pragmatic sense that, at times, dragged him beyond ethical limits.

He could be coarse or fine to take advantage.

He is as capable of telling his team's doctor that opponents should be stepped on when the poor man thought of treating an opponent who was injured near the substitutes' bench, as he is of applying sophisticated psychological mechanisms to obtain a small benefit in a match. .

That was the best Bilardo.

At the World Cup in Mexico, at the end of a qualifying round match, we were in the locker room celebrating the victory with childish happiness and Bilardo appeared like a man possessed:

"Valdano," he told me, "give me your shirt."

- And so?

-I asked for.

- Arppi Filho asked me for it.

- And who is that?

- A Brazilian referee.

I told him that if he asked for my shirt on a team in which Maradona played, he would be out of line, but it was no joke:

- Give me give me give me…

Anxious as he was, he pulled off my shirt and

El Gringo

Giusti, a magnificent teammate who was in fifth grade in

Bilardology

, closed the chapter:

- Don't

worry

, he's going to get something in return.

I received the comment with indifference, without really knowing how to interpret it, because I couldn't imagine what kind of advantage a coach can get by giving away a player's jersey.

The World Cup progressed with very strong emotions and 20 days after that episode we earned the right to play in the World Cup final.

Never, neither as a player nor as a coach nor as a commentator, have I been kept awake by the referees, but on that occasion the appointment made me smile: the referee of the match would be Mr. Arppi Filho.

Busy as he was with all the fears that lurk before the game of your life, I didn't give it any importance.

But Bilardo was a man who considered any insignificance from which he could gain a small advantage critical, and he knew the human soul in depth, so here he found an opportunity tailored to him.

On the day of the Final, before playing the game on the board, he began his technical talk with a recommendation that defined his profile and agreed with my fellow

Billardologist

:

- The only one who complains to the referee is Valdano.

You have to be a very son of a bitch to give a yellow card to a player who gave you his shirt.

So that day, among my heavy football missions, was harassing Arppi Filho, a great referee, throughout the game.

As our unsurpassed vividness psychologist had predicted, without disciplinary consequences.

On the contrary, my friend Arppi received my protests with surprising kindness.

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