Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football by Phil Ball

Author:Phil Ball [Ball, Phil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780956101129
Publisher: WSC Books Ltd
Published: 2011-09-06T22:00:00+00:00

Both Barça and Madrid could afford to pay him well, but the crucial fact in Madrid’s favour, above and beyond the political intrigue, seems to have been Saporta’s suggestion that with Kubala already established as Barça’s darling, the town would not be big enough for the two of them – and he may have been right. The two players were always friendly, and eventually played together for Spain, but Di Stéfano was a player who clearly needed to run the show. So, unfortunately, was Kubala.

The disagreements between Fargas, Carretó and Samitier were ruthlessly exploited (if not actively initiated) by Madrid. The Spanish federation, headed by Moscardó, in a move which hardly smacked of coincidence, suddenly passed a law banning the purchase of foreign players. Samitier had already handed over four million pesetas to River Plate in 1953 and had signed a contract with them, while Saporta paid Millonarios 1.5 million pesetas for Madrid’s right to own Di Stéfano until 1954, by which date he was under contract to return to Argentina. Saporta thus removed the Colombian obstacle from the path, but FIFA had given their blessing to Samitier’s deal. The only way to prevent this was to pass a law which effectively blocked Di Stéfano’s official unveiling by the Catalans, just in case the other elements of the plot failed to prosper.

The move worked a treat. Carretó travelled to Madrid to talk to Bernabéu, and in an implicit admission of defeat agreed to release the player and transfer him – to Juventus. Bernabéu is said to have agreed, but no sooner was Carretó back in his office in Barcelona than General Moscardó was on the phone, brokering a deal whereby Barça and Real would share the player for the next four years, a year at one club and the next year at the other, starting, of course, with Real Madrid.

The reception from the Catalan press, muzzled as it was, was incredibly hostile to the deal, and Carretó, because he had signed on the dotted line, was forced to resign. The interim management board that succeeded him, pending the election of a successor, tore up the agreement and handed Di Stéfano over to Madrid, in return for a compensation payment equivalent to the money they had already paid River Plate for his legal release. For 5.5 million pesetas Real Madrid had their man, and the second half of the 20th century in Spain was destined to wear a distinctly all-white look. Two weeks later, Di Stéfano scored four as Real Madrid destroyed Barça 5-0 in the Bernabéu. The subsequent friendly relations between Samitier and Bernabéu, despite the latter’s well-documented dislike for all things azulgrana, is, as they say, a troublesome matter.

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