The Legacy of Jorge Valdano as a Player, Coach, and Football Thinker
Argentina has become known worldwide for producing some of the best players in the history of the sport and, overall, they always have some stellar players. In that regard, Jorge Valdano doesn't get the credit he deserves as both a striker and because of the career he had, especially during the 80s.An intellectual who was a lot more cultured than the average footballer, Valdano went on to become a symbol of Real Madrid in the 80s and a key component of the Argentina national team that won the 1986 World Cup against Germany. Therefore, he knows what it is like to play with the best and achieve the best in football.
Fans of Deportivo Alavés - Valdano's first club in Europe
Before Real Madrid
Valdano started his career in his home country of Argentina where he started to make waves with Newell's Old Boys, playing there from 1973 to 1975 as a professional. He would then sign for a Spanish side in the second division, Deportivo Alavés, where the Argentinian would begin to test his mettle.After a couple of seasons there, he would sign for a new Spanish club, this time Real Zaragoza where he would really begin to shine. This would include some standout performances and even rows with players of the caliber of Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, who was considered at the time the best player in the world.
Valdano would also slowly become a regular with the Argentina national team, although it is fair to say that his peak would be in the 80s, under the guidance of manager Carlos Salvador Bilardo.
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Real Madrid was Valdano's last club as a player
Real Madrid and Argentina
Jorge Valdano signed for Real Madrid in 1984 and became a part of "La Quinta del Buitre", a star-studded side that dominated Spanish football in the 80s and was constituted of several Madrid legends. Moreover, the Argentinian would become quite connected with the institution, hence why he played, coached, and worked at the club for several years."Yes, when I was still playing for Real Madrid and witnessed nights like this, I wrote a triggering article about all this called 'Stage Fright' in the Revista de Occidente magazine," Valdano said to Infobae in 2022 when discussing the Real Madrid comeback against Paris Saint-Germain. "It was the first time an athlete wrote for a magazine created by Ortega y Gasset. It talked about the people's senseless confidence, because here we were 1-0 down, there was no room for talk of a comeback. In any case, a comeback was only a possibility in the second half when we were already two goals ahead."
"But here, we won ties when we were losing 5-1, for example, like against Borussia, a German team, when at that time it seemed like they were eating the kids raw and the Bernabéu was filled in a much more precarious manner than it is now. Now there are 60,000 people seated. At that time, there were a lot of people standing, there were a lot of people who cut in line, so there were 120,000 people in the stadium, which clearly contributed to the phenomenon because it was a real phenomenon."
It was also during this period of his career where he reached his peak with the Argentinian national team. He missed the bulk of the 1982 World Cup because he got injured in the second match. However, he was a stellar performer in the 1986 edition, with him scoring four goals, including one during the final against West Germany.
"Is this real life or is this a repetition of the dream I've been dreaming my whole life, of scoring in a World Cup final?" he recalled a few years later. "With the score at 2-0 I remember looked at the stands and saying to myself 'we're world champions'. But I'd forgotten one small detail, which was that we were up against Germany and they never give up."
Management
Valdano's last match was against was a 4-2 defeat against Red Star Belgrade on 4th of March 1987 since the Argentinian began to deal with hepatitis."That day I needed an injection," he told AS several years later. "I thought that would calm me down, but during the flight home I started to feel the same old effects. Unluckily or perhaps luckily, I was sat behind (Real Madrid president Ramón) Mendoza. He looked behind and, seeing my convulsions and spasms, he told me 'Jorge, until you're cured you can't play again as you're putting your life at risk'."
The former Real Zaragoza man retired in 1988 and went on to become a sports commentator first and later on a coach. He had a very interesting stint as Tenerife's head coach from 1992 to 1994, later on taking Real Madrid, winning the 1994/95 La Liga. He would then coach Valencia and return to Madrid to work with the board, which he would maintain until 2005, although he would make a comeback a few years later down the line.
Valdano has become known for his intellect, his cultural knowledge, his passion for literature, and overall for being a very eloquent spokesman for football, which is something that makes him quite a peculiar figure in the sport.
Furthermore, his passion and commitment to Real Madrid has been quite constant throughout the years, with him working at the institution through different positions since the 80s, which is something that very few players can brag about within that institution.
He is definitely a very unique figure and deserves a lot more recognition.