Touching applause from Deportivo fans to say goodbye to the eternal Arseni Iglesias: “You are God”

Author: M.MP.B

Endless fans of Deportivo offered theirs a final salute to Arsenio Iglesias. Hundreds of fans formed a long corridor that passed through the funeral procession of the eternal former football player and coach after leaving the Riazor Stadium, where the burning chapel remained open until noon this Saturday. The blue and white idol died on Friday at the age of 92 in his home in A Coruña.

AND a thunderous ovation, enveloped in sudden silence streets that are usually busy and soccer-oriented like Manuel Murguía, the one that passes through the Tribune stands at the A Coruña Stadium, paid their last respects or Bruxo, on the way to the Arteixo cemetery. The vehicle that transported the coffin of the unforgettable Arsenio, all white and hung with sports scarveshe was greeted by the flags of the club of his loves, all decorated with black crepe. “Arsenio you are a god”sang then the fans who chanted the name of the coach who created Superdépor and lifted the first title of the blue-white list of winners in 1995, while several vehicles full wreaths in his honor.

During the morning of this Saturday, as well as in the last hours of Friday, a burning chapel set up at the Riazor stadium it received thousands of fans who paid their last respects to an inimitable figure of sportsmanship. Many called him the father of the club. “I went to the soul of Deportivo, for my father or all the followers of this clubbecause above all he was an athlete like us who really loved the team »said Antonio, one of the fans who were present along with many others, including some public figures, such as former A Coruña mayor Francisco Vázquez, who said: “I came to say goodbye to a friend.”

With the presence of the captain of the current team, Álex Bergantiños, Ian Mackay and Lucas Pérezwho came on Friday evening to say goodbye to their idol, former football players such as Manuel Pablo, Manolete, Traba or Carlos Brizzola, among many others. This one, whom Arsenio trained in Deportivo for two seasons, emphasized the state of a cultured man and connoisseur of all realities of Zorro de Arteix. “He asked me about my family in Argentina, we commented on what the government was like at that time and whether this minister or that one was there. He didn’t talk about fame, he knew him deeply,” he recalled.

More flowers and scarves from endless clubs (Hercules, Burgos, Zaragoza, among many others) circle the path to the burning chapel, through which representatives of Celta passed on Friday, which displaced a large group of managers and former players, as well as Real Madrid, the club Arsenio coached. . Emilio Butragueño, director of institutional relations, did not hesitate to leave Seville immediatelywhere the Whites are playing in the Cup final this Saturday, and to those messages were added numerous messages that have arrived on the club’s phone in the last few hours from fans from all over the world.

The path to Arsenio’s funeral chapel, placed inside the facilities, right at the players’ entrance to the field, became a mural of memory and gratitude. Because the word that was repeated the most in dozens of messages and flower crowns was thank you. “Thank you for making A Coruña an even bigger city”, “thank you for making us believe”“thank you for what you gave us”, “thank you is not enough, because we owe you everything”, read some of the texts dedicated to the unforgettable former player and coach, who is already part of the blue-white legends. his emotional memories children and girls, but also the feelings of those who are far from A Coruña. And that is that the world of football turned to say goodbye to Arsenio Iglesias. “My heart cries because of who my father was,” he said this Friday child. “It’s an honor to learn so much from Arsenio Iglesias,” said another Dépora idol, Mauro Silva.

Surrounded by the 1995 Cup trophy, won by Superdépor, which he turned into a team admired by the entire football world, and his family, at the foot of the coffin the most transcendental coach in the history of Deportivo there was another message in which the words master and eternal memory summed it all up.

“Defeat has never been so beautiful,” said another of the sentences that Arsenio Iglesias would surely draw on his face, that smile so mischievous and full of retrance. As of this Saturday morning, his remains are already resting in the cemetery in Arteix, his hometown, already forever associated with an inimitable character. “You will always be in the hearts of all of Coruña”read another message of love and admiration as eternal as Arsenio.

A minute of silence

As expected, in the match between Deportivo and Alcorcón (which started at Riazor at 5 p.m.), the blue and white hearts were also with Arsenio Iglesias.

A few minutes before the accident, Carlos Ballesta, along with Arsenio’s grandchildrenthey laid a crown of white and blue roses on a large canvas with the image of the coach.

In addition, during the minute of silence, the achievements in the numbers of Zorro de Arteixo were projected onto the lights of the bands, which are used for publicity. The silence was broken again by a thunderous applause in honor of coach Arteix.

Arsenio Iglesias, legend

Since this Friday, the sports society has been mourning the death of one of its biggest idols, Arsenio Iglesias, at the age of 92. Born on December 24, 1930 in Arteix, he was a football player, coach and indispensable reference of the club of his heart. Arsenio started playing football for Penouqueira, a team from his hometown, which was not federal. After going through Ciudad Jardín, Bergantiños and Fabril, on October 28, 1951, Chacho, coach of Deportivo, made his debut against Cuba’s Barcelona at Les Corts. Although the club from Coruña was losing 6-1, Arsenio scored. A week later, he appeared at Riazor, against Español, which they beat 3-1.

while playing football Arsenio studied at the School of Industrial Mastery in A Coruña, with the intention of entering secondary school later. His passion for football got the better of him and he eventually dropped out of school.

in 1957 signed for Sevilla, calls Helenio Herrera, the club where he played in the European Cup and stayed for one season. After Herrera left, Zorro de Arteixo joined Granada, playing six seasons in the First and Second Divisions. With that team, he became runner-up in the Cup in 1959, and coach Benito Díaz called him up on several occasions, although he did not make his debut for the national team. He was loaned from Granada to Albacete, where he played in the promotion league. He returned to the club from Granada, and already in 1965, at the invitation of coach Eduardo Toba, he went to Oviedo and helped the team stay in the First League. He remained in the Asturian club the following season played at Riazor against his Deportivo, drew 1-1 and scored a goal for the Oviedo team. He retired after two seasons at the Asturian club at the age of 34.

In addition to the title of regional coach, Arsenio prepared Fabril seasons 66-67, 67-68 and 68-69. He won the national title in 1969, in the promotion of Puskas, Ríos, Vaz and Kocsis. In the 69-70 season, while continuing at Fabril, and when Roque Olsen resigned on 30 December 1970, he continued to coach Deportivo, leading the team to the First Division. He then also managed Hércules for four seasons, as well as Zaragoza, before returning to Deportivo to celebrate his most brilliant period. From Riazor, he formed the legend of Superdépor, which in the early nineties, with his hand, taught the giants in the Spanish league and became a team admired by the whole world of football.

His successes at Deportivo led him to coach Real Madrid in 1996, replacing the sacked Jorge Valdano mid-season. His last experience on the bench was in the Galician team, which he led together with Fernando Vázquez in various friendly matches between 2005 and 2008.

was the coach who led Dépor in most official matches (566) and the one that led him to his first title, the King’s Cup in 1995. His balance on the blue-white bench was 250 wins, 143 draws and 173 losses, with 758 goals for and 575 against. But, apart from the numbers, his figure is forever linked to some of the great episodes in the history of the century-old club from A Coruña.

Just three years before the rise of sportsmanship the first Cup, won at the Bernabéu In a match played on two different days due to a major storm, Arsenio played in Deportivo’s one-book promotion fixture against Betis in June 1992. “How much we suffered, Martin”, the coach at the time hugged the Uruguayan Lasarte at the end of that match. He also managed Deportivo when they came close to winning the league title in 1994.

But his legend goes beyond football. Arteix’s favorite son, he also has a bust in A Coruña, where he lived, on the city’s waterfront, in front of the stadium. In addition, two years ago he was honored as an adopted son of A Coruña, at the same time that the A Torre sports complex was named after him.

A close and kind man, the idol of female fans who always appreciated his kindness, simplicity and seclusion, he retired from public life due to his advanced years, but he never left, because it is eternal.