Arsenio Iglesias, from A to Z

People, places, phrases, anecdotes… Summarizing the sporting life of Arsenio Iglesias and what he meant to Deportivo is complicated. With a dictionary in hand, one can roughly describe what Zorro de Arteixo experienced.

arteixo

The city where he was born

On Christmas Eve 1930, he saw the light in the town of Arteixo in A Coruña, where he has an avenue.

child

A football player who was pampered and treated like a son

The names Arsenio and Bebeto are closely related. The Brazilian star adored the coach like a father.

Carlos Ballesta

Your friend, your confessor

It’s possible that over the years he spent more time with the one from San Pedro than with his own family. If anyone knew Arsenio, it was Carlos Ballesta, for him little more than a technical assistant.

Denmark

The first country we visited with Dépora in the UEFA Cup

After a brilliant season in 1992/93, the club from A Coruña made its debut in European competitions on September 14, 1993 in Aalborg, Denmark, where it was defeated 1:0. In return, they would come back (5-0), with three goals from Bebet and two from Claudio.

euphoria

Many times it scared him more than his own rivals

“Be careful with the party, that the two fuciños don’t take it from us”. That well-known phrase defines what he felt when he saw excessive euphoria. I couldn’t stand her.

Franganillo

Something more than a physical trainer

If Ballesta was Arsenio’s great confessor, Franganillo was his second confidant. In fact, he even wanted to take him to Madrid when he was appointed coach.

grenade

The team, along with Dépor, in which he played the most seasons

He operated in the capital of the Nasrid Kingdom for six campaigns. It was, along with Dépor, the club where he played the longest as a footballer.

huapaya

“Sir, I am very demanding”

The Peruvian footballer became the history of Deportivo and Arsenio Iglesias himself because of the phrase he coined. It was when the coach asked him for a little more kick in the game. Even today in A Coruña, the answer is remembered: “Sir, I am very demanding.”

Anger

This is how Riazor left the day of his farewell

He left the Riazor stadium indignant, while Lendoiro euphorically went to the stands after winning the Cup, and this is how Arsenio recounted it in an interview with La Voz for his 80th birthday: “I said goodbye in Madrid and arrived in A Coruña and the people received us and I hear a speech that I don’t really like: ‘He leaves because he wants to’. And it’s true, I left because I wanted to, but, I said, ‘if this doesn’t cross my mind, if I’ve already said goodbye, man, why is this?’ Of course I planned to go to the celebration, but I took my suitcase and didn’t go anymore.”

Juan Alonso

The first goal he scored two

Although he was not a great scorer, Arsenio scored 63 goals as a footballer. He scored twice on seven occasions, and Juan Alonso was the first to receive two of his goals. It happened in Chamartín, in a 3-2 victory for Real Madrid.

Kiriakov

The Bulgarian who scored the goal of consistency in 1992

The resistance shown at Villamarín would not have been possible if Deportivo had not previously beaten Betis at the Riazor. And that party had its own name, Kiriakovo. The Bulgarian entered the field in the 58th minute with a tie on the scoreboard. Sixty seconds later he scored the winning goal. Then he would miss the penalty.

management

More than the locker room boss

He always had character and when he needed to raise his voice, he raised it. But many times he didn’t need it, because the leadership he exercised in the locker room was such that it came to him.

Madrid

poisonous candy

When he had already decided to retire, after winning the Copa del Rey with Deportivo, Arsenio found himself in front of an unexpected opportunity. Real Madrid called him to try to fix a disastrous season. He wanted to, but he couldn’t because a poisonous candy was found. Over time, he regretted accepting that position.

children

José Ramón and Fran, their talented little ones

They were his wards. The first boy was José Ramón and Fran called him boy because he was younger. 10 Dépora eventually became the real Neno for all fans.

order and talent

It was his way of looking at football

His football was simple but effective. It was clear to me that there are footballers, like Fran and Bebet, who have to give their talent because they were born with it. But it was of little use if the team didn’t follow that order. With that philosophy, he turned Deportivo into Superdépor.

punishment

You could give him the League he deserves

The penalty that the Valencia goalkeeper saved from Đukić on May 14, 1994 left Arsenije and Deportivo without a more than deserved championship title.

what of what?

His answer: “Arsenio, what?”

There was a time when Benito Cores made the question fashionable which many journalists later copied. A question that was really nothing: “Arsenio, what?” The answer sometimes, when he was not in a very good mood, was curt: “What of what?”

riazor

The temple that worshiped him

They say that the line between love and hate is very thin. And Arsenio Iglesias lived it in Riazor. That temple that was filled with Coruñas who were willing to say their last goodbyes. The same person who elevated him as a coach forced him to have occasional bad afternoons, first as a football player and then as a coach. But Zorro de Arteixo knew how to turn the tide and end up being adored.

superdépor

He was the true creator of that historic team

He knew how to build a group that took Real Madrid to its name with a group of rejects and three stars like Mauro, Bebet and Fran. Without him, there would be no Superdépor.

trumps

389 wins as a coach in 901 games

He ended his professional career with a coaching win percentage of 43.17%. If we add the 237 games they tied, the result is that they lost only 30.6% of the games played.

unit

The one he always kept in the blue and white locker room

All footballers who were part of Superdépor highlight the unity that existed in that dressing room. Arsenio’s character was very important in this respect.

Vigo

A rival city that worshiped him

How much Arsenio was loved in football is best shown by the many expressions of affection he received every time he went to Vigo. A walk with him through the olive capital was synonymous with a thousand stops by his fans.

x

A sign that he appeared less as a coach

Although he was repeatedly accused of being brown, the truth is that the equalizer was the result he signed the fewest times. In his CV as a coach there are 389 wins, 274 losses and only 237 draws (x)

yarza

The goalkeeper he beat the most times

He scored five goals against the goalkeeper of Zaragoza. Two with Deportivo and three with Granada.

fox

The gentle name by which he was known

Bruxo, the wise man… But he was most impressed by Zorro de Arteixo.