The anecdote is delicious, typical of one of those traditional films that Spanish or Italian cinematography used to produce in the 1950s. Something innocent, very naive. Today, if a similar thing were to happen, it would be carried out through social networks and would exude that whiff of technological barbarism that too many confuse with authentic progress.
A Barcelona cup derby
The quarterfinals of the Generalissimo Cup of that year 1956 will bring a Barcelona derby, in which the Barcelona —led from the bench by the legendary Hungarian goalkeeper of the 1920s Ferenc Platkoimmortalized in a beautiful ode by the poet Rafael Alberti, and runner-up in the League after having a close duel with Athletic Bilbao—started as favorite against a Español led by none other than Divine Ricardo Zamora, which had had a poor performance in the League 55-56, occupying seventh position. But the predictions are bound to be broken, and in the first leg, held in a Sarriá undergoing construction, the parakeets beat the culés 3-1, with goals from Benavídez, Muñoz and Arcas for the blue and white, and Villaverde for the azulgranas. The defeat felt very bad at Can Barça, so much so that, without waiting for the return match, president Francesc Miró-Sans is going to dismiss Platko, provisionally replacing him with another former glory and his teammate in the 1920s, Samitierthen technical secretary of the Blaugrana club.
It is the day after the first leg when Julián Arcas Sánchez (Vélez-Blanco, Almería, January 7, 1926 – Figueras, Gerona, January 12, 2001) is going to make his famous bet with the owner of Bar Armengol, located on the corner of Sepúlveda Street and Plaza Goya, a perfect culé. The Spanishist boasts that they already have the tie assured, while the Barcelona player affirms the opposite, and at that moment Arcas, in a display of bravado, proclaims that the following Sunday he will score no less than four goals against Ramallets in Les Corts. If he does so, the house will pay a round to everyone present, and if the player does not get it, he will be the one who has to dig deep into his pocket.
The show starts
On Sunday May 27, 1956, with a large crowd in the field of Les Corts, the two teams met again, under the orders of the Cantabrian coach Rafael Garcia Fernández and with the following lineups: for Barcelona, Ramallets; Segarra, Biosca, Gracia; Gonzalvo III, Bosch; Tejada, Villaverde, Kubala, Sampedro and Manchón, and for RCD Español, Vicente (Soler); Argilés, Cata, Faura; Gámiz, Casamitjana; Arcas, Marcet, Benavidez, Ruiz and Muñoz.
That It was not going to be the best game for Spanish goalkeeper Vicente, a young goalkeeper who would have a bright future in our football. After 3 minutes of play, Barça took the lead, through a shot from Giving birth from outside the area, in which the Perico goalkeeper failed spectacularly, with the ball slipping between his legs. But in the 20th minute the ‘Arcas festival’. He goes to score the 1-1 with a header, anticipating Ramallets’ departure, and two later he breaks the momentary tie with a strong right hand. Afterwards he took a break, but in the 43rd minute he took advantage of a rebound on the post of Barcelona’s goal to make the score 1-3, and the Spaniard went into the break with an almost decisive four-goal lead in the tie.
Throat poker in Ramallets
On the resumption the game is going to end up going crazy. Roof He closed the gap in the 52nd minute, heading another header that Vicente also failed to block in the first instance, but just a minute later again the inevitable Arcas got the quarter from his private account, taking advantage of a poor transfer from Gracia to his goalkeeper in a mischief (2-4). And again the following minute the scoreboard moved again, this time for the Blaugranas, thanks to a powerful shot from the left-footed outside Spot. And in the 69th minute Vicente, who had already suffered several blows, will have to be replaced by Soler (at that time, the goalkeeper’s change was the only change that the regulations then in force allowed).
The newly introduced goalkeeper would concede another goal, the work of Roof in the 87th minute, which would mean the final 4-4, as there was barely time for more. Barça, which the following season would be directed by Sunday Balmanyathus closing a new campaign without titles, the third since 1953, something that the culés were not used to. But they had just witnessed a grandiose spectacle, a true ode to football, as they say today, a match played from power to power, without complexes, vibrant and unbridled, with a score that could have been even greater.
Witness of the first Spanish descent
As for Arcas, a parakeet to the core and retired from active football in 1959 in the ranks of the Cadizwhere he would begin his brief career as a coach, he would nevertheless have to go through the most painful ordeal of his sporting life, as an occupant of the Español bench when The team of his life was relegated to the Second Division for the first time in 1962.after losing promotion against Real Valladolid, due to a goal scored by someone who would soon wear blue and white with Sarriá’s team and become a legend as part of the famous forward of the team. Five Dolphins: the player from Salamanca and future lawyer José María Rodilla. But we’ll talk about that another time…
2024-06-23 09:21:41
#Arcas #bet #BarçaSpanish #cup #derby #Les #Corts
