Francisco Maturana is a legend of Colombian soccer and recognized internationally. In an interview for Thick Gaugethe coach told more details about that time he was close to directing Real Madrid in the 90s, after the great World Cup with the Colombian National Team in Italy reaching the round of 16 and when he was in charge of Real Valladolid.
“In 1991, when I have the opportunity to sign with Real Madrid, The one who gave the go-ahead was Vicente del Bosque. He trained the youth teams of Madrid and was following Valladolid, and at a certain moment he said, ‘that team can’t play better’ and endorsed the link that unfortunately didn’t happen later”, said Maturana.
The players already saw him as DT
The technical director reviewed some talks with footballers from the White House, who have always recognized that Real Madrid is part of his career: “I have discussed it many times with Emilio (Butragueño), with Míchel, with Sanchís and with Fernando Hierro. They tell me that I was coach of Madrid and I tell them no. They tell me, ‘Yes, you went, you signed a contract and that supports you, and not only did you sign, you came weekly to meet with the president to assemble the team, the squad, and we knew that and we were waiting for your arrival’”.
However, he sees it differently: “But I don’t feel like it, I just signed a document. When we signed, Mr. Ramón Martínez (leader) and the lawyer went to Valladolid, I signed and they told me, ‘boy, you don’t realize what you’ve done’ and I tell them that I signed a paper and they tell me, ‘no, you’re on the roof of football, let’s celebrate with a Dom Perignon’. I had no idea what that was, now I do. In the end he told them no, that he had signed a paper, but that when he was sitting there, I would invite the famous Dom Perignon”.
Failed arrival in Madrid and the affection of Milan
Why wasn’t the Real Madrid coach?: “I did not sit down because they asked me something that did not go with my way of feeling. They ask me for authorization, because Madrid was in decline, to bring a coach. They were talking about a revulsive because I was going to find a team in second and I told them, ‘this is not a problem, the team belongs to you, do what you have to do’, so with my authorization they brought a coach who was in Zaragoza, that coach It was Radomir Antić. He came and of the 10 points that were missing, there were more, but of the 10 that were missing he made 9, so They told me that the situation was difficult because Radomir had gotten a lot of love from the people, but that he came to me, that he was going to be as manager and that when he lost a game I came in, and that was like a blow to the liver for me and I said no”.
“He told me, ‘Pacho, we have a contract’, ‘they don’t have anything’, that compensation and I told them ‘I can’t collect something that I haven’t worked on’. From that moment until today, Francisco Maturana is a person who has a name at Real Madrid. What’s more, they invite me to a Madrid match and I arrive at the hotel there in Agustín de Foxá in Meliá and I already have my two tickets and a car that takes me wherever I want. Later I’m going to ask for the bill and they tell me that I don’t owe anything, that Madrid pays for that”.
His visits to Milan in the 90s and having recommended George Weah: “In Milanello there was a group of technicians who talked to me, and the group, call it the Ancelottis, the Maldinis, the Costacurtas, the Rijkaards, all of them celebrated my arrival and in one of those arrivals, they came from France who had gone to see to a player that Valdano had sent me and I recommended this player that Fabio (Capello) did not want. That player ended up being the best in Europe that season, it was George Weah. From then on, the friendship with Fabio was fundamental, strong”.
