December 13, 2022 • 23 mins
Some say Magico was better than Maradona. Their paths converged in the U.S., where they spent the summer as teammates.
There was one player better than Pele or Maradona, at least according to Diego Maradona. His name was Mágico González, the best player to ever come out of El Salvador. Known as much for his ability to humiliate defenders as his tendency to sleep through training, Mágico spent most of his career in Cadiz. But Maradona and Mágico spent one summer as teammates on a U.S. tour for Barcelona. It’s a little-known story about when two of the sport’s most incorrigible geniuses teamed up.
The Best Soccer Podcast In The World is a bilingual podcast that tells your soon-to-be favorite soccer stories. The host, Nando Vila, will crack open some of the most iconic World Cup moments, putting them in cultural and geopolitical contexts. From legendary players to silly hairdos to heart-wrenching losses.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Let's face it, on this podcast, we like anti heroes,
those tragic characters who break the mold, those who may
not be the best role model but know how to
win our hearts. One of them is Gonzalez Bari Yes,
universally known as Machico Gonzalez Gonzalez, the greatest Salvadorian footballer
(00:29):
of aton. He had this magic obviously, I mean, the
nickname doesn't come from nowhere. El Machico was one of
the most impedent geniuses that soccer history has ever seen.
In full flight. There was not a defender in the
world who could touch him. They tried. Those who saw
him play live say that he could have been as
great as himself as Gonzalez comes away now now, Gonzalez.
(00:55):
There are athletes who astound us with their competitiveness, their
sheer will to win. But Machico Gonzalez was made of
different stuff. All he wanted to do was have fun,
and that's maybe why he has become a bit of
a cult hero. You talk about players who are trying ship,
who are doing fun things, who during the run of
play would pop out with a trick to beat the
(01:16):
defenderant This is John Arnold, who's Get Conquer Calte newsletter
covers Central American soccer. Micho was a guy who was
gonna make something happen, was gonna pull a trick out
of his bag, and had a whole lot of tricks
in his bag. A kind of hedonist, he savored life
on and off the field in the bars and nightclubs
of his adoptive city. Goddis. Mara and Machico actually shared
(01:41):
the field at the host Rico Pedis Stadium in Algante
during the two World Cup and now going out its
side to Maradonna, and in a little known story in
the summer of ur they spent a summer touring the
United States together for Barcelona, laughing and scoring at will
in friendlies. Today we're going to talk about the diverging
(02:04):
paths of these two kindred spirits. One of them went
on to become Diego Armando Maradona. If you've seen a
soccer game before, you know who he is. He won
the titles, the World Cup and has a claim to
being the best player in the history of the sport.
The other, well and Machico, played a large part of
his career in modest Gadis. He never made the millions
(02:26):
his talent could have commanded and he never got close
to a World Cup again after that first meeting with Maridona. Today,
two paths diverge, and we're going to look at the
one that gets lost in the woods. Macho Gonzales, I'm
Nando Vila and this is the best soccer podcast in
the world. Christiano Ronaldo. Yes, ye wonderful. El Salvador is
(03:25):
not one of the traditional giants of soccer, but then
it really wasn't a football palahouse. This is Daniel Edwards
of Buenos Aires based journalists covering Latin American soccer for
Goal and others. Up to that point, El Salvador was
mostly notable for participating in the Soccer War against the Nudas,
(03:45):
a brief and bloody conflict in nineteen sixty nine that
erupted after riots during a World Cup qualifying match. After
two tense games, El Salvador barely managed to qualify for
the World Cup in Mexico in ninety, their first World Cup.
You think El Salvador team moves qualifying campaign box of
a war against Conda. It was over quickly. Al Salvador
(04:08):
didn't score a single goal in the group stage and
they started Republic Avador. Now they didn't even qualify again
until enter El Macho. The qualifying game against regional heavyweights
Mexico would help determine who took the trip to Spain
(04:29):
and who stayed home. The score is nil nil, the
Mexican team having already hit the inside of the post.
Gonzalez collects the ball in his own half. Back then,
he was still known as Mago or the Wizard. He's
off slicing through the entire Mexico defense, the defenders melting away.
A stutter, then a burst of pace and he's into
(04:50):
the box a snap, left footed shot. It pings around
in the box, off his own teammate and falls kindly.
There's nothing for the Al Salvador for to do but
nudge the ball into the net and El Salvador into
the World Cup. Well. Eventually, Mexico had to draw their
next three games, allowing El Salvador to qualify by a
single point. This is Machico Gonzales in a nutshell, searing
(05:15):
ability and chaos. Essentially, they wouldn't have made the World
Cup without him. It's hard to contextualize some of El
Salvador's historical achievements. I think Al Salvador. Making the World
Cup was enormously important, but it went so poorly when
they actually got there that I wonder if there's a
bit of hesitance to mention that they made it, that
(05:35):
it was this sort of crowning achievement. In the summer
of two, Spain hosted the most important soccer event on
the planet. Yeah, this was the World Cup of the
mythical Naranjito, the mascot of the tournament, of the failure
of Larroja, of the embarrassing collusion between Germany and Austria,
(05:58):
of the match stop because of a Kuwai, the chic,
of the traumatic fall of Socrates and Zico's Brazil, and
of the resurrection of Italy thanks to Paola Rossi. And
it was also the setting where two of the world's
brightest talents met for the first time Argentina versus El
Salvador in the group stage, Dimando Maradona versus Machico. It
(06:18):
was the first World Cup for both. Diego was already
a known commodity, Maradona was required twenty one to produce
the sort of fireworks digestify his status of the world's
kientest and most expensive footballer. Stadium lights across Spain shown
on the young Boca junior player, who would undoubtedly be
the star of the World Cup, quite the opposite for Machico.
(06:39):
They didn't broadcast the Salvadorian First Division widely then or
now for that matter, few knew much about tiny El Salvador.
Due to budget issues, The Salvador only brought twenty players
as a cost saving measure. The day before their opening
game against Tongue, their allocated balls were stolen and they
(07:02):
couldn't train. They scored El Salvador's first ever World Cup
goal in that game, naturally from a winding Machico run
down the left, but El Salvador set several other records
that day. To you, Hello, Manuela Manuella. It remains the
(07:26):
greatest loss in World Cup history, ten to one. It
included the fastest hat trick in World Cup history and
the first and only hat trick scored by a substitute.
The scorekeeper had to improvise to display the double digit scoreline.
The players mutinied after the game, stripping decision making from
the coach and eking out narrow defensive losses in the
(07:46):
next two games to salvage their pride. One nail to Belgium,
but that was to prove to be the only goal
to El Salvador that spelled a moral victory and two
nail to Argentina. However, in only three matches on the
group stage, my Pico put his talent on display. After
that World Cup, Barsa officially presented Mariona with the contract
(08:06):
that they had previously agreed to. Meanwhile, European offers poured
in from Machico to leave gub Deportivo fast. In the end,
the team that managed to win him over and lure
his tropical personality was Caddis. There's a story that he
could have gone to Alet, you know, we're a bigger club.
(08:29):
For whatever reason, that didn't work out and he went
to Caddis, where as I said, he became very popular.
Why chosen I couldn't say. Caddis is a modest and
delusion club that at the time was in the second division.
It is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain,
a paradise population one thousand, with spectacular beaches, exquisite food
(08:50):
and warm people. More about what happened next After the break,
Machico fell in love with the city and alone was
agreed with the option for a full transfer. At the
end of the season. Machico helped the team earn promotion
(09:13):
to the First Division, and the club wanted to make
his signing permanent. To sign the corresponding paperwork, they decided
to meet one spring afternoon at the Plaza hotel in
Madrid Machico, a representative of Fasts from El Salvador, the
president of Caddis Manoligyan, and the vice president, Neeli Lysias,
who tells this story. Everything was going perfectly according to plan,
(09:35):
except something was missing. Something important. The player's requisite signature
was missing. So we began the hunt for the monster.
This is Meelisia's talking. What could Machico be doing to
miss something as important as signing his contract. I went
(09:56):
searching for him until I finally found him. The man
was occupied. I saw him with two women in his
room at the Plus hotel, and he was not going
to live for anything, even his soccer career. When Machico
didn't show, ups went to look for him in his
room and caught him red handed with two women. I
can confirm that they were not playing cards. You will
(10:19):
hear as this podcast progresses that Machico and hotel rooms
become quite the theme. At the same time, Bravana's Basa
finished the league in fourth position, six points behind the
champion Kamentez Bilbao. Once the league was over, Bara still
(10:40):
had to play the Copare final against Real Madrid with
the possibility of salvaging the season. But four days from
the final, mythical German international Paul Brightner organized the farewell
match at the Munich Olympic Stadium and invited Maradona and
burned Schuster. This caused the conflict. Both of them wanted
to attend, even if it involved a skive injury just
(11:00):
days before the final. In the end, players such as
Kempis Zico Jr. And Beckenbauer played in the testimonial, but
not Madalona or Schuster. Basta locked away Marivona's passport to
keep him from leaving. This chapter was the culmination of
an increasingly tense relationship between President Jeus of Ruiz Nunyez
and the Argentinian star, who had signed only six months prior.
(11:22):
Basta ended up winning the cup final two to one. Meanwhile,
seven hundred miles away across the peninsula, a Salvadoran magician
was delighting his new fans with flicks and tricks and
preparing for his entry to the Spanish soccer elite. He
(11:43):
was very kind of traditional as its code in uh
in Latin America and Argentina, or a guy who liked
to have the bullet. His fate wasn't going to run
a whole lot, but if he had the ball, it
was almost impossible to take it off of me. He
had a whole bag of tricks. He could the the
flip flap, he had the step, I've the ba which
(12:05):
basically just bamboozling his marker, and he had a good
strike as well. Just a guy who liked to be
in the area, liked to have the ball at his
feet and could really might the boosing. An accomplished season
in La Liga at an individual level for Bachico, with
fourteen goals and numerous memorable performances, but the season wasn't
(12:26):
quite over. At the same time, the Spanish national team
had to start preparing for the upcoming Euros that summer,
and on top of that, Barsa agreed to a tour
in the United States with Maravona as the main draw.
Competing on so many fronts, the puzzle of how to stretch.
The roster created a need to find players in creative ways,
(12:49):
and amid all that, frenzy rumors began to emerge that
Maravona was leaving Barasa, But first came the American Tour.
Barasa would travel to the US to face the New
York cause most New York. Here we fly to the
Big Apple with New York player. Simultaneously, the club had
to contest the League Cup in Spain with four key
(13:11):
players away on the Spanish national team, so only five
members of the first team were called up for the tour,
a goalkeeper, a defender, and the three suspended from the
Copa final, including Maradona. They pulled five more from the
affiliate teams that made it up to ten. Maravona included
(13:34):
Valdo da Labuana on the roster to better showcase his
close friend. Juan Jose, who belonged to Majordica, also joined
the tour. That made twelve, but it still wasn't enough.
They needed more reinforcements. Back then, it was somewhat common
to pull from the roster of rival Spanish teams while
on tour, and so Vasa decided on Mario Usios and
Argentine forward from Murtia and on jes Alis Machico. After
(14:03):
the initial greeting at the airport and with the assistant
coach Roselio Poncini in command, the Vasa expedition departed for
New York. Machico was going to wear the fame blue
and red jersey, and he was going to share the
field with the great Viego Armando Mariona, this time on
the same team. Everyone knew that Marivona would make a
(14:25):
huge splash, but to his teammates surprise, Machico also had
a large fan base in the United States, fame that
continues to this day. You have this figure who has
so much worldwide respect among soccer purists who say things
like this guy could have been or was as good
as Manonna, certainly the maximum all time reference for a
(14:48):
Salvadon player, a player that young players want to aspire
to be. Like you go TONL Salvador game, You're gonna
see some replica jerseys with his name on the back.
After some training sessions, the tour debut approached. It would
be a giant stadium against the New York Cosmos, and
it would feature the new partners in Crime, Machico on
(15:11):
the left and Mariona as a false nine, both of course,
with total freedom to mix it up for the public
to enjoy. Barcelona will kick it off the front light
up close Gonzalez, there goes close Number nine put inside
to Gonzalez Magico, Gonzalez lays it back hip back to
Gonzalez inside the Even so, Basa's makeshift defense was fragile
(15:35):
and they ended up losing five three. Also, as well
documented by the press, they complained a lot about the
local referee, especially Marazona. The following day, during a press appearance,
Marivona revived the rumors of his departure with Italy as
his imminent destination. After the defeat against the Cosmos, the
only match left was against the Brazilian club Fluminency. Could
(15:57):
that be the Ablos last match for Basa? More about
what happened next after the break. Meanwhile, the other great
star on the tour took everything in stride. In fact,
he practically did not leave his room. His deep rooted
(16:18):
relationship with sleep was something that everyone in Goddis knew about.
He'd fall asleep at home and we had to go
look for him. Sometimes he didn't get up and didn't
come to training. Since he lived next to the stadium,
we would go look for him. He was a normal
person like any other. The thing is he was the sleepyhead,
and since he was the best well, Dad, who was
(16:41):
on the coaching staff of Goddis at the time, was
the one who suffered the most because it often felt
to him to track down Machico and drag him to training.
I was the one who got sent looking for him
the most, many times, many many in nine years. Imagine
how many times I went. When I was the assistant coach.
They always sent me, David, go see if Magico is
(17:02):
there and bring him back, and I'd bring him. Of course,
the day came when Machico went too far in the
middle of the tour with Masta, a few hours before
the next match against Flu. All of the staff was
staying in the same hotel. Suddenly the hotel alarm sounds.
No one knows if it's a drill, a fire, or
a bad joke, but the point is that everyone evacuates
(17:23):
the building. The players do a headcount and someone is missing.
They said the fire a fire, and the only thing
missing was Maxico. They went to look for him in
the room and he was there with a girl. He
hadn't realized that the alarm had sounded. It was a
very funny thing. Machico liked to have a good time.
(17:45):
This is Marivona's friend Osvaldo da Labona. As had already
happened when signing the Cadis contract, Machico Gonzalez was caught
again in a hotel room with a woman, this time
a few hours before playing. Fifty six minutes into the match,
Machico Gonzalez scored his first and only goal in Avasa, Jersey.
(18:08):
The move started could it be anither way? With a
pass from his partner close back to Diego Maradonna. I leave.
I think it's great Indian. It's amazing how they understand
each other. That connection was born naturally. They were two
(18:29):
skilled players who played by hard. When Diego raised his head,
Machico already knew where he had to distance himself and
he put the ball there. It was a great assist
from Diego and a great goal for Maxico. The match
finished two to two and ended up winning on penalties
a score of seven or six, winning five two. With
(18:50):
the tour complete, Barasa returned home on June five. So now,
what was it possible? That Baa could consider signing Machico
after the bond with Marivona, he showcased on the American tour.
Unfortunately it didn't pay out that way. In the end,
his tag as a quote unquote special player dissuaded about
(19:11):
from signing him. The hotel incident only corroborated with the
club already thought about his discipline levels. But even if
Basa had signed Moxico, he would not have lined up
with Marivona because a few days after returning from the
United States, Maravona's departure to Napoli became official. Maravana then
had his best years in Naples. He won the World
(19:34):
Cup with Argentina. But what happened to our beloved Machico.
He returned to Gardis after the summer tour with Barasa,
and in light of his complete inability to comply with
even a modicum of order of discipline, he decided to
hire a personal assistant, but he still couldn't fall in line.
His father figure, President Manuela Irigoyan had enough, Gardis sent
(19:58):
him on loan to Via the Lead in mid season.
He played nine games and scored two goals, but Machico
wanted to return to Caddy's at all costs. The club
were amenable, but there was no place for him. All
the foreign roster slots were filled, so he had to
take a gap year. But he returned in eighty seven
and Machico began his second and definitive career phase. The
(20:20):
reason he went back for his second spell was that
he had previously he had gone to Bashi in the
northern part of spine Um, which didn't have as pleasant
a climate as Caddy's. It seems there's a local sign
that says it's a nine months of hell and three
months of winter in and Makigt didn't enjoy the winter
(20:43):
at all, made it one winter and then quickly got
back to Caddy's where he's a little bit more more comfortable.
He at the Mediterranean sanshine. This was and is Machico
a free spirit, a crazy rogue, someone who always dodged. Simply,
could he have been even better than he was? Could
he have played for, you know, the greatest club teams
(21:05):
of the era. Could he have taken a very bad
El Salvador national team with all respect even higher than
where he took them? So yeah, like that's the reputation
is that the guy enjoyed life, wasn't really that concerned
about the games that weekend. He could have accomplished more
if you'd wanted to. He could have played for PSG
or Barcelona. He could have made double triple the money,
(21:27):
but that just wouldn't have been him. He was always
true to who he was outside of his native at
Salvador and got these He found his place in the world,
the perfect enclave where he was not judged and could
give free reign to his hedonistic personality. It's sports. We
talked about athletes that we love, and of course you
(21:47):
love the athlete that's at the top of their game,
who eats the right things, who works out every day,
who gets ten hours of sleep. But ultimately, if an
athlete turns up looking like he's had a hell of night,
potentially cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and he still
kicks your ass, that guy has your respect. After God's
(22:12):
Moxico returned home to Al Salvador, where he played for
his old club Fast until he was forty two. The
government renamed the national stadium after him. He's commemorated by
street art and even has a hot dog stand named
after him. He summed up his career to a local paper,
saying quote, I recognize that I'm not a saint, and
then not even my mother can take away my urge
(22:33):
to party. I know I'm a bad professional, but I
don't like thinking of football as a job. If I did,
I wouldn't be me. I only play to enjoy myself.
He still plays amateur soccer. The Best Soccer Podcast in
(22:57):
the World is a production of exiled contents to Deos
in partnership with I Heart Michael podcast Network, and is
hosted by Me Nando Vila, produced by Anna and zach
Lee Rigg, written by Zac Lee Rigg and Firman Sware.
Production assistance by Stella Emmett. Our executive producers are Isaac
Lee Rose Reed and myself named Avila. Our executive producers
(23:19):
that I Heart are Gisel Bancees and Arlene Santana. Sound
designed by Ugo Mendoza Are Awesome. Theme song is by
lu j Special Thanks to all the voices that participated
in this episode, Daniel Edwards, John Arnold, Nigel, Lisia David
and Osvaldo da la Buana. Listen to the Best Soccer
Podcast in the World on the Heart Radio app, Amazon
Music or wherever you get your favorite podcast,
Let's face it, on this podcast, we like anti heroes,
those tragic characters who break the mold, those who may
not be the best role model but know how to
win our hearts. One of them is Gonzalez Bari Yes,
universally known as Machico Gonzalez Gonzalez, the greatest Salvadorian footballer
(00:29):
of aton. He had this magic obviously, I mean, the
nickname doesn't come from nowhere. El Machico was one of
the most impedent geniuses that soccer history has ever seen.
In full flight. There was not a defender in the
world who could touch him. They tried. Those who saw
him play live say that he could have been as
great as himself as Gonzalez comes away now now, Gonzalez.
(00:55):
There are athletes who astound us with their competitiveness, their
sheer will to win. But Machico Gonzalez was made of
different stuff. All he wanted to do was have fun,
and that's maybe why he has become a bit of
a cult hero. You talk about players who are trying ship,
who are doing fun things, who during the run of
play would pop out with a trick to beat the
(01:16):
defenderant This is John Arnold, who's Get Conquer Calte newsletter
covers Central American soccer. Micho was a guy who was
gonna make something happen, was gonna pull a trick out
of his bag, and had a whole lot of tricks
in his bag. A kind of hedonist, he savored life
on and off the field in the bars and nightclubs
of his adoptive city. Goddis. Mara and Machico actually shared
(01:41):
the field at the host Rico Pedis Stadium in Algante
during the two World Cup and now going out its
side to Maradonna, and in a little known story in
the summer of ur they spent a summer touring the
United States together for Barcelona, laughing and scoring at will
in friendlies. Today we're going to talk about the diverging
(02:04):
paths of these two kindred spirits. One of them went
on to become Diego Armando Maradona. If you've seen a
soccer game before, you know who he is. He won
the titles, the World Cup and has a claim to
being the best player in the history of the sport.
The other, well and Machico, played a large part of
his career in modest Gadis. He never made the millions
(02:26):
his talent could have commanded and he never got close
to a World Cup again after that first meeting with Maridona. Today,
two paths diverge, and we're going to look at the
one that gets lost in the woods. Macho Gonzales, I'm
Nando Vila and this is the best soccer podcast in
the world. Christiano Ronaldo. Yes, ye wonderful. El Salvador is
(03:25):
not one of the traditional giants of soccer, but then
it really wasn't a football palahouse. This is Daniel Edwards
of Buenos Aires based journalists covering Latin American soccer for
Goal and others. Up to that point, El Salvador was
mostly notable for participating in the Soccer War against the Nudas,
(03:45):
a brief and bloody conflict in nineteen sixty nine that
erupted after riots during a World Cup qualifying match. After
two tense games, El Salvador barely managed to qualify for
the World Cup in Mexico in ninety, their first World Cup.
You think El Salvador team moves qualifying campaign box of
a war against Conda. It was over quickly. Al Salvador
(04:08):
didn't score a single goal in the group stage and
they started Republic Avador. Now they didn't even qualify again
until enter El Macho. The qualifying game against regional heavyweights
Mexico would help determine who took the trip to Spain
(04:29):
and who stayed home. The score is nil nil, the
Mexican team having already hit the inside of the post.
Gonzalez collects the ball in his own half. Back then,
he was still known as Mago or the Wizard. He's
off slicing through the entire Mexico defense, the defenders melting away.
A stutter, then a burst of pace and he's into
(04:50):
the box a snap, left footed shot. It pings around
in the box, off his own teammate and falls kindly.
There's nothing for the Al Salvador for to do but
nudge the ball into the net and El Salvador into
the World Cup. Well. Eventually, Mexico had to draw their
next three games, allowing El Salvador to qualify by a
single point. This is Machico Gonzales in a nutshell, searing
(05:15):
ability and chaos. Essentially, they wouldn't have made the World
Cup without him. It's hard to contextualize some of El
Salvador's historical achievements. I think Al Salvador. Making the World
Cup was enormously important, but it went so poorly when
they actually got there that I wonder if there's a
bit of hesitance to mention that they made it, that
(05:35):
it was this sort of crowning achievement. In the summer
of two, Spain hosted the most important soccer event on
the planet. Yeah, this was the World Cup of the
mythical Naranjito, the mascot of the tournament, of the failure
of Larroja, of the embarrassing collusion between Germany and Austria,
(05:58):
of the match stop because of a Kuwai, the chic,
of the traumatic fall of Socrates and Zico's Brazil, and
of the resurrection of Italy thanks to Paola Rossi. And
it was also the setting where two of the world's
brightest talents met for the first time Argentina versus El
Salvador in the group stage, Dimando Maradona versus Machico. It
(06:18):
was the first World Cup for both. Diego was already
a known commodity, Maradona was required twenty one to produce
the sort of fireworks digestify his status of the world's
kientest and most expensive footballer. Stadium lights across Spain shown
on the young Boca junior player, who would undoubtedly be
the star of the World Cup, quite the opposite for Machico.
(06:39):
They didn't broadcast the Salvadorian First Division widely then or
now for that matter, few knew much about tiny El Salvador.
Due to budget issues, The Salvador only brought twenty players
as a cost saving measure. The day before their opening
game against Tongue, their allocated balls were stolen and they
(07:02):
couldn't train. They scored El Salvador's first ever World Cup
goal in that game, naturally from a winding Machico run
down the left, but El Salvador set several other records
that day. To you, Hello, Manuela Manuella. It remains the
(07:26):
greatest loss in World Cup history, ten to one. It
included the fastest hat trick in World Cup history and
the first and only hat trick scored by a substitute.
The scorekeeper had to improvise to display the double digit scoreline.
The players mutinied after the game, stripping decision making from
the coach and eking out narrow defensive losses in the
(07:46):
next two games to salvage their pride. One nail to Belgium,
but that was to prove to be the only goal
to El Salvador that spelled a moral victory and two
nail to Argentina. However, in only three matches on the
group stage, my Pico put his talent on display. After
that World Cup, Barsa officially presented Mariona with the contract
(08:06):
that they had previously agreed to. Meanwhile, European offers poured
in from Machico to leave gub Deportivo fast. In the end,
the team that managed to win him over and lure
his tropical personality was Caddis. There's a story that he
could have gone to Alet, you know, we're a bigger club.
(08:29):
For whatever reason, that didn't work out and he went
to Caddis, where as I said, he became very popular.
Why chosen I couldn't say. Caddis is a modest and
delusion club that at the time was in the second division.
It is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain,
a paradise population one thousand, with spectacular beaches, exquisite food
(08:50):
and warm people. More about what happened next After the break,
Machico fell in love with the city and alone was
agreed with the option for a full transfer. At the
end of the season. Machico helped the team earn promotion
(09:13):
to the First Division, and the club wanted to make
his signing permanent. To sign the corresponding paperwork, they decided
to meet one spring afternoon at the Plaza hotel in
Madrid Machico, a representative of Fasts from El Salvador, the
president of Caddis Manoligyan, and the vice president, Neeli Lysias,
who tells this story. Everything was going perfectly according to plan,
(09:35):
except something was missing. Something important. The player's requisite signature
was missing. So we began the hunt for the monster.
This is Meelisia's talking. What could Machico be doing to
miss something as important as signing his contract. I went
(09:56):
searching for him until I finally found him. The man
was occupied. I saw him with two women in his
room at the Plus hotel, and he was not going
to live for anything, even his soccer career. When Machico
didn't show, ups went to look for him in his
room and caught him red handed with two women. I
can confirm that they were not playing cards. You will
(10:19):
hear as this podcast progresses that Machico and hotel rooms
become quite the theme. At the same time, Bravana's Basa
finished the league in fourth position, six points behind the
champion Kamentez Bilbao. Once the league was over, Bara still
(10:40):
had to play the Copare final against Real Madrid with
the possibility of salvaging the season. But four days from
the final, mythical German international Paul Brightner organized the farewell
match at the Munich Olympic Stadium and invited Maradona and
burned Schuster. This caused the conflict. Both of them wanted
to attend, even if it involved a skive injury just
(11:00):
days before the final. In the end, players such as
Kempis Zico Jr. And Beckenbauer played in the testimonial, but
not Madalona or Schuster. Basta locked away Marivona's passport to
keep him from leaving. This chapter was the culmination of
an increasingly tense relationship between President Jeus of Ruiz Nunyez
and the Argentinian star, who had signed only six months prior.
(11:22):
Basta ended up winning the cup final two to one. Meanwhile,
seven hundred miles away across the peninsula, a Salvadoran magician
was delighting his new fans with flicks and tricks and
preparing for his entry to the Spanish soccer elite. He
(11:43):
was very kind of traditional as its code in uh
in Latin America and Argentina, or a guy who liked
to have the bullet. His fate wasn't going to run
a whole lot, but if he had the ball, it
was almost impossible to take it off of me. He
had a whole bag of tricks. He could the the
flip flap, he had the step, I've the ba which
(12:05):
basically just bamboozling his marker, and he had a good
strike as well. Just a guy who liked to be
in the area, liked to have the ball at his
feet and could really might the boosing. An accomplished season
in La Liga at an individual level for Bachico, with
fourteen goals and numerous memorable performances, but the season wasn't
(12:26):
quite over. At the same time, the Spanish national team
had to start preparing for the upcoming Euros that summer,
and on top of that, Barsa agreed to a tour
in the United States with Maravona as the main draw.
Competing on so many fronts, the puzzle of how to stretch.
The roster created a need to find players in creative ways,
(12:49):
and amid all that, frenzy rumors began to emerge that
Maravona was leaving Barasa, But first came the American Tour.
Barasa would travel to the US to face the New
York cause most New York. Here we fly to the
Big Apple with New York player. Simultaneously, the club had
to contest the League Cup in Spain with four key
(13:11):
players away on the Spanish national team, so only five
members of the first team were called up for the tour,
a goalkeeper, a defender, and the three suspended from the
Copa final, including Maradona. They pulled five more from the
affiliate teams that made it up to ten. Maravona included
(13:34):
Valdo da Labuana on the roster to better showcase his
close friend. Juan Jose, who belonged to Majordica, also joined
the tour. That made twelve, but it still wasn't enough.
They needed more reinforcements. Back then, it was somewhat common
to pull from the roster of rival Spanish teams while
on tour, and so Vasa decided on Mario Usios and
Argentine forward from Murtia and on jes Alis Machico. After
(14:03):
the initial greeting at the airport and with the assistant
coach Roselio Poncini in command, the Vasa expedition departed for
New York. Machico was going to wear the fame blue
and red jersey, and he was going to share the
field with the great Viego Armando Mariona, this time on
the same team. Everyone knew that Marivona would make a
(14:25):
huge splash, but to his teammates surprise, Machico also had
a large fan base in the United States, fame that
continues to this day. You have this figure who has
so much worldwide respect among soccer purists who say things
like this guy could have been or was as good
as Manonna, certainly the maximum all time reference for a
(14:48):
Salvadon player, a player that young players want to aspire
to be. Like you go TONL Salvador game, You're gonna
see some replica jerseys with his name on the back.
After some training sessions, the tour debut approached. It would
be a giant stadium against the New York Cosmos, and
it would feature the new partners in Crime, Machico on
(15:11):
the left and Mariona as a false nine, both of course,
with total freedom to mix it up for the public
to enjoy. Barcelona will kick it off the front light
up close Gonzalez, there goes close Number nine put inside
to Gonzalez Magico, Gonzalez lays it back hip back to
Gonzalez inside the Even so, Basa's makeshift defense was fragile
(15:35):
and they ended up losing five three. Also, as well
documented by the press, they complained a lot about the
local referee, especially Marazona. The following day, during a press appearance,
Marivona revived the rumors of his departure with Italy as
his imminent destination. After the defeat against the Cosmos, the
only match left was against the Brazilian club Fluminency. Could
(15:57):
that be the Ablos last match for Basa? More about
what happened next after the break. Meanwhile, the other great
star on the tour took everything in stride. In fact,
he practically did not leave his room. His deep rooted
(16:18):
relationship with sleep was something that everyone in Goddis knew about.
He'd fall asleep at home and we had to go
look for him. Sometimes he didn't get up and didn't
come to training. Since he lived next to the stadium,
we would go look for him. He was a normal
person like any other. The thing is he was the sleepyhead,
and since he was the best well, Dad, who was
(16:41):
on the coaching staff of Goddis at the time, was
the one who suffered the most because it often felt
to him to track down Machico and drag him to training.
I was the one who got sent looking for him
the most, many times, many many in nine years. Imagine
how many times I went. When I was the assistant coach.
They always sent me, David, go see if Magico is
(17:02):
there and bring him back, and I'd bring him. Of course,
the day came when Machico went too far in the
middle of the tour with Masta, a few hours before
the next match against Flu. All of the staff was
staying in the same hotel. Suddenly the hotel alarm sounds.
No one knows if it's a drill, a fire, or
a bad joke, but the point is that everyone evacuates
(17:23):
the building. The players do a headcount and someone is missing.
They said the fire a fire, and the only thing
missing was Maxico. They went to look for him in
the room and he was there with a girl. He
hadn't realized that the alarm had sounded. It was a
very funny thing. Machico liked to have a good time.
(17:45):
This is Marivona's friend Osvaldo da Labona. As had already
happened when signing the Cadis contract, Machico Gonzalez was caught
again in a hotel room with a woman, this time
a few hours before playing. Fifty six minutes into the match,
Machico Gonzalez scored his first and only goal in Avasa, Jersey.
(18:08):
The move started could it be anither way? With a
pass from his partner close back to Diego Maradonna. I leave.
I think it's great Indian. It's amazing how they understand
each other. That connection was born naturally. They were two
(18:29):
skilled players who played by hard. When Diego raised his head,
Machico already knew where he had to distance himself and
he put the ball there. It was a great assist
from Diego and a great goal for Maxico. The match
finished two to two and ended up winning on penalties
a score of seven or six, winning five two. With
(18:50):
the tour complete, Barasa returned home on June five. So now,
what was it possible? That Baa could consider signing Machico
after the bond with Marivona, he showcased on the American tour.
Unfortunately it didn't pay out that way. In the end,
his tag as a quote unquote special player dissuaded about
(19:11):
from signing him. The hotel incident only corroborated with the
club already thought about his discipline levels. But even if
Basa had signed Moxico, he would not have lined up
with Marivona because a few days after returning from the
United States, Maravona's departure to Napoli became official. Maravana then
had his best years in Naples. He won the World
(19:34):
Cup with Argentina. But what happened to our beloved Machico.
He returned to Gardis after the summer tour with Barasa,
and in light of his complete inability to comply with
even a modicum of order of discipline, he decided to
hire a personal assistant, but he still couldn't fall in line.
His father figure, President Manuela Irigoyan had enough, Gardis sent
(19:58):
him on loan to Via the Lead in mid season.
He played nine games and scored two goals, but Machico
wanted to return to Caddy's at all costs. The club
were amenable, but there was no place for him. All
the foreign roster slots were filled, so he had to
take a gap year. But he returned in eighty seven
and Machico began his second and definitive career phase. The
(20:20):
reason he went back for his second spell was that
he had previously he had gone to Bashi in the
northern part of spine Um, which didn't have as pleasant
a climate as Caddy's. It seems there's a local sign
that says it's a nine months of hell and three
months of winter in and Makigt didn't enjoy the winter
(20:43):
at all, made it one winter and then quickly got
back to Caddy's where he's a little bit more more comfortable.
He at the Mediterranean sanshine. This was and is Machico
a free spirit, a crazy rogue, someone who always dodged. Simply,
could he have been even better than he was? Could
he have played for, you know, the greatest club teams
(21:05):
of the era. Could he have taken a very bad
El Salvador national team with all respect even higher than
where he took them? So yeah, like that's the reputation
is that the guy enjoyed life, wasn't really that concerned
about the games that weekend. He could have accomplished more
if you'd wanted to. He could have played for PSG
or Barcelona. He could have made double triple the money,
(21:27):
but that just wouldn't have been him. He was always
true to who he was outside of his native at
Salvador and got these He found his place in the world,
the perfect enclave where he was not judged and could
give free reign to his hedonistic personality. It's sports. We
talked about athletes that we love, and of course you
(21:47):
love the athlete that's at the top of their game,
who eats the right things, who works out every day,
who gets ten hours of sleep. But ultimately, if an
athlete turns up looking like he's had a hell of night,
potentially cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and he still
kicks your ass, that guy has your respect. After God's
(22:12):
Moxico returned home to Al Salvador, where he played for
his old club Fast until he was forty two. The
government renamed the national stadium after him. He's commemorated by
street art and even has a hot dog stand named
after him. He summed up his career to a local paper,
saying quote, I recognize that I'm not a saint, and
then not even my mother can take away my urge
(22:33):
to party. I know I'm a bad professional, but I
don't like thinking of football as a job. If I did,
I wouldn't be me. I only play to enjoy myself.
He still plays amateur soccer. The Best Soccer Podcast in
(22:57):
the World is a production of exiled contents to Deos
in partnership with I Heart Michael podcast Network, and is
hosted by Me Nando Vila, produced by Anna and zach
Lee Rigg, written by Zac Lee Rigg and Firman Sware.
Production assistance by Stella Emmett. Our executive producers are Isaac
Lee Rose Reed and myself named Avila. Our executive producers
(23:19):
that I Heart are Gisel Bancees and Arlene Santana. Sound
designed by Ugo Mendoza Are Awesome. Theme song is by
lu j Special Thanks to all the voices that participated
in this episode, Daniel Edwards, John Arnold, Nigel, Lisia David
and Osvaldo da la Buana. Listen to the Best Soccer
Podcast in the World on the Heart Radio app, Amazon
Music or wherever you get your favorite podcast,
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