Reading gathers the lions of the barge

After a fraternal meal in which they have revived, the glorious years in which they conquered two Leagues, a Cup and a Supercup, eleven of those red and white heroes from the early 80’s have gathered in the Reading Club of the Foral Library to chat about the book “La ciudad de la lluvia“. The novel, written by Alfonso del Río, is partly set in the Bilbao of the early 80’s, specifically 1983, when the floods were combined with a legendary Athletic Club. In this way, the book became the perfect opportunity for the Foundation to organize an Athletic Reading Club with the legends of that memorable team.

The event was attended by Carlos Meléndez, Santi Urkiaga, Iñigo ‘Rocky’ Liceranzu, Andoni Goikoetxea, Txato Núñez, Miguel De Andrés, Ismael Urtubi, Miguel Sola, Patxi Salinas, Juanjo Elgezabal and Patxi Bolaños. The discussion was moderated by the journalist Juanjo Baños and was attended by the author of the novel, Alfonso del Río. In addition to the barge, a match very much present in the book and in the discussion, was the European qualifier against Lech Poznan, which for Andoni Goikoetxea was “the best game we ever played”.

One from Santos, one from Atlas and the other one from Barça

On the other hand, writers José Roberto Torero, Juan Pablo Villalobos and Miqui Oterodiscussed in La Catedral on the second day of Letras y Fútbol. With the certainty that football is a language that gathers people from different cultures. The three guests above mentioned shared their different experiences both as writers and as supporters.

Brazilian José Roberto Torero talked about his life as a supporter, a life conditioned since his childhood and by the first game he attended. It was nothing less than Pelé’s last encounter with Santos and it was also the first time he saw his father cry when they replaced the best player in the world, shortly before the break. Mexican Villalobos defined his status as a supporter of Atlas de Guadalajara with these words: “I’m Atlas, even if I win,” which demonstrates precisely to what extent the bond between a fan and his team is forged more in defeats than in victories. For his part, Miqui Otero, a Barça fan, moderated the conversation and recalled, among many other anecdotes, the phrase pronounced by the Uruguayan Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia, author of the “maracanazo” goal in the 1950 World Cup won by Uruguay against Brazil: “Only three people have muted Maracana: the Pope, Sinatra and me.”