Biscuits Using Krusteaz

Jorge Valdano, the last dandy

es hora de recapitular

During my metaphysical (half physical and half not, in the words of the painter) walks throughout Madrid , of the Chamber in San Bernardo in the Retiro Callao until the end of the night, when I felt the pen that wrote the screenplay for a movie that I have not seen it yet, I wanted long for a glimpse from the street, leaning on the counter of the bar like birds perched on trees, meadows, two characters who seemed worthy of the alter ego of my wandering aimlessly, good reason to stop a moment to drink a gin and tonic and discuss, without seriously of course, the meaning of life. The first was Enrique Bunbury, the only real rocker in part, in its way, the late Michi Panero - that Spain has never given birth, the second was Jorge Valdano, the only true intellectual of the ball-a part in their own way, the visitors of this blog-which still hangs over Europe. But while Bunbury, or rather, his thick hair, I can say I have met him at the exit of a local Malasa ña, l'epifania di Valdano è un privilegio che solo Gegenschlag può dire di aver vissuto, un pomeriggio anodino come tanti (se mai possa validamente contemplarsi l'idea che a Madrid esistano pomeriggi anodini come esistono, per esempio, a Roma o a Milano) passeggiando intorno a Huertas.  Almeno ebbe il coraggio di avvisarmi subito, specificando -dettaglio tutt'altro che secondario- che Valdano indossava dei memorabili pantaloni color carta da zucchero. Perchè Valdano, di questo si tratta, è l'ultimo dandy del mondo del calcio.

In un'altra occasione ho avuto modo di scrivere che anche José Mourinho è un dandy. But there I was referring to the aspect, so to speak, of the sociological term, the figure of the character with the spirit that breaks the conventions of his time, not just for the sake of provocation, but also to feel the mediocrity that surrounds him, and thus have knowledge of their own superiority. If Mourinho embodies the ethics of the dandy, Valdano represents the elegance of a dandy, and that is why, now working together at the same time they look like and dislike. To paraphrase the title of a book by a writer from Brooklyn, Jorge Valdano is so elegant in him everything is illuminated. The triangle that closes his companion, who wrote the article on Sunday on the last page di Marca, la gomina che applica sui riccioli, la risposta che dà all'intervista, la stretta di mano che scambia con il giocatore appena acquistato, il risvolto  che si fa fare dal sarto sui pantaloni, l'accento con cui marca l'ultima sillaba, la postura che adotta quando cammina, il sorriso che accenna quando riflette, la sua idea di calcio. 

Se avessi davvero incontrato Valdano in una di quelle fantasmagoriche peregrinazioni notturne, dopo avergli offerto da bere, avrei voluto parlare con lui di tutto tranne che di calcio. Parlare di calcio con Valdano mi sembra così sprecato, così superfluo, così pornographic, go to bed as his compatriot Belen Rodriguez. From Valdano I would tell anything done, what is the metro line in Madrid that prefers, as it furnishes a good living keeping a balance between rococo cherubs and Flos, what should order at a restaurant in Punta del Este, where is the right time to buy a house in Malaga, where are the great Argentine writer, what is the right length of sideburns, what it feels like to fall with his helicopter in the Mexican desert (and survive, I might add). So, one way or another, we still talked football. 'S why we have been hurt when I read the interview-portrait che Simon Kuper, non l'ultimo dei giornalisti (anche) di calcio, gli ha dedicato oggi sull'inserto domenicale Life&Arts del Financial Times. Perchè si è parlato solo di calcio, e per di più in modo banale. Il Real Madrid è stato forte finché c'è stato Franco, perchè sotto le dittature vincono sempre le  squadre delle capitali. Come no. Un'occasione sprecata, come portarsi a letto, e non nel loggione economico del teatro dell'opera, la connazionale Belen Rodrìguez.

Oltre a essere dandy impeccabile, Jorge Valdano è calciatore sopraffino (mise il proprio sigillo nel mondiale vinto Argentina in 1986, after Maradona's famous goal from England was the irony of complaining with her boyfriend because she had not passed the ball despite being in good position), coaching is lit (on the bench of Real won playing well , those of Tenerife and Valencia merely playing well), is sports director heard (Florentino Perez is not a step, and does not spend a euro, if not first consulted), is a journalist sought (the titles are wasted he works with el Philosopher), is inspired writer (you can start with this ). Jorge Valdano is the demi-monde of the jet-set Madril an aquarium of no-men d'affari con cravatte Hermès su camicia rosa e gemelli extra-large, rampolli di alta società vestiti come Lapi Elkann del discount, schivi toreri che hanno perso il gusto dell'affaire mondano, matrone che, sulla via dell'ultra-cafonal italiano, sorseggiano gin tonic con riduzione di collagene e angostura al bancone del Castellana 8 , allenatori portoghesi che non sanno farsi il nodo alla cravatta- come Alberto Arbasino sta al demi-monde della cultura italiana: giganti sulle spall(in)e di nani. Questo l'ha scritto A.A. nel suo diario sull'ultimo o penultimo numero della rivista Nuovi Argomenti, ma potrebbe averlo scritto Valdano in qualunque dei suoi cinque libri: 

How many summers in the sea and round circles, no longer found those "panzoncelli jokes" that was often called Pupetto or Bebuzzo. Ammicavano in panties, with un'oralità very gestural. They were the last to speak cordially pisquano, spree, crackpot, Funkypuss, urination, meet, dumb, ricere. And the U.S., in Capri: "Since we have prepared a beautiful sunset?"

Jorge, how long you do not see those sunsets on the Paseo de la Castellana, near the Plaza Castilla? How long the Americans prefer the hot sands of Barceloneta fake olive cold martini served in the terrace the Bernabeu? From When did you find the most Pupetto and Bebuzzi but also Menotti and Soriano, and the Fontanarrosa Di Stefano? In his article

disappointing (even an unknown blogger Mexican he could do better), Kuper merely sketch, and concealed between the lines, an unlikely comparison between their Di Stefano and Valdano, Madrid of the two Argentines more history of Madrid. Those who most embody the true spirit of the winning team before the arrival of Valdano, had won "only in black and white" (the five samples of the fifties branded cups, in fact, Di Stefano). He clearly understands that Mourinho Valdano swallows bitter pill, because its the idea of \u200b\u200bfootball Guardiola puts into practice the enemy when he reports that Madrid is the first result and then the game, while the opposite happens in Barcelona. Who is dissatisfied with this team where no one shows when you lose sight of the fire, and passion for the triumph has been supplanted by a wide range of passions much more prosaic. Feeling that the relentless passing of time is more afraid of the wrong goal by the attacker (for the second one can always make up in the window of the winter transfer market for the first but there's nothing to do). That football has changed, because before a sporting director had a direct relationship with the player, and now instead is hard to disentangle the plethora of agents, attorneys, fathers, cousins, girlfriends, pr, that revolve around lawyers. Show that the company hides the paradoxical secret deal seamlessly with a character (Mourinho, Raul, Valdano itself) without getting to know him even remotely real.

remains the consolation of a sentence: When a reporter recently put two tape recorders in front of him before an interview, Valdano said: "Ah! The first is to record my words, the second to record my thoughts ". The next time you walk at night to Madrid need to remember to bring three recorders, one for your dreams. Has never met Jorge Valdano.