When Cruyff was attacked by 'Romerito'

The Paraguayan attacker arrived on Wednesday from Brazil and on Saturday he started a classic instead of Lineker. He had not played in Europe and was already 29 years old.

It was the last week of March 1989 and there was no talk of anything other than that Romerito. Cruyff was in his first season as coach of Barça, expected the visit of Madrid of La Quinta del Buitre and peremptorily demanded his signing.

Julio César Romero, Romerito, Paraguayan, had been chosen best player of America in 1985 playing in Fluminense. Cruyff had met him when they both played in the American League. He was an attacker with brilliance for the last pass and speed to reach the goal. But I was already 29 years old and had not been tested in Europe, so that Cruyff's insistence caught my attention. Barça had room for a third foreigner. Cruyff had been claiming Koeman for some time, but he did not let PSV go until the end of the season. In those Bakero was injured and that was when he gave Romerito attack.

The player was called by Fluminense officials on Saturday night 25. He was already asleep, after playing and scoring against Inter de Portoalegre. They summoned him to a restaurant at two in the morning and told him he had to go to Barça. He saw it risky, he wanted to resist, but at Fluminense the operation gave him 40 million, which he was not going to give up. The club was in ruins, it was their salvation.

Romerito was brother-in-law of Amarilla, ex-Zaragoza and Barça, who encouraged him to accept. It left on Tuesday, arrived on Wednesday and found an atmosphere of excessive expectation. He was given $ 40,000 for three months and the possibility to continue after the summer. The public opinion was upset.

The game was played on Saturday, April 1. All eyes were on him, he played like nine delayed, leaving on the bench nothing less than Lineker. He gave some lime and three sand. Some clairvoyant pass, good mobility, a promising technical air ... The game was leveled until the last 10 minutes of the first half, in which Barça overwhelmed Madrid. And there, in that decisive phase, three goals escaped him: in the 35 ', in the 41' and in the 44 ', especially this one, when he nodded at pleasure from the edge of the small area, but did not place it and stopped Buyo. At the break everything is comments on the goals he sent to limbo. Then he goes to less and in the 80 'he replaces Julio Alberto. The match ended 0-0. Madrid remained with three points of advantage plus the particular goalaverage. I would win that League. Núñez won re-election. It was voted throughout the day, until the game.

The only goal, against Málaga

Cruyff insisted on saying that he had done a great match, but he did not strain. He repeated against Zaragoza and did not score. He then injured himself against Valladolid. Lost the thread He reappeared three days from the end and on the last day he scored his only goal, Málaga. The companions, who had taken him affection, congratulated him effusively. By then I knew that they were not going to prolong the contract.

Five matches and a goal, at the price of 40 million, that Núñez got in a hurry with a rare scam. They paid him half between TVE and TV3, in exchange for advancing to Tuesday 4 their Recopa match against Sredets, in order to leave only for Wednesday Madrid-Milan, the European Cup semifinal. That way they could televise the two.

Romerito left discreetly. He followed his career through Mexico, Paraguay, Chile and again Paraguay, where at 38 he retired at Sanluqueño, his team of origin and soul. Here it was like an absurd caprice of Cruyff, that would make him forgive with the construction of the Dream Team. Romerito lives today in Paraguay, where he is highly respected.