Adios Capitan

We've discussed here before how rare it is for a player to stay with a club for his entire career. The current nature of futbol does not lend itself to permanency. Look no further than our friend 'El Loco' Abreau for Real Sociedad! But this week futbol saw a career come to an end for a player who spent a whopping 20 years with the same club. A rarity indeed.

Luis Carlos Cuartero hung up his boots on Monday for Real Zaragoza after spending 20 years with the Aragonian club. The name will most likely be unfamiliar to you as he never scored alot of goals or really even made the starting 11 consistently. But what was consistent was his devotion to his club and to mentor younger players. Cuartero rightly served as captain for Zaragoza at the end of his career including the epic 3-2 triumph over Real Madrid in the 2004 Copa del Rey. It was Cuartero who memorably shouted from the 'palco' of Montjuic after receiving the trophy from 'Su Majestad' El Rey Don Juan Carlos, "Viva la Virgen de Pilar!" This being a reference to the statue of the Virgen Pilar at the Basilica in Zaragoza.

The native of Aragon understandedly wept at his press conference. The last two years were not what he hoped after experiencing injury and relegation from the first division with the club. But Cuartero's heart has been and will always be with zaragoza. This was fittingly summed up last year before the final game of the season when Zaragoza faced Espanyol and needed a win to have a chance at staying in the first division. Cuartero simply stated, "Yo juagria este partido con un cojo." Which means, "I would play this game completely crippled."

At the end of Monday's press conference, team officials and the press stood up and applauded the veteran, a scene rarely seen in Spanish futbol. We should do the same.

Resultados - Jornada 33
Rayo - Celta 4-1
R. Sociedad - Tenerife 1-2
Salamanca - Albacete 3-1
Zaragoza - Gimnastic 1-0
Hércules - Girona 3-0
Alavés - Xerez 1-2
Las Palmas - Eibar 1-0
Levante - Huesca 1-0
Elche - Sevilla Atletico 2-0
Murcia - Castellon 2-2
Córdoba - Alicante 2-1

Clasificacion

1. Xerez - 63
2. Tenerife - 62
3. Rayo - 59
4. Hércules - 59
5. Zaragoza - 58
6. Salamanca - 52
7. R. Sociedad - 50
8. Levante - 49
9. Castellón - 46
10. Elche - 45
11. Huesca - 44
12. Gimnástic - 43
13. Girona - 42
14. Las Palmas - 40
15. Murcia - 40
16. Albacete - 40
17. Celta - 39
18. Córdoba - 39
19. Alavés - 32
20. Eibar - 29
21. Alicante - 28
22. Sevilla At - 13