“How did the iron target sound!” | Sports

This time it will not be in Benito Villamarín or in Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. Seville once again hosts a crucial appointment for the Spanish football team, which will play against Sweden with a direct pass for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. It will be at the La Cartuja stadium. The capital of Andalusia, the permanent home of the Spanish team between December 1983 and June 1995, witnessed two very special matches in which the Red team played their way to the World Cup. The first was on September 25, 1985, in Benito Villamarín, where Iceland had to be defeated to play the World Cup in Mexico 86. Nine years later, on November 17, 1993, Spain had to beat Denmark, the European champions. Playing the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Spain won 2-1 and 1-0.

“In my time as a player, we qualified for the World Cup against Denmark in Seville. I don’t remember a match like that in my career where the fans carried us in the air like that day,” Luis Enrique said after his victory over Greece on Thursday. The national coach (62 matches with Spain and 12 goals) lived that historic confrontation against the Danish national team. It was in Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and Spain won with a goal from Hierro in the 63rd minute. La Roja got his World Cup ticket in the USA after missing the European Championship in Sweden 92.

The event is the evolution of the party. Capt. Andoni Zubizarreta was fired. “In 10 minutes it occurred to me to give Michael a pass [Laudrup] And I think it wasn’t the best idea or the best time to do it. I took him out of the area and he probably had some clarity, because I prevented them from making us 0-1. It was red,” explains Al-Zoubi. “I remember that the referee almost asked me to pardon after I was eliminated. The captain was leaving, 10 minutes after a real final and in a very rare situation because Canizares also entered, which is unusual, as Julen Lopetegui had lower back pain”, adds the former international goalkeeper. “The crowd was fantastic. There were several minutes with them controlling another one as we held people’s breaths. I listened to him from the dressing room, where I stayed with the rep, Gerardo Gonzalez. The audience listening was phenomenal. What did that iron target look like! Revival Zubizarreta confirms.

I remember that Javier Clemente [el seleccionador] He told us to defend hard and we were going to get some set pieces. I always tried to find the same center in the area, from the penalty spot to the back. The Goicoechea ball came to me and I finished,” Fernando Hierro remembers too. “It might be the most important goal of my sporting life. Hierro adds, 89 caps, scoring 29 goals.

Zubizarreta lost property in Barcelona because Johan Cruyff decided to give it to Busquets. “The fans helped us a lot and we were a very competitive team. I felt like I couldn’t fail, that I had to give peace of mind, go and leave them with one less. I remember the hug I gave Hiro and Paquiero at the end of the match,” says Zubizarreta. That Spain, led by Javier Clemente, fell in the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup against Italy.

Zubizarreta, with 126 caps, three World Cups and a European Championship, was the only player to have played these two historic matches. If in 1993 he was the head of the dressing room, in 1985 he played his fourth match with Spain, and the second referee, both of which were against Iceland. “The Gordo [Rafael Gordillo] And it was Camacho who dealt with this case. We played the World Cup after we finished second in Europe in France and I was under pressure to replace Arconada. And I remember we had a hard time beating Iceland,” Zubi says. Two goals from Rincon and Gordillo changed the score in Iceland’s first goal and Spain entered the 86th World Cup in Mexico.” I hit him regularly with a half-ball. They all jumped on me and let me down. For me it was phenomenal. It was my first game in Benito Villamarín with Spain since I was a player in Madrid, but it was my field of work, my people and the Betis stadium. As they will do on Sunday, Seville fans responded,” recalls Rafael Gordillo, a 75-time international, three goals and two World Cups (82 and 86) and three European Cups (80, 84 and 88).

“There was really something magical with Seville and anything was possible, 12-1 result for Malta [en 1983]. For me it was a liberation,” Al-Zoubi sums up. “It cost us so much, we knew we were going to fight hard because the Icelanders weren’t as bad as they claimed. They didn’t stop running the whole game and it was hard. It wasn’t worth it and we suffered a lot. That stage was tough, with defeats against Wales and Scotland, two great teams,” adds Giordillo of another unforgettable night in the Seville heat.

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