Joaquín is already a legend

A whole life passed in front of Joaquín on a festive night full of emotions. 23 years in professional football and 622 games in LaLiga are already part of the story of a unique footballer. It was a special, vibrant and moving tribute, perhaps the best for a character who has transcended the world of football to become a true social icon. The final chapter of Joaquín’s farewell took place in his field, Benito Villamarín, filled with 60,000 Betis who gave themselves to his idol in a demonstration of faith. The focus of the tribute was a friendly match between Joaquín’s teammates at Betis and rivals and also teammates from the teams in which he played as well as the Sevillian team, in the case of Valencia, Málaga and Fiorentina.

In the eleven in which Joaquín played, players from the Betic first team lined up, in the case of Aitor Ruibal, Miranda or Borja Iglesias. With Canales, Juanmi, Ayoze and Guardado on the bench. Footballers who accompanied Joaquín in his career at Betis passed through that team, such as Doblas, Juanito, Rivas, Assunçao, Oliveira or Denilson. On the bench, in addition to his two brothers, Ricardo and Lucas, who spent a few minutes in the second half, other teammates such as Contreras, Luis Fernández, Ito, Varela, Tais, Edu, Cañas, Arzu, Capi, Barragán, Merino, Cejudo, Benjamin, Melli or Ruben Castro. All trained by Manuel Pellegrini, who has taken Betis to Europe for the third consecutive year and for the first time in its history.

Men who have made history in Spanish football played in the so-called team of legends. Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Marchena, Capdevila, Angulo, Ceballos, Baptista, Guti, Cazorla, Luque and Raúl faced the Verdiblancos, with José Antonio Camacho on the bench, the coach who made him debut in the Spanish team and took him to the World Cup in Korea and Japan at the age of 20. Reina, Albelda, Camacho, Mendieta, Saviola, Sergio León, Nolito, Morientes, Tristán, Van Nistelrooy, Bellerín, Borja Valero, Fabián, Duda and Jesús Navas completed the selection of stars. The match official was Eduardo Iturralde González. Ceballos, Reina, Sergio Ramos, Bellerín, Raúl and Fabián were the most acclaimed players by the Verdiblanca fans. The Betic fans asked Ceballos to return from Madrid. Also Jesús Navas, world champion with Spain and captain of Sevilla, Betis’ eternal rival, was very well received in a packed Villamarín. “I did not hesitate for a moment to be here,” Navas himself clarified.

Fernando Vázquez, Lorenzo Serra Ferrer and Enrique Setién, three Betis coaches who marked Joaquín’s career, were also invited to an act that was experienced with enormous intensity. The model and journalist Eva González acted as a presenter in a function that opened with the performance of the singer Niña Pastori, a friend of Joaquín. The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, attended the tribute of one of the most illustrious Andalusians. The proceeds from the party went to the fight against childhood cancer.

The 60,000 Béticos present once again enjoyed Casillas’ stops, Denilson’s bicycles, Guti’s class and Cazorla’s talent. It is what you have to culminate a 23-year career. Several generations of class players forged at the end of the 20th century and in this 21st century went to pay a heartfelt tribute to a unique footballer like Joaquín. The result was the least of it, but the portuense scored in his farewell and the party that took place in the Verdiblanco stadium was one of those of the time. Even the Torre del Oro, one of Seville’s emblematic monuments, was adorned with a projection of Joaquín’s face.

At the conclusion of the match, the already Betic legend gave the Olympic tour of the Verdiblanco field and was carried on the shoulders of several bullfighters who were friends of the portuense who attended this paid tribute, in the case of El Cid or Padilla. Of course, Joaquín took the cape and gave several sets under the rain that began to fall on Seville.

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