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No one ever played more for them; no player ever represented them more either. "Joaquin is Betis," the president said.
Joaquin always attributed his longevity and his strength to the fact that he was breastfed until he was 6. The fact that he said so, that he laughed about it, said something about the other reason he lasted so long. "He enjoyed life," one of his coaches says, fondness glowing from every word, "and for all that he was an icon he never, ever acted like it. He helped everyone, made the dressing room a better place, looked after everyone, and was serious when he needed to be."
Having a laugh didn't mean not working; it meant working better. You don't play in primera almost to your 42nd birthday just because you're funny. It didn't mean not trying. He was countercultural: he broke the barriers, the absurd assumption that a sportsman has to be super serious, that a smile was a problem, a symbol of frivolity. Football is supposed to be fun.
With Joaquin it was; he made football better, for everyone. If not always for him: at times, he is sure, it counted against him; the silliness, the jokes, the messing about, the dancing and the daftness, projected an image of him that didn't always help. Suspicion from managers which was unfounded according to those who worked with him, especially later.
"It has been an honour to coach him twice," Pellegrini says. His Spain career, certainly, was shorter than it might have been and that was a thorn in his side. His moment was a painful one: the missed penalty at the World Cup in 2002.
But that was just him, and those who worked with him welcomed that fun; it is what took him this far and what took some of them this far too. Look at that last paragraph again. His big Spain moment was 2002! He returned to Betis in 2015, most thinking he would play out the last couple of years of his career. It is 2023 now, a little less finta, a little less esprin, a lot less minutes, but still playing. And still somehow better, different to the rest.
Fallece Ruiz de Lopera a los 79 años
El expresidente bético estuvo ingresado en la UCI en el mes de enero por unas dolencias de las que fue intervenido en 2017.
24 mar 2024 - 00:38
Fiel a un estilo rocoso y arriscado de empresario hecho a sí mismo desde muy abajo, Manuel Ruiz de Lopera ha estado pleiteando hasta el final por las que consideraba que eran sus acciones pese a que alcanzó en 2017 un acuerdo con asociaciones de accionistas para poner fin a un largo proceso judicial que él no dio, a pesar de ello, por terminado.
Un presidente de otra época
Con un sentido patrimonialista del Betis, le llevó a cambiar el nombre al Benito Villamarín por el suyo -inaugurado parcialmente el 1 de enero de 2000 con todas las fuerzas vivas de la autonomía y la ciudad presentes- porque "este acero, este hormigón lleva mi sangre. Esta sangre se la doy al beticismo", según dijo antes de acuñar otro de sus hallazgos para la posteridad, ése de que el beticismo tenía "acolapsada La Palmera", la avenida en cuyo final juega el equipo verdiblanco.
Bajo la hojarasca del folclore y lo florido de su lenguaje único de disparates y hallazgos, el que hizo que existiera un diccionario 'Español-Lopera, Lopera-Español', siempre hubo un empresario duro y con un peculiar sentido del dinero que marcó la gestión del Betis y un anecdotario interminable, cierto o apócrifo.
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Un sinfín de anécdotas
Dueño de un estilo de arrabal y de terceras vías como las impagables de 'Llérida', 'un tal Frigo' (entre helado y Luis Figo), la 'Júver' ( de Turin) o 'las islas Feroces', como le dijo a un directivo suyo tras un sorteo europeo. Pero Manuel Ruiz de Lopera pasó de la gloria a los infiernos desde que, en una arenga desde el balcón del Villamarín tras el ascenso de 1992 afirmó aquello de 'estábamos en la UVI' y que 'yo os entrego un Betis libre, limpio, en Primera, de ustedes, Viva el Betis'.
Joaquin leading Real Betis to Copa del Rey glory was the perfect end to his career . except it's not the end
It was 12:49, Sunday morning. Down on the touchline, William Carvalho was on his knees, head pressed against the turf, hands together. Please.
Up in the stands above, they crossed themselves: once, twice, three times, as many as they could. Somewhere in there, this sea of green, Maria Dolores left her seat and paced, grasping images of the Virgin Mary, mini postcards of Christ.
That was her boy down there and she couldn't watch. Stitched into Juan Miranda's shirt was a photograph: In it, he appears with his family on the day he had been presented as a Real Betis player, the team he and they had always supported. Now here he was, standing there, in his city, surrounded but alone, entrusted with the final penalty in the shootout at the end of the biggest game any of them had ever played in. Score and Betis would win just the third Copa del Rey in their 114-year history, only their fourth trophy ever. No pressure, kid.
Not just any kid, either: the kid who had been there the last time Betis won anything, 17 long years ago. Then a fan aged five, Miranda caught the train that day to Madrid with his family and headed to the Vicente Calderon, a stadium that's not there anymore, to see Betis lift the cup.
Years had passed and doing it again depended on him -- a footballer now, not just a fan. His dad Juan Jesus had signed him up as a socio when he was a newborn baby. Member number 33,933 then, shirt number 33 now, he knew what this meant.
"That's the beauty of football," Bellerin said. "When Miranda scores that penalty it's just . pfff . climax. And I went . well, everywhere."
They all did, running wild. Not really knowing where to go and not really caring, either. Some fans left the stands and sprinted across the athletics track towards the pitch.
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In truth, they all had. And right to the end, right to his moment. In the shootout, you see, Joaquin too had stepped up to take a penalty. Football writes fantastic scripts; it also writes cruel, twisted ones. Everyone had scored when his turn came, the ball flying in the net. His took a more torturous, heart-stopping route.
It didn't. Joaquin admits that it's not always easy being him, carrying the responsibility and symbolism that he does. Before the semifinal, Joaquin had gathered his teammates and spoke to them "not as a player, a teammate, or a captain, but a Betis fan." He told them that his uncle, the one who used to take him to football training there when he was a kid, but had passed away since, unable to share in his career, had always said to him that the greatest gift on earth is the ability "to make people happy." They had done so then, giving them the chance to do so again -- a first final in almost two decades, in their own city.
After 120 minutes, it was level. And so it went to the spot, place of summary justice, a knife edge upon which to balance. One man at a time, walking alone from the halfway line as if walking the plank, while everyone else just pleads. And this time it was his turn.
The responsibility could hardly be greater, standing on the spot for Betis's second penalty, five minutes before Miranda would take their last. All that wait. All that weight, too. All the years, all the emotion invested. All the pressure, everything it means. His moment and their moment too, his club. An entire career feeling like it was leading to this. A longer career than anyone else, ever. So many people depending on it, on one shot. And the memory of Korea coming back, even after all these years.
Trayectoria
Real Betis Balompié
Joaquín nació en El Puerto de Santa María, provincia de Cádiz, donde se inició como futbolista en el C. D. Los Frailes, y posteriormente pasó al C. D. San Luis. [ 7 ] En 1997 entró en la cantera del Real Betis Balompié. En la categoría juvenil, ganó con el Betis la Copa del Rey (1999) y una Supercopa, en un equipo en el que figuraban, entre otros, Dani, Arzu y Toni Doblas. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] En la temporada 1999-2000 jugó en el Betis B, con el que disputó 26 partidos de la Segunda División B.
En la siguiente temporada, en la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA, disputó los seis partidos de la fase de grupos, incluyendo el triunfo 1-0 contra el Chelsea y un empate 0-0 contra el Liverpool en Anfield (El equipo bético terminó la liguilla en tercer lugar, y obtuvo como premio menor la clasificación para la Liga Europa de la UEFA).
A finales del verano de 2006, el club andaluz y el Valencia C. F. habían llegado a un principio de acuerdo para traspasar al jugador al club ché. Un día antes del primer partido de Liga, que iba a enfrentar precisamente a los dos clubes implicados, el entonces máximo accionista del club bético, Manuel Ruiz de Lopera se negó al traspaso, obligando incluso a Joaquín a marchar cedido al Albacete Balompié. Al final dicho intento de cesión se canceló, aunque Joaquín llegó a viajar a las instalaciones del Albacete Balompié, fotografiándose con algún operario del club manchego. Finalmente, Joaquín acabó fichando por el Valencia por unos 25 millones de euros que supuso en ese momento el traspaso más elevado realizado por el club andaluz. [ 12 ] [ 13 ]
Valencia C. F.
Con los 25 millones pagados por su traspaso, Joaquín se convirtió en ese momento en el fichaje más caro de la historia del Valencia C. F. [ 14 ] Fue presentado el 28 de agosto ante más de 18.500 aficionados valencianistas que le esperaban a su llegada en el Estadio de Mestalla. En el acto, Joaquín reprochó tímidamente el comportamiento autoritario de Manuel Ruiz de Lopera y agradeció a los dirigentes del Valencia el esfuerzo y el interés que mostraron por su contratación. En su primera temporada, jugó 35 partidos y anotó cinco goles, el Valencia clasificó a la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA quedando cuarto en Liga. Su segunda temporada en el club ché fue la mejor respecto a números y títulos, registrando 7 goles y 8 asistencias además de proclamarse campeón de Copa del Rey a pesar de una mala temporada en el campeonato liguero donde el Valencia clasificó décimo. A pesar de la crisis e inestabilidad en el club que asumía una fuerte deuda donde empezó a vender sus mejores activos, Joaquín fue clave en el conjunto valencianista en su paso por el club. En la temporada 2008/09 el club seguiría en una crisis de resultados quedando sexto en Liga.