César Luis Menotti would not have been the same without Hurricane. And Huracán, surely, would have felt like an orphan without that soccer father. That 1973 team continues to be remembered as one of the most beautiful expressions seen on a field.. Everything was at the hands of Menotti, who, paradoxically, left the club in 1974 and never returned to direct it. It was something like the message that Joaquín Sabina delivers in the song “Peces de ciudad”, in which the Spanish troubadour says what for many becomes a precept: “To the place where you have been happy… you should not try to return.” And Flaco, who died this Sunday, at the age of 85, did not return, but he carried it in his heart as a badge of purest pride. Although he was always there. And, from now on, his elf will be there forever.
Fantasy or reality. How to describe that Hurricane who taught? To tell the truth, that Globe was a real fantasy. Everything began to be built in 1971, when president Luis Seijo traveled to Rosario, tempted by a young promise from the technical direction. She was César Luis Menottiwhose only experience had been as field assistant to Miguel “Gitano” Juárez at Newell’s.
Menotti, with a languid appearance, but precise and rich in words, did not hesitate and released his wings. As soon as he arrived, he began to outline the set. One of the first to arrive was Omar Larrosa, from Guatemala, and who in the long run would become a fundamental player and scorer for the champion’s team, with 15 goals. Another essential was Francisco “Fatiga” Russo, a fast-moving midfielder who had passed through Central Córdoba and Tigre, and who would be the axis between the defense and a team that attacked and attacked. They also joined Alberto Fanesi, Jorge Carrascosa and Nelson Chabaywith the credential of having been world champion with Racing in 1966. Of course, Huracán had its own brilliance: the club was already Alfio Basile, Roque Avallay, Miguel Angel Brindisi and Carlos Babington.
That reunion with his boys
“I am convinced that all Argentine teams are capable of playing football that gives a spectacle, a football like that, happy, like the one Huracán plays.“, He said Menottialready in 1973. But, to tell the truth, already in 1972 he was displaying high-level football, something like a prologue of everything that was to come.
Some time later the album was completed with the addition of René Houseman, one of the most important players in Quemera history. In the first rounds they beat, with an indelible memory in the 10th, against Rosario Central, in Arroyito, with a 5-0 that was even applauded by the local fans.
Houseman was one of Flaco’s weaknesses, which is always supported by an anecdote from Diego Maradona to symbolize what René was for his Huracán. “’They say I’m the best, this is the best,’ Diego told me. Houseman was awesome. A footballer who was born from nothing. He never reasoned, it was all the result of inspiration. He chose without any help the best for everyone. For him, for the team, for beauty, for efficiency…”
The team had an unchanged rhythm until several of its figures were summoned to the team led by Enrique Omar Sívori at the time. However, the team maintained its line and became champion three dates before the end, still losing (2-1) to Gimnasia y Esgrima, in Parque de los Patricios, on September 16, 1973.
“That Hurricane was different from everything. And to all. They appeared to go down in history as one of the greatest and brightest teams in our football. At least the best I saw in Argentina. But it did not express an era. Not a period climate […] I am convinced that he saved Argentine football”. An authentic Menotti.
He was always sure of his arguments without caring what they would say. Once the magazine El Grafico asked him: Do you prefer spectacle or results? Menotti’s response was sung. “The show! Simply because whoever gives good shows plays well. And whoever plays well almost always wins…”
“That equipment worked perfectly. There was great technique, but always at the service of the team”Avallay would recall. Win, like and score. Three words that defined Huracán in 1973. The base formation is still recited by heart today: Roganti; Chabay, Bouillon, Basile and Carrascosa; Brindisi, Russo and Babington; Houseman, Avallay y Larrosa. Each one had a transcendental mission. Those who shined date after date. And those whose work went unnoticed from time to time.
Menotti encouraged from the speech. That is why to explain the myth it is worth doing it from his words. One after another and in any area. Talk…many talk. But he always left some concept that, no matter how sweet, never failed to contain an idea as genuine as a nugget of gold.
“The biggest concern – since I have been a coach – is that my players perfect their football fundamentals as best as possible. The rest, even the opponent, interests me but does not worry me,” he used to repeat.
He was a coach with convictions. That’s why he didn’t give up: “I’m sure that 95 percent of the Argentine players agree with our idea. They all—and they know it well—get paid for playing and not for not playing. Then come the different nuances so that one can do it better than the other…”, already in 1972 he would embark on a route from which he would never deviate.
Not to mention the most profound ideas of the time: “I’m not very convinced about “imposing discipline” on the campus. It sounds like a military regime to me and football is something else… In any case, what worries me is having people who are honest and not meek for fear of punishment.”
Flaco always cared about the way and disdained shortcuts. He was aware of everything he achieved in Alcorta and Luna, and the boost that the conquest gave him. “Becoming champion with Huracán in that way and with those players was what allowed me to reach the national team”.
Menotti accomplished almost everything he set out to do in football. Perhaps one or two subjects were left pending. “I would have loved to manage the Santos of Doval, Mengalvio, Coutinho, Pelé and Pepe.” But he directed the Brindisi Hurricane, Houseman and Babington. An author team. Perhaps the Everest of football well played.