It was in 1983 when Pablo Escobar sent for the coach to Medellín and tempted him to be the purslane coach. “Put in the figure,” the boss told him.
Even when the names of the greatest stars of world soccer seem to be far from Colombia, there is always one or another anecdote that connects them with these blessed lands of the tropics. Precisely, the story that steals the lines of this text has to do with a very important coach, Argentine and world champion, who died on May 5 due to anemia that gave him no respite. His name was César Menotti, ‘Flaco’, as he was nicknamed, and his connection with our country is terrifying and surprising. Pablo Escobar called him to offer him the technical direction of Atlético Nacional.
| See also: The curse of the leader of the All against all of the BetPlay League that has not been broken in 7 years
César Menotti’s conversation with Pablo Escobar on behalf of Atlético Nacional
It was 1983 and César Menotti had just resigned from the Argentina national team. After having managed to turn the albiceleste into the best team in the world in 1978, having achieved the same with the under-20 team in 1979, and having played in the 1982 World Cup in Spain, the man from Rosario decided it was time for a change of scenery. and he signed for FC Barcelona to be his new home. While in Spain and training with the Blaugrana club, two guys approached him and told him that his “Boss” required it, because he had a tempting proposal that was impossible to refuse.
It was then that César Menotti was transferred from Barcelona to Medellín to speak with the boss of the subjects, who turned out to be Pablo Escobar, the biggest drug trafficker in world history. According to Christian Martinoli, one of the most famous Mexican narrators, the boss called the Argentine coach to offer him the technical direction of Atlético Nacional. As is known, at that time América de Cali was flying with Rodríguez Orejuela and Millonarios was doing the same with Gacha, so the “Patron of Evil” sought to confront these two teams with the hiring of the Rosario.
“Set whatever price you want to come direct Atlético Nacional” was Escobar’s proposal; and although she was tempting, César Menotti rejected her and told her that his dream, at least in the short term, was to coach Barcelona and turn it into a competitive team in Spain and the world. After the conversation, the Argentine returned to the Blaugrana club and won the Copa del Rey, the League Cup and the Spanish Super Cup; and Pablo Escobar continued with his goal of turning Verde Paisa into the best team in the country, carrying out the “Los Puros Criollos” project and investing in the team through third parties.
#Colombia
