Las Corts, Sunday, December 6, 1953. Deportivo (then Coruña, simply) appears against Barcelona with a novelty, an 18-year-old boy who played in the regional team, in the Fabril, and has been urgently summoned to cover the loss of Uruguayan Dagoberto Moll. His name is Luis Suárez Miramontes, he carries the ten on his back and dreams of emulating his brother José, seven years older, who already made his debut in the Primera, at Alcoyano (and will later play for Celta). It has been a busy week at the butcher shop that the Suárez family owns on Hércules Avenue in A Coruña. The future Ballon d’Or winner woke up one day and his mother told him the news: “Luisito, what do your clients say that you are going to Barcelona, they have read it in the press!”
The official confirmation was given to Suárez by the Deportivista coach, Carlos Iturraspe, a historic former Valencia player, one of those who managed to save the forced break in 1936 and continued playing until the age of 38, already in Levante, and finally hung up his boots in Castellón. Iturraspe, a tall but lazy football center half (they say he often fell asleep and arrived late for training) even appears in the list of Barcelona footballers because he anecdotally dressed as a Barça player during the war. Then he was a coach and his greatest successes were taking Mestalla to First Division in 1952 (promotion not completed due to incompatibility with Valencia) and launching our Suárez to stardom, whom he defined like this: “He is a wise rat.”
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The president of Deportivo thought he was getting rid of a package
Luisito premiered in Las Corts, packed to bursting in the wake of the Cinc Copes. That day the magical Barça forward was made up of Tejada, Basora, Kubala, César and Manchón. Terrifying attack that defeated Deportivo by six goals to one.
But the keen nose of the Barcelona public detected that the boy wearing the blue and white number 10 was different and even rewarded Suárez’s interventions with two good ovations. And the one who not only sniffed out a star but also signed it was Kubala, who immediately notified Samitier and the directors: “That ten, we have to sign him. He has everything: vision of the game, he knows how to change the ball, very good.”
From there everything rushed. In mid-January it began to circulate in the Madrid press that Barcelona had offered one million pesetas (an exorbitant amount). Real Madrid itself sent its technical secretary, Juan Antonio Ipiña, to analyze the game of the future star. And the president of Deportivo, Dr. Antonio Martínez Rumbo, explained that Suárez would end up in Madrid “even if they pay us less”, in compensation for the traditional good relations between both clubs.
However, the strategy designed by Barcelona was successful: a joint offer for Suárez and Moll, who was out of contract in June and, as a foreigner, was not subject to the right of retention. On March 21, 1954, Depor returned to Barcelona, to play in Sarrià, and the deal was closed. Barça finally paid 625,000 pesetas for both, extended a contract to Moll for 800,000 pesetas over 4 years and offered Suárez 125,000 pesetas annually. Rumbo was convinced that he was making a profit out of a footballer that he could no longer keep (Moll) and was also getting rid of a package, a footballer that the Galician fans cheered for for his precious style. “Thank goodness we got it out of the way,” he declared. The future successful coach, Arsenio Iglesias, who coincided with Luisito in that League, recalled: “It was incredible, they whistled at him! If they whistled at him, they would have had to kill the rest of us. “He was a kid and he was already the best of all!” Suárez defended himself: “In football you don’t have to expose yourself when there is no advantage to compete for the ball, it is nonsense.” Kubala understood it perfectly.
The Suárez couple
Dagoberto Moll, another victim of harshness
With Suárez came Dagoberto Moll, a 27-year-old Uruguayan, a classy interior and a fighter who had no luck with injuries, I guess you understand. In his first year he was struck down in Barcelona-Hércules after 6 minutes of play. He held on as best he could until the 25th minute and left the team with ten until the end (1-1). It so happens that Kubala reappeared that day after breaking his collarbone suffered in Santander and was out for two months. That was hell. Moll never wore Barça again in official competition, his brilliant career was ruined: torn ligaments and meniscus in his right knee. “An injury similar to that of Kubala in San Mamés,” the doctors said.
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