It was April 28, 1974. I was 7 years old. FC Barcelona, which that season had signed the best player of the moment, a Dutchman named Johan, was mathematically League champion. The Blaugranas had lost three games at the beginning of the competition, but since Cruyff’s debut they had not been defeated again. That day Barcelona tested its unbeatability against Atlético de Madrid of Luis Aragonés, Gárate, Ayala and Heredia, among others. It seemed that FC Barcelona would maintain its undefeated status with Cruyff, but Atleti ended up scoring. It took a while, because he did it in the 85th and 89th minutes, but he broke the streak of Rinus Michels’ team. The first of these goals was scored by Luis Aragonés from a penalty and I was there with my father, right behind the goal that Sadurní was defending. It is my first memory in a stadium. From that moment on I dreamed of being a footballer. Surely, I did not have enough level to reach the elite, although I continued training and playing in the Madrid preferential team until I was thirty, prioritizing my studies and, later, my work occupations. But football always fascinated me and accompanied me. Nothing has united our country more than the sporting successes achieved by our team in the last 16 years. I understand football as something that goes far beyond a sport. It is a universal language that allows us to communicate and connect with others on a deep level. Its ability to unite society makes it a powerful force for social change. In addition to connecting people around a team or selection, football is a powerful tool to promote inclusion and tolerance. Numerous social projects use the beautiful sport to promote coexistence between different communities and combat discrimination. By sharing a playing field, individuals from different ethnic, social and cultural origins learn to respect differences and work as a team. Related News Juanma Morales standard No The CEO of IFA supermarkets, first candidate in the elections for the presidency of the RFEF Miguel ZarzaI have the deep conviction that you do not need to have worked in the football industry to be part of it and have the ability to manage your assets, your resources and your influence to generate the greatest possible social impact. I decided a few months ago that I was going to work on preparing to preside over the RFEF. Without economic ambition, simply with the objective of taking our Federation to a better place. To a place that lives up to our latest sporting successes. To achieve this, I have surrounded myself with an extraordinary team that belongs nowhere else other than football. From David Silva to José M.ª García Aranda, passing through 12 other professionals who live the beautiful sport in their veins. Together we have built an ambitious program to activate the change that the ROYAL SPANISH FOOTBALL FEDERATION needs. Working to improve the quality of the social impact of football will be one of the three pillars of my candidacy, with dozens of measures to promote football from training, inclusion and exemplarity. Together with this pillar we will also work to develop an ambitious plan that improve the economic growth of the RFEF in a sustainable way, responsible growth that reverts to valuable investments for football. And thirdly, we will propose good governance measures that professionalize the management and transparency of the institution, returning to it the image that should never have been eroded as it has. Finally, transversally to the three pillars, we have set the firm objective of make the 2030 World Cup, which will be held among other countries in Spain, the best World Cup in history. This global championship must begin now, promoting our country brand beyond the place it occupies in the rankings. For all these reasons, the combination of passion and management is the basis of my candidacy for the presidency of the RFEF.
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