«There are times that it happens. They are of those days where I touch what you touch, you put it. They changed me at the end, but I think that if I had continued and they put a discount of these modern ten minutes into the game, I would score another goal more ».
Scoring four goals in a game is not easy. In fact, Narciso Rodríguez (Arucas, 1962) he never did it again in professional football. «In training categories, it had happened to me, but that was once and for all. It is so, it happens once in a lifetime», He comments by phone from his home in León. If scoring four goals in 90 minutes is extraordinary, it is more extraordinary to do it in a derby, on a day of maximum rivalry as Narciso Rodríguez did on October 1, 1986. «Imagine if it is strange that 35 years later you are calling me for that », The yellow ex-attacker laughs.
What happened that day with Narciso with Tenerife was almost divine. UD Las Palmas was in the First Division and the Blue and White team in Second B, although at the end of the season they rose to the silver category to lay the foundations of the best seasons in their history. «It was a single knockout match for the Copa del Rey. The game had its own thing because there is always that ‘fear’ of falling against someone who, by category, you should win. But it hit us. I was extremely lucky that day, ”he says.
1-4 was the work of a locomotive. At minute 20, the winger scored the first; at 69 he did the second after one of his speed moves; at 74 ‘he scored the 3-0 assisted by Julio Durán and leaving Aguirreoa on the ground; and closed the day with a rogue goal inside the area after a rebound. Easy, as the one who does not want the thing. «Heliodorus was full [15.000 espectadores según las crónicas del día] and Ramos Marcos whistled us. It rolled. I scored the first and you are happy, then the second falls, then another, and you are already highly motivated because the competition and the category is the least of it. The danger was that if you lost you were eliminated. In any case, they are special matches, especially for what is generated outside, from the fans to your own family, who are more eager. It was clear that it was a very special day, “he recalls.
No one has ever completed such a performance in a Canarian derby. Never. Narciso’s four goals are the history of the clashes that divide the Canaries for 90 minutes. «We were a great team. We are talking about a UD Las Palmas with nine canaries and a couple of foreigners. It is something that has been recovered at the club in recent years, identified with local people and the fans, “recalls the former UD, Sporting or Burgos player.
Having a group where the quarry prevails is something that Narciso lived through during his years as a player. And those who weren’t canaries, they adapted perfectly. “We had a base with people from the house and people like Contreras who seemed to be from here. That was key, “he explains. In the image, Narciso with the Chilean. |
But Narciso with Tenerife did not stop there. With the different shirts he wore throughout his professional career, the Arucan striker scored 11 goals in 12 games for the Blue and White club. Just two seasons later, Narciso completed a hat-trick at El Molinón to eliminate Tenerife from the Copa del Rey.
“It wasn’t cruelty or anything, but I was good at it. I can’t find a great explanation for him. I always had some luck against them, “he says. During his career he scored with Las Palmas (5 goals), with Sporting (5) and with Burgos (1).
“It was a day where everything is filmed, it lasts ten more minutes and I just put another one,” he recalls
Due to his experience in derbies, Narciso considers that this type of match “that nobody wants to lose”, more than the three points that he leaves in play, keep an important factor to draw dynamics. «The season is very long. It’s one more game and the league continues, with 42 games in search of a goal. What is certain is that if you take this game forward, your self-esteem rises, you gain a lot there in the short term, “he emphasizes.
All taking the derby as a great game that it cannot be turned into an “obsession.” “If it gets to that point it can be counterproductive for the team. When you want something to come with anxiety, it takes you out of the day-to-day dynamics. I heard some statements from Pepe Mel, when he beat Cartagena, that they were going this way because there was still a game left before Tenerife. You have to control that excitement of the footballers and surely he knows how to channel that passion, “he says.
A game that, almost like any other, makes Narciso jump off the couch and even change the channel at times. «It’s just that I get on my nerves. I live it almost better in the stadium. But the UD Las Palmas fan has arguments to be happy with what his team is doing, “adds Narciso, a terror for Tete.
