The centenary year of Tenerife is having a bit of everything, a uniform, a hymn, a book, several exhibitions, forums, talks… and also a visit to Vatican City to participate in the general audience of Pope Francis, held yesterday. There, a representation of the club, led by President Miguel Concepción, had the opportunity to share a few minutes with the pontiff. An “endearing and beautiful” moment – said the leader -, a brief soccer talk, since his holiness dominates the subject, and the delivery of blue and white gifts.
Just in case, Concepción was encouraged to ask Francisco to give him “a little hand with a prayer” so that the team coached by Luis Miguel Ramis – he stayed on the island preparing for Sunday’s game against Lugo – goes further than the last campaign, that is, to the First Division.
The objective is none other than to recover the status of the best times, if possible, those of the 90s, when Tenerife was fashionable and crossed borders, among other things, due to the presence of coaches and players in its squad Argentines of the prestige of Jorge Valdano or Fernando Redondo, Francisco’s compatriots. That was the perfect link to break the ice yesterday. For his holiness, the representative club is no stranger. “We must not forget that important figures from their country have passed through our team and that we continue to be a reference in Argentina”, indicated Concepción, taking stock of the meeting with the pontiff. “It was all very pleasant and, by the way, we ask you to give us a little hand to be able to achieve promotion in this centenary year,” confessed the businessman.
Concepción explained that the visit to Vatican City was scheduled a long time ago, when in 2021 the commission was created that was going to be in charge of the acts related to the club’s centenary. The subsequent intervention of the bishop of the Diocese of Nivariense, Monsignor Bernardo Álvarez, was essential for the sports entity to be present at yesterday’s hearing. “It has been something endearing, we are all excited,” insisted the president. “That His Holiness has given us an audience is a satisfaction for us; and, above all, on this centenary anniversary. It has been very pleasant and we are very happy”, declared Concepción.
In the middle of the week of competition, he did not overlook the team’s recent debut in the League, with a defeat at the Eibar stadium. “A game doesn’t tell you anything, anything could have happened and perhaps the fairest thing would have been a draw,” he warned to place the goal of the season in “competing well” and “fighting for high positions to achieve promotion”, goal for which it will be essential to have a “compensated team”.
On behalf of the club, the directors Conrado González, Samuel Gómez and Juan Manuel Quintero also attended, as well as the sports director Juan Carlos Cordero and the reference shareholders José Miguel Garrido, Amid Achi and Juan Pelayo. With them, the presidents of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo of Tenerife, Ángel Víctor Torres and Pedro Martín; the mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga; and Bishop Bernardo Álvarez.
Invited to the Canary Islands
Ángel Víctor Torres described as “historic and very emotional” the act developed in the Paul VI classroom, since the pope “is a personality that goes beyond the religious.” Along these lines, he believed that Francis is “an example in the ethical and moral aspect, and in his message of working for the most vulnerable.” For all this, he stated that Tenerife was right to request his presence at the hearing. “It puts the Canary Islands on the map,” he added. Precisely, the head of the regional government took advantage of the occasion to invite the pontiff to visit the Archipelago. “It would be an honor,” he asserted. “We share the language and many more things with Argentina and Latin America, and it has been a special moment for the club, for the sport and for the Canary Islands,” he said.
For his part, Martín highlighted the simplicity that Francisco showed in a talk with the Blue and White delegation that was “brief, but very close.” The president of the Cabildo de Tenerife revealed that the pontiff had time to share a joke and that he conducted the exchange of views with a “relaxed tone”, mainly to convey to the club “his best wishes from him.”
A soccer dad
The visit of Tenerife is not the only one from a football club that Francisco has had in recent months. Without going too far, last March he blessed the hundred years of existence of one of the Blue and Whites’ rivals, SD Ponferradina. In reality, his life has been linked to this sport, either as an amateur player – goalkeeper – or as a self-confessed supporter of San Lorenzo de Almagro (Argentina) and, of course, of the Albiceleste team, which he has also received in the Vatican, as well as the Italian absolute, clubs like San Lorenzo –of course–, Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona, Lazio or Rome, FIFA and UEFA leaders… Their fans have been the perfect claim to choose the gift ideal at each visit: a football shirt. He now has another within his extensive collection, the one from Tenerife.
return to Rome
For a different reason, Tenerife traveled to Rome 26 years ago. The draw for the UEFA Cup round of 32 matches had crossed the island team with Lazio. On October 15, 1996, the Light Blue and Blue and Whites met at the Olympic Stadium in the Italian capital in the first leg. The locals won by a single goal scored by Nedved. The second leg, played at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López on October 29, 1996, left one of the most spectacular matches in the centenary history of Tenerife to be remembered. The squad prepared by Jupp Heynckes won 5-3 and went through to the round of 16.
The gifts and the anecdote of the scarf
Since yesterday, Pope Francis has had a CD Tenerife shirt, with the exclusive design of the centenary, serigraphed with his name and with the number 10 on the back, a number related to Argentine stars such as Maradona or Messi. The Tenerife delegation also presented him with a pennant, the club’s one hundred year book, a pintadera and a scarf. This last gift brought out the pontiff’s sense of humor, who questioned the visitors if it was necessary to wear a garment like that in the Canary Islands. Ángel Víctor Torres, president of the regional government, shared that anecdote. «He asked us, joking, if it was so cold in the Canary Islands». Likewise, Torres pointed out that the pintaderas “reflect the pre-Hispanic Canarian reality.”
