On January 13, 1995, four thousand souls entertained Paco Castellano’s team on the dock. Edu García scored the final penalty that illuminated a shield under the darkness. A Segunda B defeated a Primera under the guise of a derby. Cries of ‘cat, cat, you ate the chicharro!’ for Manolo López. Asier, Eleder, Padrón, Orlando, Paquito, Eduardo Ramos, Verona, Robaina…And Afonso, who is a chronicler.
Self-esteem electroshock. The feat of January 12, 1995 is worth a promotion. An overdose of dignity. The jef-foil eliminator. The most agonizing and beautiful cup pass against the Euro-Tenerife seed happened 28 years ago and Víctor Afonso has it in his head. Shelled, divided by chapters. (0-0) in the first leg, (0-0) in the second leg, extra time and penalties. Manolo was the Cat Arucas. The story of the soul. The UD Las Palmasin Second B and in the era of the catacombs, blew up all the predictions and knocked down the CD Tenerifewho two years later would fly to the UEFA Cup semi-finals with strategist Jupp Heynckes.
“A memory? An image? my father’s tears [Luis Afonso] at the Santa Catalina pier with the arrival of the expedition’s jet-foil. Crazy. It was stepping on land and we were not aware of what we had done. I still get excited when I see those faces marked by ecstasy. Almost three decades have passed and for me, who has participated in three promotions with Las Palmas [1996, 2000 y 2006], is worth a fourth category jump. With ten, after the red card to Alexis Suárez [minuto 43], we look each other in the face. We never gave up and passed on penalties. We bring a smile to the fans, in a very difficult time for the entity. With the team in Second B and Tenerife in First, we were doomed to be eliminated. But we do the impossible. There was only one person who believed in us, only one. Paco Castellano. The coach told us beforehand that we would achieve it. Thanks to a Manolo [López] incredible, which went from loved to hated in Tenerife, we advanced to the next round and then were eliminated by the Atlético de Madrid [dirigido por D’Alessandro]».
The cousin and Javier Pérez
Víctor Afonso, former coach of Las Palmas Atlético and who has the honor of signing the best classification in the history of small sailing, by playing in the playoff to Second in 2014, he reached 287 duels with UD. Nicknamed Grandpa, he retired in 2007 at age 35. A forceful central defender, a faithful admirer of Álvaro Pérez’s notebook.
He played 287 games in yellow, in two cycles, and also participated in the elimination of CD Tenerife in the 97-98 season. In that scenario, the pío pío team was active in the silver category after leaving Second B in 1996 – with the promotion of Pacuco Rosales, considered the mother of all promotions. The October 1997 ticket was based on the victory at the Insular (3-2) and the draw (2-2) at the Heliodoro. García Remón was the yellow team’s top coach, Turu Flores (2), Merino (2), the father of Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad) and Juan Carlos Socorro were the directors. On Tete’s part, Kodro (2), André Luiz and Alexis Suárez.
What happened in 1997 was vibrant, but the miracle of 1995 far surpasses it. The Tirma chocolate epic. The supermen of the jet-foil. Afonso participated in both qualifying rounds and admits that “there is no color; “The jet-foil thing was out of a movie.” Let them make a series.
And that after the promotion to the silver category [1996], they kissed the semifinals to fall to Ronaldo’s Barça – in the tie in which Ferrer seriously injured Miguel Ángel Valerón -. Against the Barça team of the late Bobby Robson, Afonso also participated (under Castellano) to complete the series of battles.
«I’ll stick with the 1995 tie, without a doubt. On the second time we defeated Tenerife [1998], the forces had been balanced. With García Remón we played the playoff against Oviedo and we were eliminated.
Regarding whether he collected the bonus – seven million pesetas, 50,000 euros – the former Atlético B or Lincoln Red coach loses coverage. “Of course it was charged, but I don’t remember more.” He does remember the provocations of the Tenerife president Javier Pérez, who in 1997 saw it too clearly. ‘If you ask me how much I want to win, I’m clear: 20-0,’ said the president, now deceased. Tears, dignity and the feat of faith. Vale of guide for Pepper. In the multiplexes of the lyric, the Supermen of the jet-foil. “We made an Island happy,” Grandfather concludes.
