UD and Tenerife met in the second round of the 1986 Copa del Rey, in a single match at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López, and the yellow team surpassed the blue and white team with a large score (1-4). A duel that was marked by Narciso’s display against his favorite rival. He scored four that day out of the eleven in total he gave to the Chicharrero team in twelve games.
38 years have passed since the most impressive individual feat in an island derby. Many on the neighboring island pray to the saint Enric Gallego when the true God of derbies has two names and two surnames: Narciso Manuel Rodríguez de Armas. The forward of Arucas maintains the recipe to crush the Tenerife team: «They cannot become obsessed with the special meaning of the match, “When you anxiously want something to arrive, it takes you out of the day-to-day dynamics,” the player recalled to this medium in 2021 to remember precisely his exploits with the chicharreros.
Narciso’s blessing remains intact – he cannot make statements now because the club won’t let him. Even so, tonight he will be glued to his television at his house from León so that the Sory Kaba, Pejiño either Mark Cardona try to emulate their big night in 1986.
That day the YOUwhich was in First division, they faced Tenerife in Second Division B. The superiority was palpable, as much as that demonstrated by Narciso in front of the 15,000 spectators who gathered at the Santa Cruz de Tenerife stadium. «The Heliodoro was full. He rolled over. I scored the first one and you are happy, then the second one falls, then another, and you are already extremely motivated because the competition and the category are the least important thing,” Narciso recalled in 2021.
In addition, at that time he also sent a message that can now serve the yellow squad given the difference in category between the two contenders. «The game had its own because there is always that fear of falling against someone who, by category, you should beat, but we were extremely lucky that day»he added.
Luck or not, it seemed that the then Las Palmas coach also glimpsed a certain insecurity in the island squad. «Narciso is another player on the squad. Like any player, there are days when things go well, like in this match, and there are other days when they don’t go so well. What I hope is that we can go as far as possible in the Cup,” said Ferenc Kovács in a premonition of what was going to happen two rounds later, when Las Palmas was eliminated by Real Madrid C with a double from José Luis Pérez Caminero.
Now, 38 years later, the group of Garcia Pimienta envisions eliminating Tenerife, as is customary when they face each other in the Cup, given that of the nine times they have faced each other, only one has been the winner of the Blanquiazu team.
Eliminate them and access the round of 16 with the approval of the Tenerife killer, a Narciso who scored eleven goals against the chicharreros in 12 games.
