Wednesday 14th November 2018
I was privileged to meet a legend of Spanish
football last week: Joaquin.
The 37 year old gave an interview for UEFA Europa
League Magazine Show and I went to produce the shoot.
The day began with a 7am flight from Barcelona to
Sevilla, then a coffee at the airport with cameraman Andy White!
We made our way to the Estadio Benito Villamarin to
film some shots of the stadium, then arrived at the Luis Del Sol training
ground at 10:45 to film training. The press officer Mercedes was extremely
friendly and we were granted extra access to film training beyond the permitted
15 minutes.
I was interested to see that coach Quique Setien
really participates - and competitively - in the exercises, particularly the
rondos!
We were able to film the players from
close-distance and I admired the lack of pretence around the club.
From training we made our way to the stadium and
set up for the interview in the lower stand of the Grada de Preferencia (west).
When Joaquin arrived he was marvellously humble and
approachable. He is from El Puerto De Santa Maria where I go on holiday every
summer so we exchanged stories about local spots there! He told me that once
upon a time "La Venta Rufana" was the restaurant that sold the
greatest quantity of fish in all of Spain, and that the owner had a helicopter
for transporting the fish, as freshly as possible, from coast to kitchen!
He also recommended Aponiente, though he warned
that it's a "different type of cuisine" - pricey!
During the interview, conducted expertly by Gonzalo
Aguado, I was struck by how measured, considered, thoughtful, intelligent,
eloquent and patient Joaquin was. He treated every single question with maximum
respect and gave thorough and heart-felt answers.
His stature within the game is really quite
extraordinary. At the time of meeting him he'd played 494 La Liga matches -
only nine players have ever played more. He will soon overtake Fernando Hierro
on the all-time list.
After the interview we filmed some beautiful
sequences and he told us some wonderful tales off camera.
In November 2004 Spain played England in a friendly
at the Bernabeu, and won 1-0. Joaquin gave Ashley Cole a torrid time on Spains'
right flank, with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho watching in the stands.
The following day was a day off and Joaquin took
the train to his home town, el Puerto. There waiting for him at the train
station was Mourinho, who'd spoken to Joaquin's father and the Betis chairman,
and had agreed a price of €38m to take Joaquin to Chelsea. Joaquin said
"No thanks, I don't want to live in England."
He stayed at Betis until 2006 and then spent nine
seasons away from his beloved club: five at Valencia, two at Malaga and two at
Fiorentina.
When Betis cam calling for him in 2015 he had absolutely
no doubts about returning, despite his good form in Italy: He was captaining
Fiorentina and had led them to the UEFA Europa League Semi-Finals and fourth
place in Serie A.
He told us that, earlier in his career, Sir Alex
Ferguson had tried to sign him at Manchester United, and he'd simply refused.
And that he once had a medical at Real Madrid and would have signed, but the
Betis chairman was demanding too much money.
As a 20 year old he critically missed a penalty in
a World Cup Quarter-Final against hosts South Korea. He pointed out that
experienced players like Ivan Helguera, Miguel Angel Nadal, Fernando Morientes,
Gaizka Mendieta and Luis Enrique didn't take a spot kick that day.
He has two daughters who both speak fluent Italian
and English. He's now back in his home province of Andalucia and loving life
under coach Quique Setien - who he credits with extending his career thanks to
a love of possession based, and attacking, football.
Having met Joaquin, and now knowing what a
wonderful, humble person he is, I will always keep an eye out for the Betis
results. Especially in the UEFA Europa League where they are in with a good
chance of reaching the Knockout Phase with two group stage games remaining.
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