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Spanish Inquisition: Guti - The Genius Who Departs Real Madrid As An 'Eternal Promise'
Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal gives his take on the outgoing Blancos 'Number 14'.....
26-Jul-2010 4:25:00 PM
By Subhankar Mondal
No one saw it coming... no one. When Enzo Maresca cleared the ball away from the penalty area, he must have thought that the danger was over for Sevilla. Cicinho had put in a cross that Zinedine Zidane had failed to control and the Sevilla midfielder hoofed the ball away, but only as far as Guti. With 25 yards out, a host of bodies blocking his view and with his back to goal, surely Guti couldn't do anything except spread it wide?
Wrong.
Guti did a 'taconazo', the outrageous back-heel split the Sevilla defence, Zidane was at the end of it and Madrid were on their way to bagging all three points. Guti conjured up the unimaginable, that one moment of genius that etched itself forever in an observer's memory.
That pass, and that pass alone, defines Guti, the temperamental genius who could never fulfill his gift, the "eternal promise".
Guti, The Great
If you think that it was fluke, then think again. Against Deportivo la Coruna, Guti's 'blindfolded' backheel was easily the best pass of the year as he chose to do what others would dread to think. Against Villarreal he volleyed home a goal that would have been impossible for many. Against Athletic Bilbao Guti audaciously lobbed the goalkeeper instead of prosaically shooting.
In May 2007 he produced arguably the best performance by a substitute that season to win the match against Sevilla and keep Madrid on course for their first league triumph since 2003. More than anything else, his performance that evening gave the Bernabeu a reason to believe in a title conquest, just as his sublime skills give football romantics a reason to retain faith.
Guti has been with Real Madrid since he was nine and in the first team since December 1995. His is a career dipped in stardom and glory: five league trophies, three European Cups and two Intercontinental Cups. A graduate of Madrid's once fabled cantera system, Guti scored los Blancos' 500th goal in the Champions League and 5000th in the Primera Division.
Defined by one Goal.com writer as one of the best final-ball passers of all time, Guti would go on to weave moments of sorcery from time to time, giving glimpses of his talent. His left-footedness made him sexy to watch, his physical appearance and rockstar-esque activities off the pitch gave him dark glamour.
Zinedine Zidane praised Guti during his time at the Bernabeu while Ronaldo defined him as "exceptional". His most polific season was in 2000-01 when stepping in for Fernando Morientes as a striker, he scored 14 goals in the league. His most creative campaign was in 2007-2008 when he was the highest assist provider with 17 in just 27 league starts - more than Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi or Ronaldinho.
Guti is a genius but a flawed one. Goal.com Spain's profile headline aptly sums up the essence of Guti: Angel And Demon - a man as much capable of summoning the awe-inspiring sublime as of committing the insanely ridiculous.
The Flawed Genius
Guti divides opinion. The 33-year-old was, and still is, a poet but his is an inconsistent, disruptive burst of art that disappoints more than it appeases. The lyrics wouldn't come out for days but when they would they would be resolutely supreme. Yet at times you would question whether it was worth the wait.
Perhaps it was not. Inconsistency was the demon that terrorised Guti and eventually impeded him from becoming the great player his former Real Madrid team-mates thought he should have been. Yet in one way or the way, those very players were responsible for hampering Guti's genius to express itself - their Galactic arrival overshadowed Guti's development and growth.
In 15 seasons with the Real Madrid senior side, Guti has been a regular for just three. His moments of geniuses are remembered by all because there are not many: it doesn't take long to compile a 'top 10 best acts' for the Torrejon-born. Guti is perhaps the Oscar Wilde of football - a maverick who produced relatively few pieces of great art.
In 15 years with the world's biggest club, Guti has seen the club go from winning three Champions League trophies in just five years to six years without getting past the last 16 stage. He has seen the Lorenzo Sanz era, Galacticos era, the Calderon era and the neo-Galactico era. Jorge Valdano was the coach when he made his debut and the Director-General when he conducted his farewell conference on Sunday. 16 coaches have been at the Bernabeu during his 15-year tenure.
The "Eternal Promise"
It didn't help that Luis Figo, ZInedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham and Ronaldo all came during his peak years. No, none of them exactly took his spot but systems changed, formations altered, coaches were fired - Guti, the home-grown lad allegedly raised as a Barcelona fan wasn't made the central thread.
Guti's talent was unquestioned, and neither was his temperament. Last season, he had an altercation with then coach Manuel Pellegrini during their 4-0 humiliation to Alcorcon in the Copa del Rey. Guti was supposed to act like an 'Angel in White', but on occasions he was the Devil incarnate. Series of yellow cards were punctuated by reds and his flamboyant lifestyle often made him a symbol of everything that has gone wrong with the beautiful game.
Guti chose poetry over prose but he couldn't become the great artist he should have been. While the rest of the mortals kill, pray and perform voodoo magic to be blessed with talent, Guti wasted his. Or perhaps was enforced by circumstances to do so. His was a greatness that was exhibited in painfully long and irregular intervals.
Guti departs the Berbabeu as a talent yet to be fulfilled - an unfulfilled talent. In other words, an "eternal promise". Ramon Calderon, for once, was right.
Watch the clip of Guti's outrageous backheel assist for Zidane against Sevilla:
Wrong.
Guti did a 'taconazo', the outrageous back-heel split the Sevilla defence, Zidane was at the end of it and Madrid were on their way to bagging all three points. Guti conjured up the unimaginable, that one moment of genius that etched itself forever in an observer's memory.
That pass, and that pass alone, defines Guti, the temperamental genius who could never fulfill his gift, the "eternal promise".
Guti, The Great
If you think that it was fluke, then think again. Against Deportivo la Coruna, Guti's 'blindfolded' backheel was easily the best pass of the year as he chose to do what others would dread to think. Against Villarreal he volleyed home a goal that would have been impossible for many. Against Athletic Bilbao Guti audaciously lobbed the goalkeeper instead of prosaically shooting.
In May 2007 he produced arguably the best performance by a substitute that season to win the match against Sevilla and keep Madrid on course for their first league triumph since 2003. More than anything else, his performance that evening gave the Bernabeu a reason to believe in a title conquest, just as his sublime skills give football romantics a reason to retain faith.
Guti has been with Real Madrid since he was nine and in the first team since December 1995. His is a career dipped in stardom and glory: five league trophies, three European Cups and two Intercontinental Cups. A graduate of Madrid's once fabled cantera system, Guti scored los Blancos' 500th goal in the Champions League and 5000th in the Primera Division.
Defined by one Goal.com writer as one of the best final-ball passers of all time, Guti would go on to weave moments of sorcery from time to time, giving glimpses of his talent. His left-footedness made him sexy to watch, his physical appearance and rockstar-esque activities off the pitch gave him dark glamour.
Zinedine Zidane praised Guti during his time at the Bernabeu while Ronaldo defined him as "exceptional". His most polific season was in 2000-01 when stepping in for Fernando Morientes as a striker, he scored 14 goals in the league. His most creative campaign was in 2007-2008 when he was the highest assist provider with 17 in just 27 league starts - more than Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi or Ronaldinho.
Guti is a genius but a flawed one. Goal.com Spain's profile headline aptly sums up the essence of Guti: Angel And Demon - a man as much capable of summoning the awe-inspiring sublime as of committing the insanely ridiculous.
The Flawed Genius
Guti divides opinion. The 33-year-old was, and still is, a poet but his is an inconsistent, disruptive burst of art that disappoints more than it appeases. The lyrics wouldn't come out for days but when they would they would be resolutely supreme. Yet at times you would question whether it was worth the wait.
Perhaps it was not. Inconsistency was the demon that terrorised Guti and eventually impeded him from becoming the great player his former Real Madrid team-mates thought he should have been. Yet in one way or the way, those very players were responsible for hampering Guti's genius to express itself - their Galactic arrival overshadowed Guti's development and growth.
In 15 seasons with the Real Madrid senior side, Guti has been a regular for just three. His moments of geniuses are remembered by all because there are not many: it doesn't take long to compile a 'top 10 best acts' for the Torrejon-born. Guti is perhaps the Oscar Wilde of football - a maverick who produced relatively few pieces of great art.
In 15 years with the world's biggest club, Guti has seen the club go from winning three Champions League trophies in just five years to six years without getting past the last 16 stage. He has seen the Lorenzo Sanz era, Galacticos era, the Calderon era and the neo-Galactico era. Jorge Valdano was the coach when he made his debut and the Director-General when he conducted his farewell conference on Sunday. 16 coaches have been at the Bernabeu during his 15-year tenure.
The "Eternal Promise"
It didn't help that Luis Figo, ZInedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham and Ronaldo all came during his peak years. No, none of them exactly took his spot but systems changed, formations altered, coaches were fired - Guti, the home-grown lad allegedly raised as a Barcelona fan wasn't made the central thread.
Guti's talent was unquestioned, and neither was his temperament. Last season, he had an altercation with then coach Manuel Pellegrini during their 4-0 humiliation to Alcorcon in the Copa del Rey. Guti was supposed to act like an 'Angel in White', but on occasions he was the Devil incarnate. Series of yellow cards were punctuated by reds and his flamboyant lifestyle often made him a symbol of everything that has gone wrong with the beautiful game.
Guti chose poetry over prose but he couldn't become the great artist he should have been. While the rest of the mortals kill, pray and perform voodoo magic to be blessed with talent, Guti wasted his. Or perhaps was enforced by circumstances to do so. His was a greatness that was exhibited in painfully long and irregular intervals.
Guti departs the Berbabeu as a talent yet to be fulfilled - an unfulfilled talent. In other words, an "eternal promise". Ramon Calderon, for once, was right.
Watch the clip of Guti's outrageous backheel assist for Zidane against Sevilla:
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