Dad wouldn’t even watch his son play!

IT SAYS something for the rivalry between Rosario’s two football clubs that Marcelo Bielsa’s father, Rafael, would claim he had never seen his son play or manage Newell’s Old Boys. That was because Rafael supported Rosario Central. It is a rivalry that splits families and the city. As Newell’s midfielder Gerardo Martino said: ‘If you played in the derby, your main priority was to get out alive.’ The day before Bielsa’s first Rosario derby as a manager in 1990, Newell’s Old Boys, who could not afford hotels, were staying at the city’s Military Aviation College. Bielsa came out of his room to find Newell’s defender Fernando Gamboa playing the video game PacMan. ‘Can I ask you a question?’ ‘Yes, gaffer, ask away.’ ‘Tell me, what would you give to win tomorrow.’ ‘Everything, gaffer.’ ‘But what is everything?’ ‘Tomorrow is life itself, as simple as that.’ ‘I think you can give more.’ ‘Gaffer, I will play each ball as if it’s my last.’ ‘No, I am thinking of something else. We have five fingers on each hand. If I guarantee now that we will win the derby, would you cut off a finger?’ Gamboa (below) scored the first goal for Newell’s, a diving header from point-blank range, and Newell’s won one of the great Rosario derbies 4-3. ‘There is no title that is worth more than victory in the derby,’ Bielsa said. It would not be long before he would also have the title — the first of two at the stadium that is now named after him. He did not ask Gamboa for his finger.