By David Whitworth | @DCWh1tw0rth
SEVILLE – There is a much-loved footballer in southern Spain in the province of Andalucía who transcends his own profession in terms of the sheer popularity and admiration which is showered upon him.
Throughout time, a footballer appears on the scene who can reach out to the masses far beyond their day-to-day profession. However, this particular ‘personaje’ or personality is unique in so many ways and represents a fascinating blend of elegance and charm married to a fierce will to win. This individual is called Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez, and is better known as simply Joaquín.
From his upbringing in his native El Puerto de Santa María, Joaquín possessed a thirst for football. He lived, breathed and slept the beautiful game from the very beginnings of his childhood. A football-mad lad with a dream to reach the very top. Born into a family of four brothers and sisters, his life was very much centred around the two fs: family and football.
It was his uncle, known as ‘El Chino,’ who noticed his talent and encouraged his talented nephew to focus on honing his footballing skills. He would regularly take the young protégé the hour’s journey between El Puerto and Seville to be coached by the Spanish football club Real Betis Balompié.
The Andalusian club noticed something special in the young Joaquín and started to take a keen interest in his footballing development – however there would be a problem on the horizon. Being the family-orientated lad that he was, he missed his family and friends when staying at the Betis lodgings and grew tired of the constant journeys to the extent that he almost quit football.
Crucially, he was persuaded by his family and the club to pursue a dream which deep down he craved – from that moment on, Joaquín would never look back.
In the 1999 – 2000 season, he would commence his professional career with the men’s academy team after spending five years in the youth ranks. He would play twenty-seven times, scoring two goals. But his debut season would be soured by the teams relegation to the third tier. Not to curtail a progressive first season, the club would promote him to the first team for the 2000 – 2001 season, making his debut on 26th August 2000.
What the club already knew became evidently apparent to the wider world – a superstar was in the making. In that season, he played thirty-eight of the forty-two matches in the second tier, scoring three goals, which was enough to secure promotion back to the Primera División.
With the club back in the big time and making rapid progress, so too progressed the footballer who matured and improved in harmony with his team season-after-season. He would make over two hundred appearances over a further five-year-period. As such, the rough diamond became the crown jewel, which propelled him to becoming a regular in the Spanish national team.
His elegance, dribbling ability and sheer pace as a tricky right-winger drove Real Betis to a memorable 2004 – 2005 season with a Copa Del Rey trophy and classification for the Champions League for the first time in their history – the first Andalusian club to achieve the feat. With his performances drawing acclaim and accolades from his club supporters and La Liga alike, so too did interest begin from overseas.
The following season, Joaquín would showcase his talents to a wider audience in the Champions League; in fact he played in all six group matches which featured both Liverpool and Chelsea. And it was precisely the Chelsea meeting which alerted their owner Roman Abramovich of his ability and subsequently sounded out his technical team to secure his services at all cost.
After positive talks between both parties, a deal was agreed of thirty-six million euros for a five-year-deal. The deal also included a prospective friendly match between the two clubs. It was a done deal with only the footballer’s signature needed to seal the deal.
His father, who is also his representative Aurelio Sánchez, picked up the then Chelsea manager José Mourinho from the Hotel Alfonso XIII to the offices of the then President of Betis, Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, to be present on behalf of Joaquin’s contract signing – however there was one factor neither party saw forthcoming: A rejection of the deal and no signature. The reason? The footballer’s pure love and feeling for Betis allied to his disinterest in the fortunes that would have awaited him. Add to the fact he was perfectly aware that the climate in London wouldn’t suit his outgoing, extrovert nature with the difference between Seville and London the relative difference between night and day.
To the dismay of both Betis president Lopera and Chelsea owner Abramovich, a deal wasn’t concluded and the player remained in the Betis ranks.
However, with Betis floundering the season after, Joaquín ultimately knew he would have to leave to progress his career. La Liga outfit Valencia came calling and this time the deal would be done. Nonetheless, it was a transfer not to be made easy as Lopera originally punished him for both wanting to leave his club and for the debarkle of the Chelsea deal.
Subsequently, he would be sent to the second division club Albacete Balompié on loan. To people’s amazement, Joaquín personally drove the five hundred kilometre journey to greet officials. Nevertheless, upon his arrival, he found no representative at the clubs offices present and posted a photo of himself with construction workers at the stadium. It was a comical time but soon after, the deal was declared null and void as common sense prevailed and Joaquín finally secured his move to Valencia.
During the following nine seasons, he would continue playing in La Liga with Valencia and Málaga and in Serie A with Fiorentina before making a heroes return to Betis in 2015. His signing would be on the very last day of the August transfer window – and it was highly controversial. With talks between Fiorentina and Betis becoming fraught to the point the deal was nearly off, Joaquín punched a coffee table in dismay – and broke two fingers.
To his relief, the deal did go through at the very last moment. At his unveiling – which was greeted by twenty thousand Betis supporters – he posed with a white cast on his arm as an example of the emotional time he endured to push through a return to his boyhood team.
In this second coming, he has played in three seasons with over one hundred appearances, scoring fourteen goals to date. He also helped his team return to the European scene, featuring prominently in this seasons Europa League. An unbeaten group stage campaign included a famous victory against AC Milan in the San Siro. It ensured Betis topped Group F to secure qualification into the next round against the French club Rennes.
The Spanish footballing icon appears in the top-ten standings of record games played in the Spanish Division with over five hundred appearances, playing over eight hundred times in total for club and country. That respect ensures in every away stadium he plays in, he receives a thunderous applause from both sets of supporters, who come together to respect and pay homage to this most magnificent footballer and entertainer.
To explain why an entertainer is because he is pure entertainment. Football has not only been the sole love of Joaquín, as he grew up dreaming to be a bullfighter but realized his talent with the ball would serve him better. He possesses a passion for comedy and references Richard Gere and Leonardo Di Caprio as stars of the big screen he would admire.
The footballer’s charm, character and charisma married to his ability to tell an exhaustive amount of jokes endears him not just in the football world, but in entertainment circles too.
A standard-bearer for being the joker-of-the-pack, he thrives on entertaining and actively comments his tales on social media. His broad smile is infamous, and that enthusiasm ensures he regular appears on radio and television. Appearances which have included successfully hypnotizing a chicken live on television to driving the Betis team bus through an assault course; welcome to the weird but wonderful world of Joaquín.
He is also famous for an interview with the Brazilian footballer Julio Baptista during their Málaga days. When Joaquín answers: “Tennis,” to the question of what hobbies interest him, Baptista replies: “You’ve never played tennis in your life and you say tennis!” To which Joaquín infamously says: “I don’t even know how to pick up a racquet, Julio!”
To this day, that joke rumbles on to the extent Joaquín has created a clothing line entitled ‘Hulio’ in reference to his dear friend and THAT interview.
Joaquín has stated on many occasions he would love to go into the showbiz industry upon his footballing retirement. As football would lose a star; showbiz would gain a superstar. His likeable and personable nature, mixed with his core family values and high work ethic, have ensured he is held in the highest of esteem. Yet the humility of the man ensures he remains a cheerfully modest star both on the football field and in front of the camera.
This perfectly encapsulates the man behind the smile.
#Joaquín
#Betis
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