Guti – the forgotten hero of Madrid and the flawed genius who lived in moments!

No one saw it coming... no one!

Madrid were playing away at the Riazor in January 2010 and leading 1-0 when Kaka picked out
Madrid’s number 14 on the edge of the box. The midfielder, darted in the box and now one-on-one
with the Deportivo goalkeeper, took a little touch with his left foot and shaped to shoot. But he did
not shoot. What he did is still part of a legend!!

The goalkeeper went down expecting a shot but Number 14, to the complete surprise of everybody,
brilliantly back-heeled the ball into the path of Karim Benzema who was left with a simple finish and
celebrated his goal with the man who made it all possible.

The outrageous back-heel he conjured up the unimaginable, that one moment of genius that etched
itself forever in an observer's memory.

Marca's front cover the next morning called Guti's assist 'The heel of God'. This is what Sid Lowe
wrote about the goal next day - “Guti instead left goalkeeper and defender on the floor to backheel
the ball into the path of Benzema. He could have scored himself. But scoring would have been too
easy; in the words of one of Guti's former team-mates, it would have been "too vulgar". Too
ordinary. Too dull. Too normal."

That pass, and that pass alone, defines Guti; Madrid’s number 14, the temperamental flawed genius
who could never fulfill his gift, the "eternal promise".

Also, if you think that it was fluke, then you are wrong. In a 4-2 win over Sevilla in 2006, there was
another spectacular backheel flick pass – a pinpoint through-ball, delivered from the centre of the
pitch around 25 yards from goal. The spectacular flick fooled the entire Sevilla defence, finding
Zinedine Zidane’s feet and allowing the Frenchman to slam home.

Guti's backheel was easily the best pass of that 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.

Here is the story of the genius who never fulfilled his promise!

José María Gutiérrez Hernández or more commonly known as Guti was one of the most talented
players of his generation, capable of moments of sheer magic. His unique ability and creativity stood
out even at one of the biggest clubs in the world. Revered for his flair, He was a serial winner who
collected 16 trophies at senior level, including three Champions Leagues.

Guti, a genius of a footballer who made over 500 appearances for Real Madrid and became a true
club legend.

THE BEGINNING:

Madrid through and through, Guti joined the famous Real Madrid youth academy “La Fabrica” at the
age of 9. He began his youth career as a striker before being moved into a playmaker role. His talent
was recognized early, and he progressed quickly within the youth ranks. After a season with Real
Madrid C in the third tier of Spanish football, Guti was selected for the Spanish U18 squad to take
part in the European Championships in Greece. Guti starred in the tournament as Spain went
unbeaten, notably scoring in the final, a 4-1 victory over an Italian side featuring Buffon, Pirlo,
Ambrosini and Totti. Upon his return from Greece, Guti was promoted to Real Madrid B for the
following season. Sparkling form in the second division with Real Madrid B, earned Guti his first call-
up to the first team.

Former Madrid star and youth team coach Jorge Valdano gave the teenager his debut at the
Bernabéu in December 1995. Guti slowly began to establish himself in the first team.

Its important to remember that the Madrid side that Guti broke into was much different to the team
of Galácticos of this century. In Guti’s debut season (1995-96), Real Madrid’s first team featured nine
players who had come through the academy, including stars Raúl and Manuel Sanchis.

The early years:

In ‘96 season, Guti became a reliable player off the bench as Madrid won the league in 1997 and the
Champions League in 1998.

Under new manager Guus Hiddink, Guti managed to become more involved in the first team, starting
seven consecutive league matches from November to January. Unfortunately for the Spanish
midfielder, Hiddink was sacked in February and replaced by John Toshack who returned Guti to his
regular role as an impact substitute, preferring a midfield three of Seedorf, Campo and Redondo.
Despite the change in manager, Guti appeared a career best 36 times for the club and was rewarded
with his first call-up to José Antonio Camacho’s Spain squad. Guti made his Spain debut in May 1999
in Seville against Croatia. The following season, Guti started 35 matches and scored eight in all
competitions as Real Madrid finished 5th but won their second Champions League in three seasons.
He felt he had truly established as a regular in the Madrid midfield!

GALACTICOS ERA AND LATER CAREER:

The summer of 2000 was a time of change in Madrid, Florentino Pérez, became president of the
famous club. Pérez wasted no time making additions to the European champions, spending €122
million on six players including Luís Figo. Even with the new signings, Vicente del Bosque kept his
faith in the young academy graduate. With the competition for midfield places fiercer than ever, del
Bosque often used Guti in a more advanced role. In absence of Morientes due to injury, Guti
responded with the best goal scoring season of his career, scoring an impressive 18 goals in all
competitions as Madrid strolled to the title.

The addition of Zinedine Zidane into an already crowded midfield meant Guti started less than 30
matches for the first time in two seasons. Still, Guti played an important role in yet another
Champions League winning side, starting both legs in the Semi-Final win over Barcelona.

At the age of just 25, Guti had broken through into the Real Madrid first team, made over 200
appearances and won nine trophies with the club, including three Champions Leagues.

Even as the Galácticos kept arriving, Guti maintained his position in the team, and in 2003 was
named vice-captain by Carlos Queiroz, a role he could keep until he left the club in 2010. As the years
went on, Guti became a useful tool to numerous managers, capable of playing behind the striker, in
various center midfield roles and even on the wing. Occasionally linked with a move to receive the
first team football that his talent deserved, Guti remained loyal to Real even as competitors to his
place arrived on an almost yearly basis. As the years went on, Guti remained influential but was
reduced more and more frequently to cameos from the bench, often with great success.

He had the potential to produce magical performances in a short period of time. On one such
occasion in 2007, with only a half hour to play and Madrid down 1-0 at home to Sevilla, Guti was
introduced in place of Raúl. Less than 20 minutes later, Guti had turned the match around almost
single handedly, producing two wonderful slide rule passes for Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robinho.
With just five matches to play in the season, the result proved vital as Madrid won the league by way
of head-to-head record over arch-rivals Barcelona.

In 15 seasons with the Real Madrid senior side, Guti was a regular for just three! He has seen the
Lorenzo Sanz era, Galactico era, the Calderon era and the neo-Galactico era. 16 coaches have been at
the Bernabeu during his 15-year tenure.

Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham and Michael Owen all came during his peak
years. None of them exactly took his spot. The systems changed, formations altered, coaches were
fired but one thing remained constant - Guti, the home-grown lad wasn't made the central thread.

It’s interesting fact that two of Madrid’s landmark goals in Real’s club history, their 5,000th goal in
the league and 500th in the Champions League are scored by Guti.

After his departure from Real Madrid, Guti enjoyed one more memorable season in Turkey with
Besiktas. The first name on the team sheet, Guti scored 11 and assisted 14 in 37 matches, leading the
club to the Turkish Cup title. Guti retired from football in 2012 and has since become a youth coach
at Real Madrid.

FLAWED GENIUS:

Unfortunately, his special performances appeared all too fleetingly. When Capello took up the
poisoned chalice in 2006, he declared that he wanted to build his Madrid team around Guti. Capello
soon realised, however, that he couldn’t place his trust in the player, who often struck a lethargic and
disenchanted figure when selected from the start of games. Substitute appearances had become his
forte.

This reinforced Calderón’s complain that Guti was an “eternal promise” in which his raw potential
could never be fulfilled.

His temperament was another huge obstacle to maximizing his potential. His well-documented
discontent about having to accommodate the long list of stars arriving at the Bernabéu illustrated a
frustration and maybe some amount of reluctance to rise to the challenge. Instead of generating
empathy, the outbursts portrayed a bitter, player who demanded to be the center of attention.

in June 2003 he said: “All the doors are closing on me. I was improving as a midfielder and Zidane
arrived. I was improving as a forward and Ronaldo arrived. I’m now in the national team as a
midfielder and Beckham comes.”

In fairness, there is solid argument to suggest his development was curtailed by Madrid’s refusal to
accept his natural position; making him end up as a Jack of all trades rather than becoming masterful
at one. Galácticos came and went, but Guti remained. He resembled a symbol of continuity
throughout the unstable Calderón era.

Responsibility and character were unfortunately mostly missing from Guti’s mind, and for such a silky
playmaker he has quite a collection of red and yellow cards! Possibly the most infamous incident was
when he kicked a Real Sociedad player after he was already down (think Pepe).

Defined by one football writer as one of the best final-ball passers of all time, Guti went 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 like activities off the pitch gave him dark
glamour.

Zidane praised Guti a lot during his time at the Bernabeu while Ronaldo defined him as "exceptional".

He is remembered particularly for the range and disguise of his passing, with Ronaldo describing him
as the squad’s finest talent during the striker’s tenure in the Spanish capital.

His most prolific 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 and
Ronaldinho.

EPILOGUE:

Guti divides opinion. He was a poet but his is an inconsistent, disruptive burst of art that
disappointed as much as it mesmerized. Inconsistency plagued Guti and eventually stopped him from
becoming the great player his former Real Madrid team-mates thought he should have been.

His moments of incredible geniuses are remembered by all but there are not too many
unfortunately! Guti is like Oscar Wilde of football - a maverick who produced relatively few pieces of
art but the art he produced was mesmerizing.

As ending I present a quote from Benzema after scoring that goal from the famous pass –

"That's the kind of football that everyone wants to play but not everyone can. Guti is a genius. He
knew, without even looking, that I was just behind him and he gave me the ball. I'd bet if you showed
that to someone who doesn't even like football, they would enjoy watching it".