CD Tenerife lived in June 2001 for ten days that lasted ten years. He fought alone and against the world for a promotion to the First Division. He fought unarmed against three giants – Sevilla, Betis and Atlético de Madrid – with atomic arsenal. Football arsenal and media arsenal. And against some leaders, Ruiz de Lopera (president of Betis) and Jesús Gil (president of Atlético de Madrid), willing to use all weapons, legal or not. The war had been unleashed three months earlier, when Tenerife beat Betis (0-2) at Benito Villamarín and the aforementioned Ruiz de Lopera found a loophole to win the match he lost on the grass in his offices. The passports of Basavilbaso and Barata offered doubts and Betis asked the Federation to give them the game by winning. Basavilbaso’s roles were in order, but not those of the forward.
The Competition Committee had to determine if the fraud was committed by Tenerife or the player. And the player’s representative, Santiago Gerardo, exonerated both: “It was Mérida who processed their community status. If the passport is false, they deceived us ”. But Benítez stopped counting on the footballer to avoid further complaints and Barata became nervous: “I’m sunk. To play for Tenerife I needed my goals, not a passport ”. Meanwhile, the championship continued. But Benítez’s group felt the pressure. He had many open fronts and the advantage was diluted. And two rounds from the end, after adding just one victory in five rounds, he was overtaken by Betis and overtaken by Atlético de Madrid. Then, on June 8, 2001, with the striker missing after requesting a vacation and leaving the island, the Barata ‘bomb’ exploded.
Thus, a notarial act arrived at the Betis offices in which Barata accuses Tenerife of forcing him to play as a community, knowing that his Italian passport is false. “Don’t you dare come back here,” Pier threatens. “Barata participates in an orchestrated forgery,” adds Pérez. By then, Sevilla has already been promoted and there are two places left for three applicants: Betis, Tenerife and Atleti. Everyone wins on the penultimate round and nothing changes. But Betis demands the three points of the Villamarín clash. The Spanish Committee for Sports Discipline (CEDD) announces the final ruling for Friday 15. “They want to adulterate the competition,” warns Pérez. Everyone pushes, but time does not pass. The blue and white fan breathes when Barata reappears on Tuesday 12, fires his lawyer and exonerates Tenerife from falsifying his passport.
The next day, Wednesday 13, under oath, Barata exonerates Tenerife at the headquarters of the Spanish Federation. And the fan breathes even more when, finally, on Friday 15, the CEDD decides in favor of Tenerife. The promotion was to be decided on the lawn, not in an office. Two days later, Sunday 17, in Leganés, the blue and white fan is finding it difficult to breathe. Just suffer. And suffers. Until Hugo Morales throws a foul thirty meters from the rival goal with zero danger and places the ball in the net. Then scream. And scream. And scream.
– Chapter of the book “The CD Tenerife in 366 stories” by Luis Padilla and Juan Galarza
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