From the volley of Zidane to the penalty of Baggio. From the tragic end of This fashion to the miracle of Fritz Walter. From Higuita’s scorpion to the murder of Andres Escobar. Stories that run through the game with little relation to each other, but that Iker Ruiz del Barco (Sestao, 2000) knew how to intertwine very well.
He counts them on his social networks with ‘@Elefutbol‘, already adding ten million followers on all platforms, and narrates them in his own handwriting in his first book: ‘The return to football in 80 stories’. In SPORT We spoke with him, explaining the origin of some stories and the way in which he managed to carve out a space for himself by generating sports content in a different way.
Iker Ruiz del Barco with his book ‘The return to football in 80 stories’ / Valentine Enrich
Iker, after all this success that you have achieved through your social networks, what made you motivated to capture them in a book? Did you always have this idea?
When everything exploded with Roberto Baggio’s video, almost two years ago, I discovered a different way of telling football, all from a much more human, more sensitive perspective. We tend to fall into the Madrid or Barça cliché, and I didn’t feel like it because I have always enjoyed football in a different way. And I think it was as a result of discovering that different way he had of telling things when I said ‘hey, I would like to write a book.’ And my father always instilled in me that passion for football history. I remember that, when I was little, I watched documentaries about Yashin, Maradona, Cruyff, Pelé, Di Stéfano… I have always been very interested in the world of football history. The opportunity for the book came to me and I am very proud.
What was the creative process like to select the 80 stories?
I knew some stories that I 100% wanted to be in the book and many others that I was discovering along the way, I would be lying if I said no. I really like reading about football, researching other things in history and I have been building the book a little as I go, but always in a logical order. But I am very proud of the selection of all the songs.
Any that have been more difficult for you to write?
What has been more expensive is the documentation process because there are many of these players that I have not seen. One of the chapters talks about the first player to do a overhead kick, which was at the beginning of the 20th century in Chile when there were almost no photographs. It was a very long documentation process with the Sports History Center of Chile, with the Talcahuano City Council, because the man who made it was a man from Bilbao who emigrated to Chile when he was twelve years old and there he decided to make a move like that. in which he threw himself backwards and hit him. In fact, it was believed that the first author of that play was a Brazilian, Leónidas da Silva, but the documentation indicates that it was in Chile with a Basque named Ramón Unzaga. It was a very long investigation process until we gave a statement from a resident of Talcahuano, which was the first document certifying the existence of the Chilean woman, a resident who declared in the year I believe it was 1918 that he had seen Ramón. Unzaga did an acrobatic move in which he threw himself backwards and gave him the ball. So with practically all stories. There are others that have a more poetic tone, which is giving free rein to my imagination, but yes, yes, I could tell you that with 80% of the stories it has been a process like that, very long and lasting many hours.
What type of audience are you looking to reach?
I realized from the first moment that this is capable of connecting with young people and older people. I use football as an excuse to talk about life, and this message is valid for everyone. At the book signing, a 62-year-old professor came to me excitedly to thank me because he loved the work he did, and then a 14-year-old kid comes to you. This literary style also connects very well with perhaps more adult people, who are looking for something more demanding and it is also something that connects very well with young people. It is a book for all audiences.
Iker Ruiz del Barco with his book ‘The return to football in 80 stories’ / Valentine Enrich
What did you develop first: the style of writing like in the book or the style of narrating like in your videos?
I think first the style in which he narrated, because before making the Roberto Baggio video I also made narrations, but they were more dynamic. Instead of doing it with a soft and warm voice, I did it with a more accelerated voice, because I thought that on ‘TikTok’ everything always had to go very fast. But it was all until Baggio’s video, when we added the prose side to it. But yes, first came the narration and then the lyrics.
How did you make a space for yourself among the heated emotions that usually exist on social networks when talking about football?
Look, the average length of a video on ‘TikTok’ was 30-40 seconds, very fast music, a very fast message, very fast-paced. I arrived with a video that lasted one minute and 50 seconds, slow music, calm voice… it was the antithesis of what had been done. People liked it, because I think they were starting to get tired of this fleeting content. Higher quality content was beginning to be demanded. And people also demanded a little more peace in the world of football, there is always a lot of hatred that either you belong to one or you belong to another, this seemed almost like politics, so I said ‘why don’t we enjoy a little bit of everything.’ ?’. I focused on the emotions, on the more human side, which is what we all share in the end, you may be from one team or another, but we all share that human side. It is also important to talk about useful things for young people, mental health, tolerance, the meaning of defeat, their learning, that everything does not end when you win a trophy… all that was key to entering this world where there are so much competition.
If you had to choose, not 80, but three stories from the book, which ones would you choose?
I would stick with the story of Andrés Escobar, a Colombian soccer player who was murdered. It was one of the chapters that I was most excited to write. I started to cry from the helplessness that the situation gave me. Also with another one that is that of Fritz Walter, captain of the German team in the 1954 World Cup. The uncle was captured by the Red Army at the end of the Second World War and, when they took him to kill him in a concentration camp there in Siberia, a Hungarian soldier recognized him and saved him from certain death. And the third, another one, is that of Carlos Kaiser Raposo, the biggest fraudster in the history of football. A guy who, by making friends with managers, journalists and some players, played in several of the best teams in Brazil without being a footballer. This is a super funny story.
Did you leave out any that you would have liked to include?
Yes, many were left out. A chapter that will be sure to be in the second book, if there is one, will be that of Olga Carmona, the Spanish national team player who scored the goal, which made us world champions, and received the news of her father’s death. . You can be at the top of your career and realize that a gold is worth nothing. Also that of ‘Trinche’ Carlovich, who is a very cult player in Argentine football, and then there is another cult Argentine player too, ‘Garrafa Sánchez’, who was a guy with an incredible story… that’s the beauty of football , that there will always be stories to tell.
It caught my attention that at 24 years old you are a teacher. What do you like to teach in your classes?
I like to teach my students that the world of journalism is a world where you have to work a lot. I had a teacher who told me that talent opened all the doors for you, and I realized that was a lie, that what opens the doors for you is work. Above all, I teach my students how to build a personal brand on social networks, which is a bit of what can distinguish a young journalist when it comes to finding a job in such a competitive market. The importance of work on a daily basis, being focused on a goal, staying put for hours. Also that thought that I have that perseverance is much more important than motivation. Motivation goes through peaks, but consistency is always a straight line. That’s what I try to instill in them.
“I discovered a different way of telling football, all from a much more human, more sensitive perspective”
You told me about a second book… do you already have it planned or not?
Man, the truth is that I am delighted with this one. But when I finished it I said “I need a long vacation.” I remember being with my girlfriend in the summer and there was no calm because we had to write the book. Everyone went to the beach, I stayed writing, talking on the phone, making video calls. But yes, there will be another one, because this one is also going very well, people are really liking it. So I really want to write a second book, yes.
And in networks… do you also have new things planned?
My idea now is to stay a bit longer. There are few creators who have remained. I’ll start to diversify a little. I’m going to continue with the normal football content, but then I have another profile where I’m going to start creating other types of videos now with my parents, who have already retired. To my mother, who is truly crazy about art and art history, I told her “now, when all this madness about the book is over a bit, we are going to start making videos.” They will have the same essence, with a locution, good music, but with two voices and two faces. With my mother and me.
