There is a Real that is written with the most traditional Z of Madriz. A Real, in the remote Nicaraguan city of Somoto, who survives the planetary coronavirus earthquake on the grass. A Real where, despite the hardships, the pride of a feeling survives. "In intensive care, but Real Madriz lives!" Proclaims Ramón Mendoza , historian and living legend of this humble club, 8,500 kilometers from the Bernabéu, which is written with the Z of Zizou .
"Our best soccer player receives 350 dollars a month and the annual game in wages ascends to 20,000 dollars", admits Adrián Díaz , member of the board of directors, in conversation with EL MUNDO. Somoto, about a 10-minute drive from the border with Honduras, is a city of just 35,000 inhabitants, the most soccer fan in the province of Madriz.
The geographical clarification, more than pertinent, comes in the voice of Camilo Velásquez , one of the most prestigious sports journalists in Nicaragua. "The club was born in 1996 under the name of Madriz FC, but soon after, Real was added to pay tribute to the great champion of Europe. However, it was always a very modest club, which for many years lived literally from what The town gave it to him, "adds Velásquez, with his memory still fresh about those raffles for clothes and donations of household appliances that drove Madriz at its dawn. That popular character is essential to understand the idiosyncrasy of the club.
"They invited me to beer"
Marel Álvarez , a Honduran footballer, can never forget on January 21, 2018, the Sunday when the artificial lighting of the Augusto César Mendoza Arauz stadium was inaugurated. "There was an impressive atmosphere, with many fans at the gates, because they didn't get a ticket. We won 2-1, with two of my goals. Later, on the street, people gave me money. I would go to the bars and they would invite me to beer" , recalls the defense, today in the ranks of Managua. "In Somoto it is another level. At every step you take they tell you about football, about every play. During the week before the derby against Ocotal, the whole city dresses in the white shirt."
Because in these two decades, the Madriz has never given up his classic uniform. Of course, the second kit varies depending on what is styled by Chamartín. A wide range of colors, from purple to green, without forgetting black or orange. It does not seem to matter in Somoto that his team has ever celebrated a title. Or that those finals of 2006 and 2007 were lost to Real Estelí, the club with the best track record in Nicaragua. Or that the only international experience, in the UNCAF Interclub Cup, ended abruptly before the Municipal of Guatemala. El Madriz is Somoto's pride and it is enough to listen to Ramón Mendoza to attest.
"We always boast of an excellent quarry, but our footballers go to teams with greater potential that multiply up to 10 times their salary," sums up this 75-year-old professor from his home, safe from a threat that will not undermine his soul of steel. In 1992, a traffic accident led Socorro Ernestina , her nine-year-old daughter. And in 2001 he also lost Augusto César, whom he defines as "the first martyr of Nicaraguan soccer." That infamous September 2, the boy defended the Madriz goal when he received a terrible blow to the head. He died three days later in the Managua Military Hospital. I was 20 years old. Ramón still has his condolences signed by Jorge Valdano , CEO of Real Madrid.
"The necessary measures are taken"
Since then, the Madriz stadium took the name of Augusto César Mendoza Arauz. The meadow does not look like a pool table, but its stands are populated by one of the most loyal fans of Nicaragua. A 'bar' that has even come to bear the club's financial costs in extreme situations. Last Saturday, Madriz beat Deportivo Ocotal 2-0 in the northern derby of the maximum rivalry. The goals of Roris Espinoza and Lester Bordas granted the second consecutive victory for a team that will still have to row a lot in the remaining six days. Because few doubt beyond that it will continue playing.
Although it is, as now, behind closed doors, the only levee raised in Nicaragua against Covid-19. Perhaps because President Daniel Ortega no longer considers the ball a consolation, but one of his last refuges. "Nine of the 10 teams in our league live off the money they receive from the government through the mayoralties. It can be said that our footballers are practically public employees," says Velásquez.
A critical and forceful vision, in contrast to that of the club, based on officiality. "In Nicaragua we have a very effective health system and at the moment only four coronavirus positives have been detected," Díaz emphasizes, without missing an opportunity to point to "many media that misinform." "We are very clear about the danger that this disease represents, but we have been preparing ourselves against it for a long time. During the games the necessary measures are taken. Football keeps us focused and in some way has taken away our fear of the virus," he concludes. the manager. In any case, separate political disputes, do not forget. It sounds like chotis or not, there is a Real that is written with the most traditional Z of Madriz.
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