Francisco Javier Aguilar García , known in soccer as 'Ico' Aguilar, died Tuesday at the age of 71 in a Madrid hospital victim of cancer. The winger played eight seasons (1971-1979) at Real Madrid, where he took over from Paco Gento , the most illustrious Spaniard in Spanish football and conquered five League titles and two Copa del Generalisimo.

Throughout his 182 games in the white shirt, Aguilar scored 40 goals and served numerous assists for the auctions of his countryman Carlos Alonso Santillana , who also arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu in 1971. Three times absolute international with Spain, the far right also until his retirement in 1983, he defended the colors of Racing de Santander (1967-1971), Sporting de Gijón (1979-1981) and Rayo Vallecano (1981-1983).

The most important goal of Aguilar's career came in the 1974 Generalissimo Cup final against Atlético de Madrid. That July 5, after a tremendously even duel at the Vicente Calderón that ended 0-0 after the overtime, he tricked Miguel Reina in the fourth turn to award the title to his team.

The revenge of Belgrade

And that only played 15 minutes of play, given that he had entered the end of the first extra time to replace Roberto Martínez . A small revenge for the men of Miljan Miljanic , who that same spring had fallen in the Recopa rooms against Red Star in the fateful roulette of maximum penalties, with a goal from Aguilar in the third attempt and Santillana's error in the seventh.

A year earlier, in the Cup final against Barcelona, ​​Aguilar also left his mark for an overwhelming 4-0 against Rinus Michels' side . In the 7th minute, after an electric advance on the right side, he served a 1-0 layup to Santillana, his best partner. At the start of the second half, the Santander player took advantage of a defensive error to beat Salvador Sadurní in the 3-0 action.

Late on Tuesday, Real Madrid expressed "their condolences and their affection and affection" to his wife Eva, their children Daniel and Virginia, their grandchildren Belén and Rodrigo. Racing, which in 2007 presented him with his gold badge, also sent a note of condolence to his family and loved ones.

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