Miguel Ángel Martín

was the 'Cura', because there was no possibility of separating the affectionate nickname from the coach's name.

At 73 years of age, the legendary Estudiantes coach, he passed away this Wednesday in Madrid.

Because his Estudiantes, that of Miguel Ángel Martín, that of the 'Cura' -they say that the nickname was the work of

Nacho Azofra-

, was undoubtedly the one that trodden the most peaks at a sporting level.

That Postal Box of the early 90s even played in a Euroleague Final Four, -"We're going to Istanbul, chin pum"- and won a Copa del Rey in Granada.

He had landed at the collegiate club in 1984 from Alcorcón to join the base, to that unique quarry from which, later, he would make players who were going to star in national basketball jump to the elite.

Nacho Azofra, Alberto Herreros, Pablo and Gonzalo Martínez, Alfonso Reyes and Iñaki de Miguel

made their debut in the first team with him

, among others.

In 1988 he took over the reins of Ramiro's first team after the dismissal of

Paco Garrido

.

And the successes were not long in coming, at a time considered the most golden for Estudiantes, with Americans who are part of collegiate mythology:

David Russell, Ricky Winslow, John Pinone

... To the Final Four in Istanbul, in which they would lose in the semifinals against Joventut (who later fell against Partizán with that unforgettable triple by

Djordjevic

) and the Cup of that same 92, we must also add five consecutive seasons in the top four of the ACB and the Cup runner-up in the quarterfinals. 1991 Korac Cup final.

In the 1994-95 academic year he was replaced in office by his assistant, '

Pepu' Hernández

.

And months later he would sign as sports director of the eternal rival.

At Real Madrid, where he soon also made the leap to the bench to replace

Zeljko Obradovic

, however, he would not be so lucky.

With controversial clashes with some of his players, especially

Joe Arlauckas and Mike Smith

, he was fired in February 1998. Later, he would coach teams like CB Granada, Universidad Complutense and Adepal Alcázar de San Juan.

An economist by training, Martín, the Priest, had been away from professional benches for years.

Due to cancer he has died in Madrid.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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