In that month of August 1958, football and was becoming very important in the Spanish society and Valencia. With the city still recovering from Túria the flood that had suffered a year earlier, the signing of that veteran player 35 years was a real bombshell.
Levante plants Faas Wilkes
All season 1958-1959 They were common radio connections with Vallejo to see that such things were going to Wilkes Levante as attention was paid to Real Madrid of Di Stéfano O Barca Kubala as it happened in the stage of Faas at Valencia CF few years earlier. That way, granota club had achieved one of its objectives when it paid more than one million pesetas footballer: have media coverage.
One of the formations that season Levante 1958-1959. Abajo Wilkes, the third from the left (Levante UD)
But nevertheless, Another objective set by the directive Levante when it is joined to Wilkes He was promoted to First Division, which were very close to achieving. The team competed until the end of that League 1958-1959 with the Elche for the lead but eventually the set franjiverde He was crowned champion and took direct ascent, granota having to settle for second place box that led to the promotion promotion.
At that time the Spanish Second Division was divided into two groups, North and south. The Levante, as second-placed South group, I had to dispute the promotion of ascent against third-bottom of the First Division, the UD Las Palmas.
But this end of the season in the Levantine team was the strangest. The atmosphere in the dressing room was not optimal nor the relationship between Directive, coach and staff. To everyone's surprise, Alvaro, Technical frog, It was dismissed just before dispute the promotion of ascent against Las Palmas and self Wilkes Player-coach in the first leg in Vallejo ended with victory became Canaria by 1-2.
The Dutch star betrayed Levante
If you already everything was nonsense, the worst was yet to come. During the week before the second leg on the island with the rise in game, it began to speculate on the possibility that Wilkes were present in a friendly match that Valencia CF He was going to play in Mestalla. And indeed, That's how it went. A player who still belonged to the discipline of Levante, He wore the shirt of his main rival few days before the biggest game of the season.
Obviously the world was armed, Wilkes was not present in the second leg the Levante He tied in Las Palmas and condemned him to follow in Second Division for cachondeo of Valencia fans. The Dutch did not renew the contract with the Levant and thus completed its stage of a bitter form despite being top scorer this season with 13 goals.
History repeated itself in a similar way in 2023
Although there have been other players who changed Levante for Valencia, such as Juanfran, Vincent O Jason among others, There was another case that hurt and was very bloody for the granotas. The case of Pepelu. The one from Denia, granota youth player, created during 12 years in Buñol and Orriols, marched in 2023 to Valencia just a couple of weeks after Levante lost promotion in the minute 129 of extra time due to a penalty called by the VAR against Alavés.
