The decision of Víctor Fernández that changed the final of the Recopa

The 10 May 1995, the Real Zaragoza champion of the Recopa of Europe proclaimed itself for the first and only time in its history. On the bench, a young house coach, Victor Fernandez, led the team.

The Parc des Princes in Paris it was the stage where the hands would have to face each other before a historical rival: the English Arsenal. The match was one of the most even and it was not until the second half when the goals came. First Zaragoza came forward with a goal from the Argentine Juan Esnáider in the minute 67. Shortly after, at 75, came the tie of the gunnners work of John Hartson. Thus, the match was going to extra time.

Victor Fernandez: “Destiny was prepared for Nayim”

In overtime, as usual, neither team wanted to risk too much and reached the last minute without modification on the scoreboard. But nevertheless, without knowing it, Victor Fernandez had made a decision that would be key in the future of the party: “Destiny was prepared for Nayim. Sincerely, I no longer thought about the game but about penalties. So I put Geli, who was a specialist, by García Sanjuán. Geli went to the left wing and Nayim stood on the right. From there it would mark the goal that the Recopa would give us. It was a coincidence”.

The technician, in an interview with Aragón Radio, also remember what that title meant for the club and for the entire city: “I realized the importance of the Recopa when we arrived in Zaragoza. It is possible that this celebration was the most massive in the history of Aragon”.

Meanwhile, the great protagonist of that final, Nayim, he still remembers that goal that made him immortal: “The people of Zaragoza have given me much more than I have given them. The samples of affection that have shown me since then are priceless. I made them very happy with that goal but they did me too”.

The Cedrún, Belsué, Solana, Cáceres, Pardeza, Higuera, Nayim, Esnáider… they went down in history that night in Paris. That 10 May 1994, all of Spain was watching TV to support a Real Zaragoza what made us happy, even those who are not zaragocistas. We all scream the gol Nayim, we all remember the place where we saw that game. Definitely, a great time for spanish football.