In the Spain of the nineties, with a vocation for modernity and also quick enrichment, a series of businessmen took advantage of the law that forced football teams to become anonymous sports associations to take the lead, such as Augusto César Lendoiro (Deportivo de La Coruña), José María del Nido (Seville), Manuel Ruiz de Lopera (Betis), José María Caneda (Compostela), Joan Gaspart (Barcelona) or Teresa Rivero (Rayo Vallecano).
Each one had its uniqueness but they were all united by media popularity. The new documentary series The League of Extraordinary Men, which Movistar Plus premieres today, recovers these six characters to x-ray that Spain “of the pitch”, in which it seemed that this country was the one in which money could be made more quickly in the whole world. world.
“We wanted to make a portrait of the nineties through some presidents who were unrepeatable and unique, they were characters who were more idols than the footballers themselves. They had spectacular charisma and did things that today were unbelievable”, explained Alejandro Marzoa, director of this Movistar Plus production in collaboration with Producciones del Barrio and Producciones del K.O., during his presentation at the Vitoria Television Festival.
Although soccer is the engine of the series, it goes further, advanced Movistar's director of entertainment, Juan Andrés García: "It is not the typical sports series to use, it is a trip to that time when everything was very different. There will be talk of machismo, racism and homophobia that existed in those years, but at the same time it has quite a few comic overtones.
The sports journalist Carlos Martínez highlighted the "spectacular charisma" of these presidents, "with an incredible capacity for attraction, capable of doing things that, today seen from a distance, seem absolutely unlikely". He also valued the archive of those Canal years, "whose cameras began to reflect some things that happened but were not seen until then."
His colleague, Mónica Marchante, remembered those unrepeatable years. “When I was an ENG reporter, if I got certain stadiums it was a relief because you put the camera in the box and there was a sure report. It was very easy. They were more idols than the center forward of the team. They talked everywhere, before and after the games. It was a mine."
The presentation of the docuseries included the participation by videoconference of Lendoiro, Del Nido and Gaspart, who proved to remain in shape in their ability to attract attention. Lendoiro recalled how the presidents of the nineties debated on television after the game, "something that is now unheard of and impossible, and that has been lost by football and the spectator." Del Nido recalled that "heart attack days were experienced" at that time while Gaspart stated that "journalists tell us that they miss us a lot in the media aspect."
