The Hortaleza neighborhood, where the Spanish football legend Luis Aragonés grew up, is preparing to be the protagonist of the Copa del Rey. Sporting de Huelva, the local team, will face Sevilla in the round of 16, and the memory of the former Atlético de Madrid player and coach is present in the streets of the neighborhood, with a bust, a sports center and the “Peña Luis” that pays tribute to him.
Aragonés, who led the Spanish National Team to the 2008 Euro Cup and his Atlético team to three leagues and one Intercontinental, is remembered in Hortaleza as “the Wise Man of Hortaleza.” Although he never played for Sporting, the neighborhood considers him his own. Florencio Elipe, who shared his childhood with the former player, remembers how the nickname “El Sabio” was inherited from his brother and how Luis stood out for his intelligence and scoring ability, despite the fact that in his youth he did not like football.
The neighborhood has changed radically since Aragonés' time. In its days, Hortaleza was a small town with a population of a thousand inhabitants, without cars and with children playing in the streets with rag balls. Today, the area has more than one hundred thousand residents and an urban environment that has displaced gambling on the street. The “Peña Luis”, founded in 1970, continues to celebrate the figure of the former player and maintains its headquarters in the “Casa Florencio”, where the bust of Aragonés is exhibited.
The objective of the club is to keep the memory of Aragonés alive among new generations. Miguel Ángel Gómez, vice president of the organization, points out that many young people of 15 or 17 years old do not know the 2008 Euro Cup or the coach's career. “I want time not to erase what Aragonés meant,” he comments, highlighting the importance of the community continuing to celebrate his legacy.
With Sporting's game against Sevilla, Hortaleza will have the opportunity to revive his passion for football and pay tribute to one of his greatest. The match will be a reminder of the influence of Luis Aragonés in the neighborhood and in Spanish football, and how his legacy continues to inspire new generations of fans and players.