The Superclásico that Tinelli put together with five world champions and played “to the death” in a television studio

“Beto Alonso steals the ball from the center and touches it for Jota Jota López, Tapia wants to take it away from him and can’t, he gets across, Diego Maradona approaches to collaborate, Chino steals it and touches it for Gatti, outside the area! He grabs him with his hand! Isn’t that a hand Cardillo? Yes free kick, Jota Jota takes the ball out of Loco Gatti’s hands Tapia kicks Jota Jota who falls to the ground! red card! Alonso takes a quick free kick and taps backwards for Conejo Tarantini , Maradona dives to the ground to cover the shot, left, goooooooal from the River, gentlemen, Alberto Tarantini makes the discount”. The story is by the imitator Jorge Troiani and corresponds to Superclásico diferente, broadcast live in times of incipient codification and played to death in a television studio.

There is a football maxim that applies to any team: “The classics are separate games.” The affirmation has its confirmation in duels that defy logic, it can be won by those who arrive worse, by those who fired up more than ever that afternoon and sometimes, never afterwards, to oust the favourite. It applies to players who treasure in that game a match that has never been repeated on another occasion. It doesn’t matter where the stage is or what’s at stake, because what’s always at stake, despite the redundancy, is the closest thing to pride.

This is a Superclásico that did not count towards the statistics nor was it played at the Bombonera, the Monumental, the Bernabéu or in the venues available for the old summer tournaments. It was played in the early 90s, in a television studio and with teams without technical leadership and names that did not appear together in any other official formation.

Fabian Figueredo Santosbetter known as Carlowas the excuse. In 1992 Diego Maradona he had bought the pass for this striker who was tired of scoring goals Cruzeiro and was the figure in the final of the Super cup in view of River. In the same year, the world champion in Mexico in 1986 will serve the penalty for doping and from 1 July will be able to be signed by any club in the world. Mouth He dreamed of his return, but in exchange he gave him the Brazilian striker’s card without giving any clues about the shirt that would have given continuity to his career.

After the 15-month suspension for a positive anti-doping control after the match between Naples and Bari on 17 March 1991 and having returned to Argentina, Maradona took part in the televised football championship, a sort of prequel to the show ballwhich was played in the Sunday dispatch and omnibus of Marcello Tinelli in Telefe: rhythm of the night. Diego had bought the Brazilian’s pass for two million dollars and a few weeks later he would officially sign as a reinforcement for Boca del Maestro Tabárez. The excuse for Diego, then, was to play the Superclásico and also present him to the club.

Tinelli had brought together five world champions in his studio: Maradona and Tapia from ’86 and Tarantini, Alonso and Fillol, from ’78. Also, Gatti, who still claimed to be better than any current goalkeeper. The picture was much better than a press conference to present it to Charles, who had not yet signed for Boca.

“For Maradona, playing here is a serious matter. In the first match in which he participated, as soon as the referee blew his whistle, he did everything as if it were the World Cup final”, graphically told a producer of the program consulted, at that moment, by this newspaper. Maradona wore shorts to play a Superclásico in a small space, 4 against 4, at Ritmo de la Noche, the program which in its hottest phase competed (and often won) with First class football. The move wasn’t just any production: a multinational company put its brand on the team’s jerseys and various brands paid for static advertising on the television side and behind the arches. The game was played to the death, it wasn’t a small screen performance.

Charles wore the blue and gold jersey together with Maradona -his pass holder-, Chino Tapia and Loco Gatti. In River, Ubaldo Fillol and Juan José López, Alberto Tarantini and Norberto Alonso made saves. With the exception of the Brazilian, who probably preferred to protect his integrity to debut in the real Xeneize, the rest entered as if it were the most awaited final.

“They played very seriously, that’s how they showed it on the pitch. It was a wonderful, unforgettable memory… A super classic, wherever you play, in a wasteland, everywhere, it will be full of expectation and brilliant. It has always entered into all the superclásico and there too, in that wonderful invention of putting the superclásico in a studio. It was very exciting to broadcast it and live it as we did in the studio, with such a small field full of stars.”recalls Jorge Troiani, questioned by Clarín, three decades after that affair.

The Superclásico, according to Tarantini

After the bespoke televised presentation and kickoff, the match took on a life of its own. Furthermore, the most tepid, as if he didn’t fully understand the importance of that Superclásico, was Charles. Shots on goal were shots. The cheerleaders who were rehearsing a choreography on either side of the two-by-three arches didn’t matter. The opening of the scoring was entrusted to Chino Tapia and was celebrated as in the Bombonera. Maradona made it 2-0 and the ferocity on his face was the same as the 1990 World Cup. Too real to be a Titanes in the ring.

“What Titans in the Ring? It was a real match. The mentality of all of us who were there was that. No one was going to throw away a fantasy or anything like that, we played to win”, sentence Alberto Tarantini when you remember with clarion that night. It was he who put River’s first, the discount, in the play which confirmed that, even if it was for the Tinelli program, real football was played there. He took the shot just before Maradona covered him, sliding to the floor.

“After the match, he told Diego that he had avenged me for what he had done to me on the Boca pitch, that he had me dragged away,” recovers the Rabbitin reference to the Metropolitan in 81, when Xeneize won 3-0 and before defining, Diego left Pato Fillol missing first and then the defender with curly hair.

In the television studio, Alonso complains that Tapia does not allow him to get the side, which he solves as a spoon for Tarantini who serves it to Jota Jota so that, with a slap, he can equalize the Superclásico. Maradona harangues, asks for commitment and gives confidence, almost like in Mexico when Germany drew in the Aztec final. Things go from 2 to 2.

“There were whores in the game, of course. Apart from the fact that many of us no longer played, when you enter the field the chip is activated. The loyalty of the teams to victory has no name. It was a great game”. says Tarantini.

Maradona attacks as if it were the last time. Fillol goes down with both legs and Diego doesn’t call a foul and plays for Charles, who -out of tune- can’t connect. In the next Pelusa falls and complains to the referee – as if he were Edgardo Codesal, the one from the 1990 World Cup final with Germany – for an elbow from Beto Alonso, who helps him get up.

“It was a good game in the face of a dog, yes. No one came to us to chat before the game to say: ‘This is for you to enjoy’. It was very fought, I remember that game very well” , enthused Tarantini .

Fillol rebounds from Maradona’s strong shot. Tapia retrieves it and serves it to Charles, as if to say: do it. The Brazilian celebrates his first goal “with the Boca shirt” and puts the Superclásico 3-2 Almost immediately, Diego manages to score from the ground. The play was not seen, the TV continued to show the repetition of the previous goal, and the 4 to 2 was a fact. Charles, still without a contract, felt the rigor in the brand. He Millionaire I had to go out and look for the result.

“Take care of him? No, you’ve come to play. Who’s going to take care of you? Let him take care of him… It was a Superclassic. You only relax when you’re in the shower, not before,” says the Rabbit .

Second time. The thing gets stronger. He Chinese Tapia flies off a push and stands up like nothing happened. Alonso, again against Maradona. He DuckPlus, from the ground, he hooks her because Diego went to kick the bulge: the goalkeeper didn’t have the ball in his hands. Play continues and the referee (Francisco Cardillo) is painted. Charles tries a Chilean. Tarantini sees him in front of Gatti and throws it over and the crossbar gives him the ball back. Alonso takes Gatti for a walk and makes it 4 to 3. On the next play Fillol suffers a blow. He is assisted by someone as a doctor, the game continues and Maradona lowers it to Alonso and the referee charges the foul. Maradona goes crazy.

“If I tell you it was real, it’s because it was real. No ball was lost there. And the clock was ticking, a draw was missing. You can’t wait. No, no,” explains Tarantini.

Gatti gets what he never could: the goal. The referee charged a foul by Jota Jota on Maradona and Diego saw it up Crazy in midfield and gives it to him. The goalkeeper kicks a shot that deflects and Fillol cannot avoid the 5 – 3. It was not a moment in which the goalkeepers conceded goals and the Duckwith blood in his eyes, he aims for a discount and succeeds: Alonso sees him coming to take revenge and opens the free-kick for his shot, which goes clean near the post to be discounted: 5 to 4 and little to play.

“I almost equalised. For me it was going back and remembering those moments. I played on the sides and it’s beautiful,” boasts Tarantini, a few days after a new edition of the Superclassico, for points.

“Who finishes better on Sunday? It will be difficult for both. River comes from the hard blow in the Cup, Boca from a good result… but it’s a River-Boca: neither of them can take the field thinking they’re better than other. It’s unpredictable, like this one we’re talking about on TV: you play it to win. You can get there very well and the other is very bad and he flips it and wins. Yes, it will certainly be a good game”, closes the Rabbit.