Maradona in Barcelona!!
After the World Cup, my era began with Barcelona. For me, it was the best team in the world.
But I did not know the culture of the Catalans.
I never imagined someone as "unhinged" as Barcelona's then-president Jose Núñez.
He was stretching his head in front of me to appear in the pictures.
He was campaigning against me through the newspapers.
After the defeats, he used to enter the locker rooms and cry, and offer us more money.
He believed that winning and losing were only money related matters.
Barcelona is fun
It was a difficult, dark, complicated period.
Before Barcelona, I used to play football with pleasure, but what I experienced with Barcelona was not football or sport.
He went as far as hitting my mouth and face.
The style of play was also different, the players were running non-stop.
In one of the tests, I ran 2,700 meters, while my colleagues ran 5,000 and 6,000 meters. I didn't mix well.
But I tried to be stronger physically, Schuster and Lupo Carrasco were helping me.
Serious illness
Things got better with time, I scored 6 goals in 15 games, but I was still feeling really bad in my ankle.
I went to the doctor, but something strange happened. He wasn't looking at my ankle.
Rather, he looked into my eyes..then he got a blood test.
I came home, very worried.
The next day, a Barcelona doctor visited me. He was hesitant. I felt afraid, and this dialogue took place:
What happened to me doctor? What do the tests say?
(He was trying to evade the answer..he started spinning around himself).
Well..this is something that could happen to anyone.
(shouted in fear)
tell me the truth.
You have hepatitis C.
(kill me).
After that day, I didn't even want to watch football on TV. If it was an injury, I would have accepted that. Injuries are common in sports, but... hepatitis!!