“If I have five foreign players, Zamorano will be the fifth to play.” That was the statement made by Jorge Valdano, Real Madrid’s coach, when he was asked about his priorities for putting together the starting lineup before the start of the 1994–95 season.
Preseason is here. In the first friendly match, Iván Zamorano came on in the final minutes and scored. In the second, he came off the bench again and scored once more. Third game, same story.
Zamorano won titles with some of the world’s top clubs, was an Olympic medalist, set the record for the most goals scored in a single edition of the South American World Cup Qualifiers, and was instrumental in Chile’s return to the World Cup. But beyond his list of achievements, what we Chileans admire most about Bam Bam is his work ethic, his perseverance, and his drive to excel—values we recognize as part of our identity.
Sources: AS Chile, RedGol, Real Madrid, and La Roja.
