14号小屋

That campaign, he made his debut in the Spanish Primera Division with the first team, on 2 December 1995. It was at the Santiago Bernabéu against Sevilla. The Whites hammered the Andalusians 4-1. With a little over than 11 years under the bridge, Guti has written a glorious chapter in the history of the Club of the Spanish capital.

His passes, always dangerous, his vision, and the way he fed and connected with Van Nistelrooy pushed Real Madrid forward time and again, in pursuit of the goal defended by Valdés, which the Whites pierced on three occasions. The mastermind of the Madridistas produced a superb performance to celebrate his match number 300 in the Spanish Primera Liga.

The day after the extraordinary footballing spectacle lived at the Camp Nou, the press hailed the undeniable charms of Guti on a field of play:

DIARIO AS: “Guti trounces Barcelona”
“The stars of the game were Guti, Gago and Higuaín. Guti was amazing in the Madridista backbone. The midfielder played a brilliant match until he was substituted. Incredible performance, brimming with ball control, vision and shots on target by the three players against Barcelona.”

DIARIO MARCA: “Great Guti: Inspired, decisive, exceptional… He led the attack of Madrid”
“Immense performance by Guti, who led the recovery of Real Madrid at the Camp Nou. The Madridista ‘14’, who did make the starting lineup this time around, conveyed a masterly lesson of direct play, with exceptional passing and crossing that ended up overwhelming the red-and-blue defenders. As in many other matches, Guti was singled out by the rival, sustaining a string of fouls and heavy challenges. But this time, the Madrilenian showed a stoical attitude face such vexation. It was possibly his best match of the year.”

“The best of the best, the number ‘14’, imparted a lesson. It was the match of Guti, with the permission of hat-tricker Messi. Neither Ronaldinho, nor Xavi, nor Etoo, nor Iniesta. The footballing sensation in the pitch last night was the Real Madrid playmaker.”

ABC: “The night of Gutiérrez”
“Awe-inspiring performance by Guti, so much that there were three different games: before he began his display, in the nitty-gritty, and especially after he left. Everything that was good about the game included him, but also the worst... precisely when he left.”

“Guti was allowed freedom to play at will. He wasn't assigned a specific marksman and he was allowed to receive the ball. Under these conditions, the youth system footballer is lethal because it is simply impossible to take the ball away from him. Once he got things going, his deep passes, his ball control and driving, and his link-up with Van Nistelrooy were lethal for Barcelona… All his passes had an intention and brought imminent danger. Against a three-man defence, with Higuaín, Van Nistelrooy and Raúl in front of him, Guti created spaces, fed balls, and controlled the tempo to select the best option. It is in this discipline that he is truly unique.”

LA RAZÓN: “Guti takes command: The number 14 sustained the penalty that led to Madrid's second of the night, provoked four yellow cards and assisted Sergio Ramos for Madrid's third.”
“Those who despise him speak of an irrelevant player who's only noteworthy because of the team's general mediocrity. Football, however, speaks of a good player when he's lined up and whose importance increases the more his team needs him. He played as Zidane before Zidane, Ronaldo before Ronaldo, and Redondo after Redondo. They've just never let him be Guti.”

EL PAÍS: “The day in which Guti and Messi were crowned kings”
“He took command of the match from the initial whistle and his talent took huge proportions over at the Camp Nou. Guti devised a wonderful game of football as he assumed the leadership of his side. He was perfect in the orchestration. The world witnessed his best version, there's no doubt. The proof of his level of involvement is the nine fouls he suffered. He took the free kick that Sergio Ramos put away and he ended up leaving partly because of the effort and partly because of the myriad of challenges he received.”