So why the Talisman you ask? Well sit back, relax and read on.
Most Philippine footy fan see Juani as the friendly guy who's always got a smile even for the opponent. The guy who's ever steady on defense from the defensive midfield or at the left back position. The guy whose outlet passes few Azkals can match. Turns out, we've been short changing him all along. He's much more than that!
To those that aren't as familiar, Juani plays for the Tercera division which, despite its name, is the 4th tier of football in the greatest footballing nation there is, Spain. He plays in a team named Racing Lermeño in Group 8 of the division.
To know why Racing Lermeño fans call him their "Talisman" one needs to understand what happened before and after Juani came back from playing with the Azkals in the AFC Challenge Cup. You see, the last game Juani played before he joined the Azkals for its UAE training camp, was a win against Valladolid II(the eventual Group 8 champ). They thoroughly bushwacked the opponent 4 to nil, then he left. With his departure and before he got back, Racing Lermeño posted a 0-2-6 record, Yes, thats zero wins, two draws and six defeats! In his absence Racing Lermeño spent a few tense days sitting very close to the relegation zone.
Racing Lermeño did not wait long to get Juani back on the pitch after his two months absence. Below are summaries of his last games of the 2011/12 season.
Loss Apr 12 Racing Lermeño 2-4 Burgos-Promesas 2000 - Started, played full 90'; Juani moved to the midfield after a teamate was red carded. Goal at 84'. Guirado scored when his team was 2 members down from red cards! Juani also gets a Yellow card. With this loss they enter the relegation zone.
Prior to the game there was a short program were Juani presented the club president, Oscar Garcia his Azkals jersey.
Win Apr 14 Ponferradina II 0-2 Racing Lermeño - Started, played full 90'.
Loss Apr 21 Racing Lermeño 1-3 Numancia II - Started, played full 90'. Received a Yellow card.
Win Apr 24 Huracán Z 1-2 Racing Lermeño - Started, played full 90'. Scored the winning goal(80'). The team moves out of relegation!
Draw Apr 28 Racing Lermeño 0-0 Atlético Astorga - Started, played full 90'. The surprising thing about this draw was that Atlético Astorga had previously won 9 of 10 games and was then the #2 team in the group.
Win May 2 Atlético Tordesillas 0-3 Racing Lermeño - Started, played full 90'.
Win May 7 Racing Lermeño 2-1 La Granja - Started, played full 90'. Received a Yellow card. Scored the winning goal(55'). His goal was via header.
Win May 14 Béjar Industrial 1-3 Racing Lermeño - Started, played full 90'. Goal at 68'! END OF SEASON.
At the end, the team finished 13 out of 21 teams in group 8 of the Tercera division. Their record ends at 13-9-18 with 43 goals and 67 goals allowed.
After the season AND despite missing in February and March, Racing Lermeño fans still rate Juan Luis Guirado within the top three players of the club. The teams coach, Jairo has even mentioned him as one of the "3 fundamental pillars" of Racing Lermeño.
Despite missing more than 8 games he still finished 3rd in scoring finishing with a total of 6, this while playing mostly in defense as a left back. In July he was given a contract renewal worth one more season with the club.
So in the words of Racing Lermeño fans: Se puede considerar a Juan Luis Guirado el talismán del Racing!
A blog I wrote before the big man ever made it to the Philippines and the Azkals: CLICK HERE
*Pictures from burgosdeporte.com
Juani does score a lot of goals considering the nature of his position. Even for the Azkals and Global. :)
ReplyDeleteYo KP are you done? Get back to UF its much better when youre around! Dont make me freakin' beg and check your PM's too!
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope we appreciate the big guy more. He's really quite a player :)