Mauro Silva's Impact on Deportivo La Coruña

I remember arriving in Spain,

at one of the first press conferences,

a journalist asks me,

"Are you used to losing?"

I say, "Well, no," and he told me,

"Well, you'd better get used to it,

because here at India Deportivo, you're going to lose a lot."

That realistic tone,

and with a bit of pessimism with

which every Galician wraps their advice in.

One of the midfielders with the greatest potential in world football,

landed in Coruña in the summer of 1992

alongside Bebeto.

A curious signing for a newly promoted team.

I remember that during a match

at the Pacaembu stadium against Corinthians,

I signed the contract on a massage

table in the locker room, something very curious.

To be honest, Deportivo didn't really ring a bell.

From absolute ignorance,

to being one of the links that united

the two most glorious eras of Deportivo,

Arsenio's and Irureta's.

Essential to both,

Mauro became the second player

with the most matches and minutes in the club's history,

second only to Fran.

I always remember Arsenio with great affection,

a very endearing person.

Whenever I go to A Coruña, I try to see him,

give him a hug, because

he is someone who was very important in my sporting life.

I really liked Raúl because

he had very clear ideas and

we went out onto the pitch, each of us knowing exactly

what he expected from him,

that is very important.

In his 13 years as a Deportivo player,

he experienced being part of the surprise team,

of the most admired team.

Of course, he was the first to be surprised.

No one could have expected a team like Deportivo to win six titles,

to play in five editions of the Champions League,

especially for Europe, because people would say,

Where does this team come from?

How are they able to play so well?

Where do those players come from?

We just had a very good team.

Anchored as a defensive midfielder,

both his football and Deportivo's underwent an evolution.

He wasn't only in charge of breaking up play,

his technical skills and tactical discipline were

the pillars of an irreverent style of play.

We were capable of playing football

to compete with Madrid and Barcelona.

What makes the difference?

That you have the ball and can move it quickly.

And make this team suffer,

because we were the ones who had the ball.

All of his qualities did not go unnoticed by the big clubs,

but after a serious injury,

the figure of Endoiro crossed paths

in a possible future away from Riazor.

I remember after the World Cup,

when I injured my knee.

I go back to training and

my right ankle starts to bother me.

What bad luck!

The injury is serious, and there's a possibility

that Mauro won't recover and won't play football again.

Endoiro calls me at that moment,

I think I had a year and a half,

two more years on my contract,

and he offers me a renewal, Mauro.

four years.

That gesture from the president,

the public's demonstrations of affection,

winning titles, playing in the Champions League.

Trading all of this for a little more money

seemed to me, didn't seem quite right, and

that's why I didn't leave.

When a major offer arrived,

for example, like the one from Real Madrid

in the 2000 season,

I was very comfortable, and that's why I stayed.

I don't regret it at all,

quite the opposite.

You couldn't understand the history of the club without Mauro Silva,

nor Mauro's without the city of A Coruña.

For so many years of affection,

for so much warmth, for so many demonstrations of support for me,

I feel like just another Coruñés, another Deportivista

in those three years that I lived in La Coruña.

Perhaps that's why

that Galician pessimism lasted until Mauro Silva arrived at Deportivo.

I thought I ran into this journalist again,

against Real Madrid and the Centenario Azul, and I say,

look, I've already gotten used to winning a bit.