29.10.2020
23:08
They met when they were teenagers. Jorge was chosen by the Maradona family to accompany him to Diez during the first years of his career. From the beginning in Cebollitas, to the end of the relationship in Naples
By Eduardo BolañosOctober 30, 2020 Share on FacebookShare Share on TwitterTweet Share on WhatsAppShare
Jorge Cyterszpiler accompanied Maradona during the beginning of his career
If there is something that legends or myths have as a common denominator, it is that they become gigantic with the passage of time. Many people say they have witnessed moments they would have liked to witness, but their stories enter the realm of fable. Several of these situations have to do with the life of Diego Armando Maradona and perhaps the first of them dates back to his days as a boy of just over 10 years old, where he cradled dreams with the Cebollitas. If there was someone who had seen him play in those foundational times, giving him his friendship and being his first representative, that was Jorge Cyterszpiler .
Diego was only two years old , since he was born on August 9, 1958 in the neighborhood of La Paternal and of course he was a fan of Argentinos Juniors. There, in his passion for those colors, he sought shelter from the troubles that life had sown in him. He was two years old when ferocious polio attacked him on both legs . Little by little, with force of will and several operations, he managed to fully recover from the left, but not from the right . That was not an impediment to catch up with the other boys in the area in the most diverse games or sports.
In turn, few know the beginning of that relationship and his subsequent continuity as a footballer and representative such as the esteemed colleague Guillermo Blanco , who befriended both of them and managed the press of the star during his time in Barcelona: “I met Jorge when Diego was 12 years old and he was just 14. At that time he had suffered the enormous loss of Juan Eduardo, his older brother, who was about to make his debut in Argentinos Juniors and died suddenly from a sudden cancer, which made him fall into a great Depression. To get him out of that situation, several kids in the neighborhood insisted that he attend the games of some boys who did wonders with the ball on their feet . Finally he accepted and there he met Diego , as part of that group that a short time later, at the 1973 Evita Games, would be baptized Los Cebollitas, by their discoverer, Francisco Cornejo ”.
Those were the times when there was already talk of that boy who played a little game in between times and captivated locals and strangers alike, who would soon also be his own, like most football lovers. Maradona was starting to become known, but it was taking too much for him to deal with the fact of having to take two buses from Fiorito to train at La Paternal every day and there Cyterszpiler definitely appeared .
“Jorge’s relationship developed naturally, to the point that at times they seemed to be one. Many times I thought at that time that Diego did not play outside and Jorge did, and that Jorge did not play inside and Diego did. At every moment they were like that, with an almost perfect complement . Jorge had great human zeal to take care of Diego in the beginning, which led to his being accepted and loved by the Maradona. The family theme, which never ceased to exist, was a mainstay in his career. The story ends when the Cyterszpilers open the doors of their home to him and he begins to sleep on Fridays , so he does not have to return to Fiorito, since the games were on Saturdays. Diego was a fan of the milanesas that Jorge’s mother made, which I also had the opportunity to try and they were very tasty. Anyway, they did typical pranks of the age, like getting up at night and looting the refrigerator (laughs) ”.
The same magic that Maradona brought to Argentine football, he deposited in the unfortunate days of Cyterszpiler, brightening the train of a life that had already stopped too many times in the different stations of pain. White gives us an exact profile of a fighter
“He also gradually joined some activities of the club, such as the press or public relations, when he was very young. I always valued Jorge a lot, for everything he had experienced as a boy, with polio and his brother, plus the suffering that his family of Polish origin brought, who almost certainly had suffered the war in their homeland. They were very fighter people. Something that he told me stayed with me: ‘If I hadn’t fought like I did today I would be in a recovery asylum with motor problems. If I wasn’t who I am, you would have me in there . ‘
October 20, 1976 is a date marked in the Argentine soccer calendar on fire, with the sacred ardor that is brought from the cradle, which is not bought. The one that Maradona wore and distinguished it for all time, from the day of its presentation in first
“ By the time of the debut in Primera is that they begin to talk among themselves so that Jorge will take care of some issues for him . It was also there that Argentinos Juniors rented the first house to the Maradona family, on Argerich street, so they could move from Fiorito. Soon after, in April of ’77, a South American was played in Venezuela, qualifying for the first youth World Cup and where Argentina did not do well. Jorge traveled there as best he could, putting effort, sacrifice and great impetus, taking some leathers for shoes to try to sell and with that to pay for the trip, where he even slept in the corridors. He was one of the squad, accepted by the boys ”.
That was the first bitter drink in Maradona’s incomparable career. An elimination in the group stage made him return empty-handed, but he was soon forgotten with his excellent performances in the Metropolitan tournament, at just 16 years old. Guillermo Blanco will use an exact word as a painting of those times: “ It was supersonic , like everything in Diego’s life. In a handful of years he went from being the juggling kid in between times, to being in the first division and in the senior and youth team “.
“He had the gene of the long-suffering but happy type”, synthesizes the journalist when asked about the characteristics of Cyterszpiler as a person and continues: “He was a kind of gypsy , one of those people who, in the face of any adversity, would carry it forward with a smile, always surrounded by a nice spirit both family and friendly, to bring people together. He did the same around Diego, when there was still no professional speculation, because perhaps only in his imagination could he be thinking that Maradona could become what he was. Something should be clear: He was always at the forefront in everything and trying to improve Diego’s economic situation, beyond the tacit personal and human relationship ”.
Cyterszpiler with Maradona and Claudia
Sooner rather than later, Maradona cut himself off from football and sports and began to make the news in other areas. At the same time, his representative was also recognized, because he accompanied him in sun and shade. Jorge definitely sat at the table of the great decisions of Argentine soccer in January 1981, when River Plate was interested in adding Diego to its star roster . A story that was reflected by the media of the time tells that the president of the Núñez institution, Rafael Aragón Cabrera, had gone to see him at his office at “Maradona Producciones” . A few minutes after he left, with the negotiations failed, he left his office euphoric and said to the employees: “You saw who just left, right? We are gaining importance in the business world. Now the football bosses come here ” .
Maradona’s shocking pass to Boca definitely put him in general consideration and he was already a prominent character in society. Along the same lines, he continued a year later, when Diego moved to Barcelona, as Guillermo Blanco recalls: “I must thank Jorge (and Diego as well) for the great hand he gave me so that I could work in that city, contacting the media From Valencia. A few months later, they could no longer handle the press and that is why they appointed me , because I had at least 10 years of experience between Crónica , Goles , El Gráfico , etc. and we had known each other for a long time. That’s how clear things turned out ”.
Maradona’s two years in Barcelona were of lights and shadows. They left in the wake of performances and masterful goals, but also controversies and confrontations, of which Blanco was a witness: “I always say that the two of them went with a wave to fight against an economic army. There they found a leadership that only managed by numbers and they did not understand that Diego did not perform the first year. And how could he do it to the fullest if he had three months with hepatitis? Once recovered from that, in the second season, the tremendous fracture against Bilbao, which left him out for four months. These two events were fundamental so that in Barcelona it did not go as well as Jorge had foreseen on the economic side, beyond the errors that may have occurred, although I never got into money issues between them. And another thing: a large part of Diego’s extra sports problems start there, a product in much of the world that came to him . I think Jorge thought of me and other people to try to “tuck him in”, as they say there. Surrounding him with people who could do him good ”.
In mid-1984 it was time to put Barcelona in the past and look towards a future that cleared the clouds and was very light blue, like a diaphanous sky and the Napoli jersey. That was the land of Diego’s great deeds, but also the one that was going to seal the end of his relationship with Cyterszpiler and that opened the great question of why the separation. Guillermo Blanco was there: “ I think they must still be wondering why , because later Coppola arrived, whom Diego loved and then hated in the same way. I suppose that there must have been issues related to the economy, but also with a logical wear, where the world that surrounded them was no longer theirs alone as in the beginning, but a wider and more diverse universe. Jorge maintained his friendships but Diego was mutating for many things not conveniently, where he entered a tremendous maelstrom . As far as I know, they saw each other a few times, but they never sat down to talk carefully . My task also ended there and I maintained my friendship with Jorge, of whom I must emphasize that he never spoke about this subject, due to an unspoken code of silence and respect for Maradona ”.
The same success that he had had alongside the world star, kept him in his later task, with several elite footballers. The contrast was on the personal level, where his character varied and he had delicate moments. This is how that fateful May 2017 arrived , when he decided to kill himself, while in full treatment .
It was a great surprise, as Guillermo Blanco evokes it: “We journalists are seekers of adjectives. Here mine is simple: It hurt me a lot, it was incomprehensible and I even found it guilty, because on some occasions, we chatted on the phone and he spoke to me about God, everything that helped us, etc. I thought it was natural, but there was something else. The surprise was heightened because he had recently arrived from a trip to Europe and things seemed to be going well . A huge shame to all your friends. And here I want to mention Nando García, who was his right hand and did the impossible, trying to help him in every way. I was left with the feeling of guilt, of saying: Whoa, what could have been done? But when such a drastic decision is made, it is impossible . “
Jorge Cyterszpiler was a very dear person in the environment and there is a story as a sample. On one occasion, he threw a party to celebrate an anniversary of his successful player representation company, with the presence of various personalities such as Julio Grondona , Miguel Brindisi and Martín Demichelis (of the latter two he was the manager). Guillermo Blanco was the driver and shared the table with Maradona’s parents and the words of Doña Tota were recorded on him: “A video was broadcast and there she, who was not talking enough, said that Jorge had been the best thing that had happened to her your child outside the family ” . Little can be added to the words of a mother.
Jorge Cyterszpiler died in 2017, he was 58 years old
