The mysterious 'Odessa Cat'

By Andy Hall

Mariano García Remón was a goalkeeping legend at Real Madrid CF - the club that appointed him coach on Monday at the request of the board of directors and his predecessor José Antonio Camacho. The question on the lips of the club's supporters is that following failed attempts by Carlos Queiroz and Camacho, will the 53-year-old ex-player be able to steer the team out of troubled waters?

Sluggish start
Madrid's start to the current season has been less than palatable for the club's demanding fans. Modest wins against RCD Mallorca and CD Numancia did little to convince supporters that the team was not merely suffering a sluggish start to the new campaign. Yet when Bayer 04 Leverkusen served up a 3-0 defeat in the first match of the UEFA Champions League, it hit the club like a hammer blow. "When a team loses like this, the only person to blame is me," Camacho said afterwards.

Final straw
Saturday's 1-0 defeat by RCD Espanyol was the last straw for Camacho, who was enlisted in July to replace Queiroz. His no-nonsense style and close attachment to the club seemed to be attributes needed to control some of the biggest names in football. Yet after three league outings and talk of resentment among senior players, Camacho felt he was no longer in control of the team's fate. "The chairman asked me if I felt capable of changing the situation and I told him that I could not," he said on his resignation.

Task undertaken
At Camacho's request, his former assistant García Remón has taken on the task of pulling the team back into shape. The new man knows the inner workings of the Santiago Bernabéu but his position will depend on how the team performs over the next few games and whether they are able to turn the tables in the Champions League.

Lengthy career
García Remón began his association with football by joining Rayo Vallecano as a teenager. He signed for Real Madrid as a 15-year-old and gained experience at nearby CD Talavera and then Real Oviedo before returning to make his first-team debut in 1971. Lauded for his agility and reflexes between the posts he enjoyed a lengthy career at the Bernabéu, sharing the No1 jersey with Miguel Ángel González until injury forced him into retirement in 1986.

'The Odessa Cat'
His goalkeeping prowess during a vital European Champion Clubs' Cup tie earned him the nickname 'The Odessa Cat'. Madrid travelled to the Chernomorets stadium in Odessa on 7 March 1973 to meet FC Dynamo Kyiv in a tough quarter-final first-leg tie. A series of acrobatic saves during the game kept out the local strikers and gave Madrid a 0-0 draw to take back to the Bernabéu where they comfortably won the return leg 3-0.

Right credentials
So with Camacho's backing and the necessary credentials on his side, how can García Remón get Madrid back on track? "Now, more than ever, we need our fans' support and understanding," he said on his presentation. He may also be aware that those fans are slowly realising that after four years of magical football, the squad is showing signs of ageing. A major overhaul may be required if Madrid are to keep up with their contemporaries on the
European stage.

Silverware demands
Vicente del Bosque arrived in a similar situation and succeeded in transforming a side that had descended into chaos. For the sake of their season, Madrid will be hoping that 'The Odessa Cat' can land on his feet.