News · From the live show
The day Luis Aragonés had Romario's number at Valencia
'Look me in the eyes': the scene the Brazilian never forgot
The panel laughs as it recalls Luis Aragonés's 'look me in the eyes'
Rubén Uría recalls that if there was one person in the world who couldn't stand Luis Aragonés, it was Romario, because 'the Wise Man' saw right through him from day one at Valencia, in front of the press.
After some jokes about Walter Zimmermann and a supposed move for Romario to Salamanca, Rubén Uría brings up an anecdote about the Brazilian and Luis Aragonés. As he tells it, if there was one person in the world who couldn't stand Luis, it was Romario. Luis Aragonés, true to form, had the Brazilian's number when he was Valencia coach in the 1990s.
The panel recalls the line that went down in history, delivered in front of the press: "Look me in the eyes" ("Míreme a los ojitos"). Luis saw right through Romario from the very first day and kept up a battle of wills with the Brazilian at Valencia in the 90s. It happened specifically in the 1996-97 season, at the Paterna training ground. The coach, fed up with the Brazilian, took him to task over his attitude during a training session that was captured by television cameras, with the words: "Look at my face, look me in the eyes". It made the front pages of every newspaper and the lead on every news bulletin. Sparks flew between Luis and Romario.
In 2017, Romario showed he had not forgotten the affair with Luis Aragonés at a Valencia training session. Asked in a quick-fire round about football personalities, Romário answered on 'the Wise Man of Hortaleza', as Aragonés was known: "Luis Aragonés? An idiot".