God created light on day one, skies on day two, Earth and sea on day three, two great lights and the stars on day four, birds and sea creatures on day five and animals and humans on day six. On day seven, while He was resting, He secretly created a heel. His hell. The heel. Guti's heel.

Marca's description of 'the assist' as Tacón de Dios - the Heel of God - might appear to be pushing Guti's pass for Real Madrid's second goal against Deportivo La Coruna last weekend a bit, but if you go through the goal carefully, you will notice that only God could have conceived such a move. And that night in Galicia, Guti was playing the role of the Almighty.

The move started with Kaka receiving the ball on the left. The Brazilian turned inside and after curiously watching Guti pull away to the right, he released him in an one-on-one with the Depor custodian, and although there was a defender running towards him, all the Madrid playmaker had to do was side-foot the ball. Only, Guti decided to back-heel the ball to, well, virtually no one. If you observe the goal carefully, you will notice that Guti does not even once look behind him; he just senses that there is a teammate behind him and he was right: Karim Benzema was there.

Just like a pregnant woman swinging from one mood to the other, the entire world ceased blasting Guti for his reported altercation with coach Manuel Pellegrini after the Alcorcon disaster and for his off-pitch 'unprofessional' lifestyle, and jumped onto the bandwagon that had 'Guti Is A Genius' written cross it.

Which isn't necessarily a bad idea. Because Guti is a genius. Because Guti is God. Because Guti is world class.


The point about Guti is that he is one of the dying breeds of footballers who can control a game of football without actually running. This is not to say that Guti doesn't run, but the Spaniard's incisiveness and God-gifted vision enables him to slice through a well organised neo-Italianised defence with the ease of Joey Tribbiani slipping into women's beds.

Instances like the back-heel against Depor or the 'taconazo' against Sevilla in 2006 are rare enough, but they absorb more significance when you consider that Guti has been at Real Madrid for 25 years of his life. And he is 33. Most outsiders would symbolise Raul as the embodiment of Real Madrid and of Madridismo, but Raul was raised an Atletico Madrid fan. Although Guti too reportedly grew up a Barcelona supporter, the fact that he has been at the club since eight (Raul came to Madrid much later and only because of a classic case of presidential nutty job) expresses his unalloyed love for the club perhaps more than Raul given that he has rarely been a regular for successive seasons.

Described as an "eternal promise" Guti has performed at the worst of times and has forever been expected to weave an unexpected web of sorcery. It was perhaps his bad luck that his supposed prime years were spent under the shadows of the Zidanes, Figos and Beckhams. Guti might have been a troublesome lad at times but he has always embodied the spirit of the club, wore his heart on his White sleeves and, as was demonstrated by his celebrations at the Riazor, genuinely feels for the club.

Guti's inconsistency is legendary but so are his passes. He came on a substitute against Sevilla in 2006-2007, crafted three wildly romantic passes and sent Madrid on their way to their first league title in four years. After the game, the then coach Fabio Capello said, "When Guti comes on as a sub, he always make the difference", warning against starting Guti week in, week out.


Which isn't necessarily a bad idea. Because Guti is a flawed genius. Because Guti is an unreliable God. Because Guti is world class only when he wants to be.

Or when he feels he should be. Every single Real Madrid coach has had one probem or the other with Guti and none of them could trust him. Nor should they have, because, let's admit it, you can trust Titus Bramble more than Guti. Which is why the 33-year-old has been a regular for just two seasons in his entire Madrid career. Which is why he has never featured in an international competition for Spain and probably never will.

Guti is a genius, a temperamental genius perhaps but a genius nevertheless, and booting out a genius is foolish. Guti might not have always been the Angel of Madrid, which Raul genuinely is, but he has matured without losing the spirit of a maverick. At a press conference when asked whether he was really injured during his lay-off after the Alcorcon match, he said that "anyone who doesn't believe me can go and pick poppies", cheekily and entertaining avoiding any public spat with his coach, demonstrating his maturity.

Football, like Real Madrid, is an obsession and so is Guti. Obsessions when indulged beyond limits become self-destructive, but it is more fun that way.

http://goal.com/en-us/news/88/spain/2010/02/05/1778210/spanish-inquisition-the-eternal-predicament-that-is-guti

There was a similar article about him in last month's Four Four Two except in that one they emphasized his unreliable, psychotic behavior even more and implied that he only likes to play when the going is good for Madrid/ when he feels like it. E.g. apparently he claimed that he slipped a disk in his back and so couldn't come to training but that same day played in a Pro-Am golf tournament instead. . .