EOn January 13, 1929, at the gates of the first League in history, the Athletic sweated blood to eliminate Castellon in the quarterfinals of the Cup. After the 2-2 of Sequiol a simple Basque victory was expected. But the red and white attacks collided with a wall that made saves typical of the ace of those days, Ricardo Zamora. Athletic passed, 2-1, but José’s saves Ramon NebotOrellut goalkeeper, were the news of the afternoon.
So much so that the Athletic directors, when asking who this boy was, only 18 years old (6-27-1910), rubbed their hands when they learned that he had been born in Villarreal. “Alavés, then”? they asked. They believed it was Legutio (Villarreal de Álava), which meant they could sign him. The illusion lasted as long as the error took to undo, because Nephew was born in Levante, in Vila-real.
Months later, he was goalkeeper of the Real Madrid. “It wasn’t easy. Because his parents didn’t see him favorably. He was very young, only 19 years old, and it was a very serious life change. But in the end they talked about it, he packed his bags and went to Madrid.” This is how he tells it Julio Nebotthe grandson of the goalkeeper who unites the stories of Real Madrid and Villarreal, the teams that will face each other tonight at the Bernabéu.
Heir of Alanga
In the courtyard of the Pious Schools It was where Ramón, because the second name prevailed over the first, began to show that to score a goal you had to sweat. In one of those he was discovered by del Villarreal’s father, Jose Calduch. That is why he is considered the first goalkeeper and the first yellow youth player.
Only a year later he was the guardian of Castellón, a dominant team in the Spanish Levante area. His was the Valencia championship, with Nebot as the starter. He was already the heir of a period goalkeeper in Castellón: Jose Alanga.
Nebot’s name began to spread throughout Spanish football. And Madrid took him. A team that left its mark. “My grandfather was a big Real Madrid fan. He was marked by the time he played there and how he was treated, especially by Santiago Bernabéu. He always boasted about some cufflinks that he gave him and he always kept them. Now I have them. Of course, when the Villarreal He went up to First Division and went with the team from his homeland. That Madrid were champions, but that game was won by Villarreal,” explains Julio.
The cufflinks that Bernabéu gave him.
Derby to debut
On September 15, 1929, Nephew He was placed for the first time between the sticks of Madrid. It was at the Metropolitano, on an afternoon when torrential rain left the stands empty. It was a friendly (4-4) between the two greats of Madrid and in which the two teams presented new faces for the season, that of the second League. Nebot, one of them, was going to share the goal with Rafael Vidal.
It was not an easy campaign for Madrid, who were bottom on matchday five, which made their coach’s head roll, Jose Quirante. The goaltending received constant criticism. When Vidal played, he was asked Nephew; When the owner was from Vila-real, the Madrid native was sued.
The solution that Madrid took was to sign the best, Ricardo Zamora. The three shared work in 1930-31, but Nebot only played one game in the League, the tremendous 0-6 against the Athleticwhen he had to come on after 42 minutes when Vidal was injured. He understood that in Madrid he had no career path, no matter how happy he was at the club. Zamorawith whom he always had an excellent relationship, closed his doors to anyone.
On May 30, 1931, in a friendly against Toledo (1-5) to inaugurate the Palomarejos field, he said goodbye to Madrid. Their next stop was Mestalla, Valencia’s goal.
With the Valencian shirt he was close to being Cup champion in 1934, but Madrid denied him in the final: 2-1 in Montjuïc. Nephew He only played one game, in the first round, and was quite scared. Because Valencia, after beating Racing 7-1 at Mestalla, lost 6-2 on their visit to Santander.
Spain and France
He told an anecdote about that Cup. In the first leg of the semi-finals, Valencia and Oviedo They had tied two at Mestalla. In Asturias it was assumed that they were in the final. With a poker of LongerOviedo had crushed Valencia in Buenavista: 7-0. “They were so confident that when we arrived we found out that they were already selling tickets for the final in Barcelona. But we beat them 1-3!”
Nebot, watching a game in Chamartín.
Not only did the first player born in Villarreal who reached the First Division play in Spain. He also did it in France. It is always said that he did it during the Civil war, but it was already written before that he was known in French football. Gran Vida magazine said this in its issue of July 1, 1929: “Nebot is only nineteen years old. He started four years ago. Club Deportivo Villarreal was the team he first defended. Later, the needs of his home business took him to France; there he alternated work with practicing his favorite sport, and in Royal Spanish Sports Club of Bordeaux He lined up as a center forward, winning the Southwestern French championship.” His family’s business was oranges.
“In the end, he also played as a forward here, because he was very tall and strong,” remembers his grandson. In the mid-40s, Nebot was still playing. “I sign every year for Castellón for whatever may happen. And I always ended up playing games,” he told MARCA in 1943, while explaining: “I am a professional, but I never got paid.”
He hung up his boots and went to work, driving a truck. And to tell stories, like the one about the fish that bit him in Oran on a tour with the Valencia in 1932 and which left him with a few stitches and a good scar. “He told how hard the trips were, but that thanks to football he saw places he had never thought of,” Julio remembers.
Ramon Nebot He died on March 15, 2002.
