How Jose Mourinho gave a Mexican cleaner the most special ride of his life
A lifelong Real Madrid fan, who waxes floors for living, was plucked from obscurity to join Jose Mourinho's backroom staff for the Champions League victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in an extraordinary tale of dedication, generosity and goodwill.
10:14AM BST 12 Apr 2013
Sports Illustrated told the story of Abel Rodríguez, a 41-year-old Mexican-American from California, and an obsessive Real fan, who took two weeks' unpaid holiday for the last seven years to volunteer at the team's annual summer trip to Los Angeles.
He chased balls and laid out cones for Mourinho and his team of coaches when they visited the Californian city for pre-season friendlies. He woke up at 5am every morning and drove to the UCLA training site, only returning home at 11pm for a few hours' sleep each night.
Rodríguez's annual interaction with Mourinho and Los Blancosstrengthened his passion for the club and this year he took the decision to withdraw his life savings to fund a trip to Madrid, in a desperate attempt to attend El Clásico before Mourinho left the club.
This meant he could not afford a family holiday, but on the insistence of his wife and daughter ("You should go. It's always been your dream") he made the lengthy journey to the Spanish capital.
Rodríguez arrived at the club's Valdebebas training complex with no accommodation booked, no ticket for the Mar 3 match against Barcelona, and, crucially, no contact details for Mourinho.
The security staff at the training ground refused to let him in and he was forced to sit on the side of the road, in snowy conditions, in a desperate attempt to flag down Mourinho. He waited for five fruitless hours, with only a coat to protect him from the elements, until his luck changed.
As Mourinho was leaving his assistant Rui Faria's car he spotted Rodríguez and stopped in his tracks. Mourinho bounded over to Rodríguez and asked to know what the "guy from Los Angeles" was doing nearly 6,000 miles from home.
After explaining his quixotic trip to Mourinho, everything changed for Rodríguez. The Special One instantly called for an assistant and arranged for Rodríguez to have his own room at the hotel where Real were staying for the Barcelona match. He ordered Rodríguez to rest up and rejoin them at the training site the next morning.
The night before the match the two men met up 90 minutes before sharing dinner with the rest of Mourinho's staff. As they spoke about Rodríguez's plans – he intended to return to LA after El Clásico – Mourinho insisted that he join the club for their trip to Manchester for the round of 16 clash at Old Trafford.
"I told him, 'No way, you come to Manchester with us and work as a kit man,'" Mourinho told Sports Illustrated. "'You help us and you live a bigger dream, a Champions League match from the inside!'"
Rodríguez lit up and said he would love to join them, insisting he would pay his own way. But Mourinho shook his head, smiled, and said: "When you're with me in Europe, you don't pay for s---."
This incredible gesture was too much for Rodríguez and he was overcome with tears of joy. The football gods had repaid him for seven summers of voluntary work and he was about to join the entourage of one of the game's finest managers for a match (in Mourinho's words) "the world is waiting for".
Rodríguez attended El Clásico – Real won 2-1 – watching from a good seat and visiting the home side's dressing room afterwards for photographs with Cristiano Ronaldo, Maradona and the Argentine legend's girlfriend.
Lifelong ambition fulfilled, it was now time to get down to business. Rodríguez was kitted out in Real's full team gear and given official status as a bag-handler, coaching assistant and good-luck charm (Mourinho and the players were rubbing his stomach for positive vibes).
Rodríguez's friends in Los Angeles could see him on their televisions as he walked off the field next to United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and he was even immortalised on YouTube, standing next to Ronaldo in a pre-game clip of the tunnel.
A few seconds before that clip was filmed, Javier Hernandez, Rodríguez's compatriot, approached the cleaner to tell him he would be giving him his match jersey at the final whistle. How did he know about Real's good-luck charm? Unbeknown to Rodríguez, Mourinho had approached Hernandez and asked him to do the favour.
"These people treated me like I was part of the team," Rodríguez said. "This is something I'll tell my grandkids."
Ferguson would not speak to the British press that night – he was in a state of distress after seeing Nani's red card end United's hopes of advancing. But he spoke to Rodríguez, urging him to grab Mourinho for a post-match glass of wine. Rodríguez said: "He came out of the dressing room with a cup of wine in his hand, and he told me, 'Tell José that the wine is ready, and tell him to hurry up.'"
Rodríguez's wondrous night continued with him acting as go-between for Robin van Persie and Marcelo when they swapped shirts, and collecting as many keep-safes and mementos as he could.
Hernandez, too, followed up on his promise, handing Rodríguez his match shirt with a unique, personalised message. The two spoke, with Hernandez listening in wide-eyed wonder at the Mexican-American's amazing story.
"The first thing he said to me was, 'How long have you been working for Real Madrid?'" Rodríguez said to Sports Illustrated. "I said, 'The truth is I don't work for them.' I explained to him what happened, and he looked shocked at the beginning. But he said, 'You know what? That's amazing.'"
All the memorabilia he could get his hands on was worth nothing compared to the memories, insisted Rodríguez, and a knowing wink for a job well done from Mourinho on the flight back was a particular highlight.
Rodríguez finished his duties as the equipment man by unloading the bags off the plane at Madrid. But his conscientious dedication to his work meant he never had the chance to thank Mourinho, and still doesn't have any contact details.
He shared his story with Sports Illustrated to say thank you for a very special night.
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