Rolando Uríos returns to Ciudad Real to lend a hand to a team from the División de Honor Plata without asking a single euro
Rolando Uríos is a legend among handball fans. He won a World Cup with the Spanish team and numerous titles with Ciudad Real Handball: three European Cups, three European Super Cups, five Asobal Cups, two King’s Cups, two Spanish Super Cups and two European Cup Winners’ Cups. He was also the top scorer and top player in the 1999 World Cup. In 2009 he decided to retire after failing to overcome a serious knee injury. He was then 38 years old, an age that is already considered high for some competitive sports.
Now, however, he has decided to return to handball in Ciudad Real, the city where he had his best years at a club where he shared the pitch and dressing room with other myths such as José Javier Hombrados, Talant Dujshebaev, Ólafur Stefánsson or Alberto Entrerríos. The “problem”, which is not the case for him, is that he is 51 years old.
If it is worth it for a footballer like Joaquín to continue playing at 41, the case of Uríos is even more special, as he has returned to lend a hand to Vestas Balonmano Alarcos, of Ciudad Real, who in the División plays the Honor Plata. The reason is none other than “lend the team a hand” and “give it morale to the guys” who could very well be their kids. And it is that Vestas Balonmano Alarcos has started the season with a lot of injuries and especially the pivotal position, in which Uríos shone, suffers. The idea came from a friend, the assistant coach of the team, Julio Fis, who suggested going to training to encourage the players with his presence.
Uríos accepted, started sharing training sessions and, verifying that his physical condition was more than acceptable, Fis made the final request: to join the team as another player. At first the Spanish-Cuban replied that he would soon be 51 years old -on January 27th- but later he reconsidered and accepted the challenge, yes, without asking a single euro and with the commitment to play only a few minutes during a part of the season until the wounded heal.
His gesture to play for free is appreciated by his coach, the fans and the club’s president, Juan Pablo Marciel, “because he wanted to take risks to help us.”
“This has given me a lot of enthusiasm and I also wanted to give back to Ciudad Real how much they have given me here since I arrived 21 years ago. Although age weighs heavily and physical fitness is not the same, I can still contribute a lot,” explains Uríos, who made his debut at his new club last weekend, it was in the local derby against Hiros Caserío, who won 25-29. Rolando Uríos scored two goals and according to his coach, Isidre Pérez, “Being a professional he gave everything and I am happy with his performance as he has done well considering his age and the few training sessions he has done with us. “.
The next opportunity to see and applaud a handball legend is in Antequera (Málaga) this weekend. That day, his new La Mancha team will face Balonmano Los Dólmenes.
Source: La Verdad
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