Benfica jersey achieved «a miracle» in Valencia tragedy
Toni speaks to our newspaper during a short break from the clean-up work which, a week after the storm, is still ongoing, as much of the region remains covered in mud.
“My parents’ house is in Paiporta, the area that was most affected. My mother was alone when it all happened, the water flooded the garage and reached halfway up the first floor of the house. She still managed to rescue four people who were being swept away by the current and who slept in the house that night,” he says.
Toni Gutiérrez is a police officer and that day he had his hands full with so much to do. And in the midst of the general despair, he also had to deal with family distress.
“I was working, I couldn’t go and help, and my mother’s battery died and she couldn’t be reached for a day. It was very hard for everyone, but especially for her, who is still devastated by what she went through,” she says in a statement. “This is an incalculable tragedy. It’s brutal. My parents’ house is on the other side of the river and this whole area was badly affected,” she laments, speaking about the neighborhood where more than 60 deaths have already been recorded due to the floods.
«The most incredible thing Benfica has ever given me»
It was in the midst of all this chaos of mud and despair that a ray of hope appeared in Toni’s life. It should be noted that he fell in love with Benfica because of Aimar, when the Argentinean left Valencia for the Eagles, and since then he has been a regular presence at the Estádio da Luz and other stadiums where poppies are bouncing.
The incident took place on Monday morning, at a time when the area around Toni’s parents’ house was still flooded with mud that was “humanly impossible to remove” and “without the help of heavy machinery”, due to the hundreds of requests.
«The way the street was, we couldn’t do anything. And I was walking down the street wearing a Benfica sweatshirt, when a man on a tractor passed by and asked me where I lived. I told him where my house was and he replied: ‘I’m going to help you because you’re wearing a shirt from the best club in the world’», he says, regretting only that he wasn’t able to find out anything about the man he says was «an angel fallen from heaven».
“I don’t know who the man was and I didn’t realise straight away that he was Portuguese, because he spoke perfect Spanish. I don’t even know his name! He was with the emergency services, he came to help us and then he went off to help others. He came, cleaned all the mud off the street and went on his way”, he added.
And all thanks to a Benfica shirt. Which then became even more present in street cleaning.
“My mother was so moved by that miracle that she cried. She even wore her Benfica jersey, with the name Sílvia written on the back,” he recalls, smiling.
And despite admitting that “Benfica has already given a lot” in his life, this indirect “miracle” granted by the Portuguese club has a different weight.
“I have never experienced a situation like this before. It was something different from anything the club usually gives me. Without a doubt, it was the best thing Benfica has ever given me. Because it was truly a desperate situation. And that gesture gave me light,” he shares.
