“I am excited and happy to surround myself with so many friends”

Happy and surrounded by friends. In this way, Gerardo Ruiz Alonso (Gijón, 1956) presented his book ‘My life in tracksuit’, in a day, yesterday’s, in which it was also his birthday when he turned 65. The event, which took place at the Begoña headquarters of the Covadonga Group, brought together a hundred people, who enjoyed the anecdotes, many of which are described in the publication of the one who was Sporting’s physical trainer since its beginnings in sports activity , in the neighborhood of El Cerillero. At his side, on an unforgettable day for him, were Antonio Corripio, group president; Masángeles Rodríguez, Olympic medalist and former fellow student at the INEF in Madrid, as well as his childhood soul friend, Abelardo Suárez, a traumatologist in Cabueñes, and the ‘Pitu’ Abelardo with whom he lived at Sporting a difficult time to forget . Nor did other friends want to miss the event, such as Agustín Antuña, honorary member of the COE; Félix Fernández, former president of Santa Olaya; Iñaki Tejada, former member of the Sportinguista coaching staff; Diego Lobelle, rojiblanco physical trainer; Joaquín Alonso, head of institutional relations at Sporting; Eloy Olaya, Javi Fuego, brothers Alejandro and Jorge García Torre, Gerardo Noriega and Pepe Llaneza, former physical trainer of the rojiblanco team. Dr. Antonio Maestro also attended the sportinguista family. They were joined by people from other areas of sport such as Javier Meana and the Olympic judo and former vice-rector of the University of Oviedo, José Antonio Cecchini.

“I am excited to be surrounded by so many friends here. I came calm, but seeing so many people I have made me a little nervous. This is how Gerardo Ruiz began the story of a book that reviews his extensive curriculum, which begins when he began to play sports in his neighborhood until he “trained soccer players, which didn’t even cross my mind when I started going to El Molinón as a guaje.” He reviewed his career, emphasizing his first great joy when he was admitted as an INEF student when he was only 18 years old, and then he commented on anecdotes of his two ascents with Sporting.

The group president, Corripio, referred to his figure as “a benchmark in sport” and the club he runs “as a true example.” For his part, Dr. Suárez Vázquez spoke of “a number one in physical education,” while Masángeles Rodriguez stressed about him “that he is a great professional in his field who has only made friends, don’t change.” Finally, ‘Pitu’ Abelardo spoke of good anecdotes, such as the one that he lived with as a promotion and other bad ones, such as “when we were five months unpaid at the club and he always put the positive note.”