Naranjito flies in Qatar, what did you know about the 82 World Cup mascot?

On this opening Sunday of the World Cup in Qatar, a bland sparkler festival, the mascots of previous tournaments gathered on the stadium promenade that seemed to float in the air like ghosts from the past. Meeting of giants and big heads. And the most stubborn, loving Naranjito. Representation of a bad time for the national team, but an exciting summer 40 years ago for us Spaniards who are already wrinkled with honesty.

Where was this plump citrus, dressed like a La Roja native, when the team was missing for decades before it was named? An apple fell on Isaac Newton and the Sevillian publisher José María Martín Pacheco came up with this idea. When an orange falls from a tree at your feet in Plaza Nueva in Seville. The orange opened and Orange was born. The only plant mascot ever. It flew from Cara today and is a symbol of an era, its age: post-constitutional mastery invoked with a certain ingenuity and thought.

Back then, La Roja was called La Furia: too much heart and too little technique to face the challenges. Naranjito, who dressed as La Furia, the motto of Spanish football since Antwerp at the 1920 Olympic Games, and even some malajs, blamed him for that year’s sports disaster.

When World Cup Organizing Committee 82 Announcing that a smiling orange (yes, with a blank stare) would be one of the event’s emblems, the media attacked the baby. It was a desired birth, but it was denied..

As Martín Pacheco reminds this newspaper, the nicest thing they said to him was “terrible” and some hateful journalists saw it in him. “a small town and childlike representation”, It is not suitable for a country that wants to project itself in Europe and give a good image to the world. Martín Pacheco entered the competition along with María Dolores Salto from Cordoba, a partner of the agency. They were both drinking beers at the El Portón bar and watching on TV. News about the mascot announcement News.

There was a party, and days later they received a check for one million pesetas, which they used to settle their relationship with their global son. This way, the creature’s Seville father never again made up his mind about Naranjito, where they made some adjustments and sent him to Japan. It was for him to have his own cartoon series after he sold the committee. Usage rights for 1,400 million pesetas (now about 100 million euros).

Naranjito has popped up for tableware, toys, t-shirts, trading cards, dolls, and every imaginable trinket. It is still in force and different versions have been created for clothing brands and everyday objects. It was a pet that could be upset, but now, Over time, it was revalued for its affectionate and classic character..

BRB, producer of the recently deceased Claudio Biern Boyd (Dartacan, Willy Fog) was responsible for the TVE project, which at the time cost 200 million pesetas (that would have been 15 million euros, which would cost La 1’s prime prime time bet, amazing duo).

They invented a girlfriend for the little-legged orange, Clementine; a lemon-friendly, innocent Citronio; and a robot, revision of mechanical monsters Mazinger ZImarchi, who has all the footage of previous World Cups in his belly with a screen.

The villain with the mustache and cape was Zruspa, a terrorist who could destroy Madrid’s buildings. One-eyed vigilante shooters mechanical orangecoconut.

live football It premiered in animated prime time on December 5, 1981: three and a half on Saturdays, and lasted until June 12, 1982, the day before the opening of the Spanish World Cup (things since then, rather than capitalizing on their presence). during the tournament).

his memory today It brought a smile to at least the most experienced Spanish audience when they saw it floating through the stifling air of Qatar.