Right now, it’s not unrealistic to suggest Getafe’s well-travelled striker could contribute if he got the call to represent Spain
Jorge Molina set out in an old Seat 850, sitting proudly behind the wheel of a car that hadn’t come off the production line for 30 years and shuddered as it made its way down the road, so the journey was bound to take a while. It’s a long way from Alcoyano to Europe and the verge of the national team, after all, but he’s nearly there now. Looking up from the bottom of tercera division, the place where it all began around the turn of the century, 466 teams stand between you and the very top; looking up from the place where he and his team are this morning, almost 20 years on, long after he should have left, just five do. As for Molina himself, no one stands before him any more. That, at least, was the verdict of the Getafe fans this weekend.
A qualified teacher with a degree in PE, coaching badges and his sporting director’s licence, the man teammates say seems shy but does a great impression of the boss, supporters reckon Jorge Molina is qualified to play for Spain too. Which perhaps they would, but that doesn’t make them wrong. As he departed on Friday night with Getafe on course for a 4-0 win over Alavés, first he was handed a standing ovation and then he was serenaded, a song starting, “Jorge, selección!” running around the Coliseum and welcomed by everyone except maybe the man himself. Asked about it afterwards, he blushed a little, smiled awkwardly, almost laughed and looked away, as if embarrassed. “Nah,” he said. “It’s nice, and I’m happy, but that’s all. Let’s be realistic: I’m of an age now …”
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Barcelona 3-1 Leganés, Levante 2-0 Valladolid, Rayo Vallecano 2-2 Real Sociedad, Villarreal 1-1 Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis 3-2 Girona, Celta Vigo 1-2 Valencia, Huesca 0-3 Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid 2-0 Sevilla, Getafe 4-0 Alavés