Francisco Nicolás Gómez Iglesias, popularly known as Francisco Nicolás, had his debut at an official match as owner of Deportivo Guadalajara this weekend. Guadalajara eliminated CD Toledo in the regional phase of the Copa Federación after a 0-0 draw and a penalty shootout, with Nicolás serving as the club's highest institutional representative.
Nicolás took on institutional duties because Carlos Ávila, Guadalajara's president, was hospitalised and Alexandro Rovirosa was in London. "It was unexpected," Nicolás told MARCA. "I'm used to going to the presidential box, but I'm not used to sitting next to the rival president or having to wish the team luck for the match," he explained.
Before the match in Toledo, Nicolás's accreditation led him into a comical situation. After receiving his documents, he followed the directions to the dressing room but accidentally entered the opposing team's. "I went in and they were shirtless. I started greeting everyone, the players were hugging me and I was asking about injuries and how they were doing," he recalled. Only when he asked for sports director Néstor Susaeta twice and received negative answers did he look at the shirts. "I see someone with a shirt and he was wearing a Toledo shirt. I had walked into the rival team's dressing room," he said.
During the match, Nicolás acknowledged the difficulties of being a club official. "When there was a scoring chance I let slip the odd word," he admitted, adding that he apologised to the Toledo president, who "laughed and took it well". Nicolás also walked around the stadium greeting Guadalajara fans and later Toledo fans, whom he described as "extraordinary people".
After 90 minutes without goals, the tie was decided by penalties. "In the penalties, me, who doesn't usually get sweaty hands, my hands were sweating, my head… I was a nervous wreck," Nicolás confessed. Toledo converted only two of their five shots, while Guadalajara scored three, with Christian Gómez saving two penalties. Nicolás had expressed his concern about the result: "Being the first match, I didn't want the first one to be a loss. I wanted to, please, win, because if not it would stay with me for life," he admitted.
