It was 5:30 am when the Sporting delegation left Magdeburg and began the bus journey to Frankfurt, to catch the plane that would transport them back to Lisbon.
It was still in East Germany, in control near the Berlin Wall to pass to West Germany, that president João Rocha informed the players that a revolution was taking place in Lisbon. Initially the delegation didn’t pay much attention to the news, but when they arrived in Frankfurt they realized it was serious: the TAP counter was closed and it was not possible to travel to Lisbon.
João Rocha then found a solution: travel to Madrid and take a bus to the Portuguese capital, via the Caia border. Time would show that things would not be that simple.
It is now 10:30 pm on April 25th and it is already dark in Spain. After being forced to travel from Germany to Madrid, the Sporting delegation was now heading by bus to Lisbon, to end the trip to Magdeburg. In Caia, however, the Leonine delegation found the border also closed.
“They didn’t let us cross the border. President João Rocha had to quickly find us rooms to spend the night. Me and Zezinho were the last ones to go, at four in the morning, to a hostel», Fernando Tomé told More football.
Only late tomorrow morning, April 26th, in fact, will Sporting finally be able to return home: João Rocha managed to speak with General Spínola, who gave authorization for the delegation to enter the country. It will be more than 30 hours of a very long journey, until the delegation ends up arriving in Alvalade at around 3 pm.
FOLLOW HERE THE SPECIAL MAISFUTEBOL CHRONOLOGY of this initial day, complete and clean
Tags: APRIL YEARS Sporting pass Caia border takes hours reach Lisbon
