The Colorful Life of Eddie Fleischman: An Intimate Interview with the Sports Journalist

2024-01-01 18:30:44

Eddie Fleischman parks his car near the traditional Acosta Park in San Isidro. “I hope the tow truck doesn’t take away my car,” he says with fear while he looks a little worried in the distance at his blue Mercedes-Benz.

About 50 meters away he settles on a bench to start the talk. She crosses her arms waiting for the first question. Eddie arrives at the agreed time and says what he thinks, according to what he says, even though his harsh sincerity can cost him permanent criticism and even from his own colleagues.

The beginnings of Eddie Fleischman

His Internet program begins in an hour and we have that time to chat about his professional life, controversies with co-workers, players and leaders, as well as the intense anecdotes he has experienced. We press play and start the interview.

One of those many anecdotes that Eddie remembers and makes him smile has as its context the hot month of February 1997. A year that Alianza Lima’s historic scorer, Waldir Sáenz, will never forget. At the end of that year the blue and white team became national champions after 18 years. However, at the beginning of the year, precisely, February 24 was the day that the popular ‘Wally’ scored one of his best and most remembered goals of his life. None other than the goalkeeper in front of him was Dida from the powerful Cruzeiro club in Brazil.

The anecdotes with Waldir Sáenz and Roberto Martínez

It was a Copa Libertadores match and the stage was the National Stadium. The reduced attendance of 19 thousand spectators presaged the possible defeat of the blue and white team. The fans did not have so much faith that his team could beat one of the most ranked teams in South America. However, that night became so magical for Waldir that the celebrations for the victory would have ended until the next day on a beach in Lima.

According to Eddie, at 6 in the morning on February 25 he was running on the Costa Verde when in the distance he saw the aforementioned footballer who hours before had scored in the intimate club’s victory. The historic scorer was in the company of two women, there was beer and loud music coming from the speakers of his parked car.

The sports journalist thought it was an optical illusion and opened his eyes wider again. It was possible that Waldir at that time was listening to one of his favorite salsa groups, ‘Hey Hey Camaguey’. In the clubs of the time the most played song was ‘Ya para qué’. “We wanted to make a different world. But everything has been lost uselessly. Because we lacked the light of experience. And now we pay for our innocence. Why? If there is no love. It’s no longer worth insisting. Each one on the happiest path…”, says the lyrics of one of the most danced songs of that year.

Eddie could not deny what he saw and his companion at the time also confirmed who was supposedly celebrating the victory of the previous night on the Costa Verde. That same day in the afternoon, Eddie revealed everything he saw on the radio program where he worked at that time and the next day all the sports newspapers replicated his truth about the ‘ampay’ against Alianza Lima’s historic scorer.

Due to this revelation, Waldir’s father, Don Ernesto Sáenz, put the cross on Eddie and threatened him by saying that he did not want to see him at the Matute stadium. Years later Eddie wanted to hear confirmation of said episode on the Costa Verde from the protagonist himself; that is, Waldir himself, but the player flatly denied it. “I have never been there. It wasn’t me,” the footballer would have told him. Eddie smiles when I insist if he got confused and it was someone else. “Yes, I saw it. It was Waldir,” he maintains categorically.

Discrepancies with journalists and responds to Paco Bazán

Another anecdote that the sports journalist tells was when former soccer player Roberto Martínez threatened to hit him. Eddie says that this event happened when he criticized Gisela Valcárcel’s ex-husband for his soccer performance and his lack of ambition to not be able to play for a team abroad. The former Universitario de Deportes player called him on the phone and threatened him, telling him that he was going to find him no matter what.

Eddie Fleischman confesses to Trome in an intimate interview (Photo: Javier Cabello)

“I want to meet you,” the midfielder who wore the colors of Universitario de Deportes told him furiously. Another anecdote that Eddie tells was when in one of his programs on television he commented on the expulsion suffered by Luis ‘Cuto’ Guadalupe in a game. “I said what a criminal entry by ‘Cuto’ Guadalupe,” Eddie said.

However, they told ‘Cuto’ that Eddie had described him as a criminal. It’s like this, the sports journalist says with a laugh, that ‘Cuto’ wanted to hit one of his reporters. “I want to meet the Colorado because he cannot say that I am a criminal, that I am a delinquent,” said the former soccer player. However, after making him watch the video about ‘Cuto’s true statements, he understood that it was all a misunderstanding.

‘Cut’ Guadalupe and Paolo Guerrero

“I wanted to turn around, it seems, hahaha,” said Eddie, who a few weeks ago met ‘Cuto’ in Ferreñafe (Lambayeque) at the reunion of the former players of Juan Aurich, the 2011 champion squad. “Everything is fine with ‘Cuto’. ‘. Everything became very clear,” he says.

The talk continues on a park bench near Eddie’s house, with a chorus of birds as a musical background. Eddie also remembers his discussions with the controversial former president of Universitario de Deportes, Alfredo González, as well as that time when he was about to fight with the former Argentine soccer player and coach Carlos Salvador Bilardo for making him wait and not giving him an interview.

He is frontal and his discussions with Alfredo Gonzales

The sports journalist responds with great conviction to what he thinks and even does not hesitate to remember the offensive comments that the remembered sports journalist Micky Rospigliosi said to him.

“Marmelero, that’s what he called me, but the truth is that I didn’t really understand what it meant. He said that he had favors from the Federation, that he is Delfino’s patron or that he was after Manuel Burga or things like that. I tell you this completely naturally because I don’t have a straw tail. I can look at all the leaders, all the players, all the coaches, all the journalists in the Peruvian sports environment. I have nothing to be ashamed of, I can look everyone in the eye without having anything to feel uneasy or uncomfortable about,” says Eddie.

There are just a few minutes left until his Internet sports program starts and the talk is ending. The popular ‘Colorado’ says that he went ten years without speaking to Micky Rospigliosi and that he only did so when he went to visit him in the hospital due to his delicate state of health.

Micky Rospigliosi told her ‘mermelero’

Eddie, what team are you from?

I have been part of several teams throughout my life because since I was a child I went to the stadium with my older brothers. The first team I was involved with was Universitario in 1975. The U de Oblitas, Chumpitaz, ‘Cachito’ Ramírez. Then it was Alianza Lima with Cubillas, Cueto, La Rosa and then Cristal de Uribe and Roberto Mosquera.

Eddie reveals his bloat

Thanks Eddie for the time and the interview.

On the contrary, thanks to Trome.

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