Cunningham, the only Real Madrid player to have received an applause at the Camp Nou

The rivalry between the FC Barcelona and Real Madrid always has existed and very few times has seen that the rival fans applaud to a player of the rival team, but there is a history that the 'change' all in the Camp Nou and that in the previous of the Classical is worth it to remember: the day that the feudo barcelonista surrendered in front of Laurie Cunningham, the one who went player of the White House and gave a recital, with dribblings and a lot of desborde, that impressed to all the culés in his field.

Laurence Paul Cunningham was a recognised English footballer of Jamaican ancestry that exerted like forward and was a member of the rows of the Real Madrid between 1979 and 1983. It did not have a lot of continuity in the team merengue, but is remembered always like the only player madridista that caused an ovation in the field of the eternal rival, the Camp Npu, in a party in February of 1980. In that opportunity did not mark a goal, but yes gave a class of dribblings and desbordó those that times wanted in the rival area; showing as a player of period to the that be in the terrain of game did him more than easy.

Known as 'Perla Black' turned into his moment in the most expensive signing of the history of the Madrid, with a price of 195 million euros, arriving pertinent of the West Bromwich Albion. The picture madridista carried going on down it long and was so much the bet, that did not matter them 'throw' the house by the window to ensure his arrival to Madrid. It stood out for being a very differential player that changed by himself same the parties, but in the Spanish capital was of more less.

Of the mentioned party against the Barça 1980, the impression was so much in the Camp Nou that in a chronicle published by 'El País' in his moment and signed by Alfredo Relaño, related that of this clash "the only consolation for the public barcelonista was the enjoy of the show that offered Cunningham every time that the balloon fell him in the feet; his alardes of command of balloon were rewarded with ovations as if the party contested in the field of the Madrid. The public of the Barcelona showed that it knows to put of the side of the best, although the best was not the Barça".

Laurie Cunningham also had his words on this partidazo that signed in the Camp Nou, aiming years afterwards in 'TVE' that "it is one of these parties in which you notice that all goes out you well. I think that had better parties in the Madrid, but that, by the repercussion that has a Madrid-Barça, is the one who more remembers ". Of him, it saves the memory to be the only ovacionado by the Camp Nou, something that did not attain Juanito, Raúl, Cristiano... And it stop to explain.

A tragic end and death

Cunningham had a successful career, a lot of goals, but always was 'condemned' by the racism in the football. In fact, it received a sinfín of pressures and threats by his colour of skin, so that it did not play with the selection of England. The worst experience was when it received in an on a bullet.

Six years after abandoning the Real Madrid and with 33 years, suffered an accident of speed that finish with his life, in the km 6'5 of the To6 in Door of Iron, direction to the capital of Spain, to the 6:45 hours, on 15 July 1989. Cunningham lost the control of his movil to excessive speed and finish crashing against a farola and a fence of protection. His death caused a lot of shock and sadness to the Spanish football and European in general, because his go through teams like the Madrid, West Brom, Manchester United, Sporting, Marseilles or Ray Vallecano, remained recorded in the memory of all the lovers of the football.