By then, Real Madrid had fallen off the title race, which was at full speed since Barcelona and Atlético too had taken maximum points until that round. But when the colchoneros dropped a point to Málaga, they suddenly found themselves one point behind Barça, and two behind Valencia before the last round. The ‘blanquinegres’ now knew that if they avoided defeat in their last match away to Espanyol, they would be champions. Despite Barcelona’s superior goal difference, Valencia had them by the balls on the internal record. But it wasn’t going to be that easy as many thought. By the hour mark it was still scoreless. But then Dueñas gave Barça the lead against none other than Atlético Madrid, which sent fear into the Valencia fans who hugged their radio sets as if they wanted to squeeze the title out of it themselves. They were relieved to hear that Luis equalized for the Madrid side four minutes later. But then, in the 65th minute came what they had feared the most. Lamata had scored for Espanyol at Sarriá stadium in Barcelona, and another goal by either Barça or Atleti would pip Valencia from the top spot. It was some eternal 25 minutes for the Valencia fans, who by now crossed themselves without stop while summoning every saint they had heard of to protect their slender lead at the top of the table. But their rivals also had a dilemma. If they gambled too much in attack, they might get counter attacked, and so lose any hope of snatching the title. At Sarriá, Di Stefano was constantly shouting to the public in the stands; “What’s the score? What’s the bloody score?”. But luckily for him, Valencia’s rivals undermined themselves. Both teams were too catious to grab a winner, and by the 124th time Di Stefano had asked about the score, someone with a radio set could inform him that the match at Vicente Calderón was over, and that it had ended 1-1. Valencia were champions. Barcelona would get a little revenge as they beat Los Che in the Copa del Rey final a few days later. But in Valencia they didn’t care, as the fountains were full to the brim with fans in ecstatic celebrations. It was the most agonic title not only for the valencianos, but also for the neutrals, and it gave the Turia side their fourth league title. And now, as we all have little faith in our team full of youngsters, it might give some hope to think that the Mestalla crowd 46 years ago felt the same.
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