Dear Iván,
Please accept our sincerest thanks for taking the time to contact us, your fans. More importantly, let us thank you for six incredible years of entertainment and service at Bolton Wanderers as one of our orginal ‘Galácticos’.
Your gesture is very much appreciated, because we, as fans, are sentimental people who do form attachments to the those who pull on the famous white shirt, and there is a special place in our collective affection reserved for you. We too were very sad not to have been able to give you the send-off you so richly deserve at the Reebok Stadium, just as we were with your friends Youri Djorkaeff and Jay-Jay Okocha before you. You have made the point in a sensitive and dignified way, but let us tell you that we believe the classless way the Club treats our departing heroes is nothing short of a disgrace.
In whatever adventure comes next for Iván Campo, we wish you all the very best. Whichever set of fans is lucky enough to have you play for them next, we will always follow your progress as one of our own. We can only hope that your next club brings you to the Reebok Stadium so that your name can ring around the ground again in thanks for your contribution to the life of the Club.
The last six years have certainly been an adventure. Bolton fans were united in disbelief when we heard we were signing a player from the great Real Madrid. Your debut and goal against Liverpool seem like only yesterday, yet we have experienced so much together since then! It is now part of our vocabulary to talk about the ‘Campo Role’ from which we have seen you play your extravagant passing game and dictate our play. Even in our bad spells, it has always been worth turning up to watch Iván Campo: that 12 year-old in Cardiff was absolutely right. It has been a great pleasure to watch us progress from relegation battlers who escaped the drop with some style and panache, to a very effective outfit going on two European campaigns, with you a crucially experienced ever-present along the way.
One of the best illustrations of your hero status at our Club came on our trip to Madrid earlier this year. As well as wishing you ‘¡Feliz cumpleaños!’ in the Vicente Calderon, during our magnificent result there, many of us took the opportunity to visit the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Bolton fans all throughout the stadium tour pointed out pictures of you all over the place, often bowing down to you or even straining to have their picture taken with you celebrating European Cup victory with your Real Madrid teammates. Others present on the tour were bemused, but could have been left in no doubt that Iván Campo is a legend and cult hero in Bolton!
We hope you have enjoyed your time as part of the big Bolton Wanderers family: we have certainly enjoyed having you. Of course, we will remember you for your goals, many of them crucial (who could forget the forty-yarder past Paul Robinson on the first day of the 06/07 season?!), your exquisite passing skills, and for your impeccably stylish, if unique, hairstyle. But, most of all, we will remember you playing with a smile, wearing your heart on your sleeve in displays of passion for the Bolton cause, and as someone who loved the Club and was loved by us in return.
Thanks for everything, Iván Campo – you’re welcome back anytime.
Our very best wishes,
The Bolton fans at
www.The-Wanderer.co.uk
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Prufrock wrote:
Like money hasn't always talked. You might not like it, or disagree, but it's the truth. It's a basic incentive, people always have, and always will want what's best for themselves and their families
