The strange case of Mendilibar

José Luis Mendilibar (Zaldívar, Biscay, 1961) is a former Spanish footballer and current coach with a long professional career that has only now, toward its twilight, been rewarded with international titles (Europa League champion with Sevilla and Conference League champion with Olympiacos) and the well-deserved recognition of the entire football world. 
 
But today, we’re not here to talk about his footballing achievements. Instead, we’ll focus on something that leaves spectators baffled: his immunity to cold. Mendilibar, for some inexplicable reason, never seems to feel the chill. 
 
We’d grown accustomed to seeing him on the sidelines, barking instructions to his players in short sleeves or a dress shirt, while the opposing coach and the substitutes on the bench were bundled up in thick anoraks. That’s why there was such anticipation about how he’d handle a trip to face Bodo Glimt, a Norwegian team based beyond the Arctic Circle. 
 
Fortunately for many, last night in Bodo was just an ordinary evening for those latitudes: a temperature of 2°C, with a wind that dropped the perceived temperature to -3°C. As expected, we saw Kjetil Knutsen, the Norwegian Bodo coach, wrapped in a plush anorak, gloves, and a hat—much like most of the substitutes and spectators. But what about Mendilibar? How did he fare? 
 
At first, he surprised us. He was wearing a jacket similar to those of his substitute players. It wasn’t as robust as the anoraks worn by the Bodo team (a fact made clear by the shivering faces of Olympiacos’ substitutes compared to the calm, cozy demeanor of Bodo’s bench). But the real Mendilibar show hadn’t even started yet. 
 
After halftime, with his team already trailing by three goals, Mendilibar ditched the lightweight jacket. He stood there in just a white dress shirt—unbuttoned—and a thin suit jacket, also unbuttoned. The contrast between Mendilibar and everyone else (spectators, substitutes, the opposing coach, etc.) was striking: Mendilibar, nonchalantly underdressed as if it were a pleasant summer night, while everyone else was bundled up in eiderdown anoraks (the warmest kind available and a common choice in Norway for obvious climatic reasons), gloves, and many even sporting woolen hats. 
 
After witnessing this, one can only hope that explorer and TV host Jesús Calleja invites Mendilibar on a trip to the North Pole—as he’s done with other celebrities on his shows—to see if Mendilibar would sit inside an igloo in short sleeves, sipping coffee with the locals. 
 

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