Goizueta dismisses his champion today

The ball will lose today one of its great references. A pelotari that has marked an era. Aimar Olaizola hangs up the ‘gerriko’ on his 42nd birthday with 1,320 games behind him in 23 seasons. He will say goodbye in Goizueta, his hometown because he wanted it that way. Before his people. Those who have supported him throughout his career since he made his debut at the Lekunberri fronton in 1998. “I felt I owed them something.” The pediment of the ikastola, because it is the largest capacity in the municipality, has been adapted for the occasion, although it will clearly remain small. Tickets are by invitation. A «detail» with which the pelotari wants to thank «that they have always been there during all these years. It is the illusion that I had for a long time and it will be reality ».

In this way, the Navarrese will put an end to a career marked by successes. 26 finals and 14 txapelas. Four from Manomanista, three from Couples and seven from Four and a Half. «The distance that I liked the most and in which I felt most comfortable. The most physically demanding ”. Until a month ago, a part of the titles were in his mother’s house and another in his, but a surprise from his wife and a follower of Ermua caused that they are now all displayed on a piece of furniture in his residence in Hondarribia. «The important thing has been to win them, but she is the one who was most excited about it. However, she has kept all those that I won since I was nine years old.

They are all special because they have something different. But if he had to keep one, Olaizola II would not hesitate. «The first one I won from Manomanista against Irujo, because I didn’t expect to get one in this modality and because of how the game was. I managed to turn it around after losing 15-7 ». And if he had to stay with a rival, Ibero’s is the chosen one. ‘His withdrawal was a shame. He was unlucky because of the illness they detected, but these are things that happen and I feel fortunate to finish my degree as I wanted ». The spike between the two on the court marked many fans and made both better. But that is history. “Now there are also great figures, but that healthy rivalry is lacking,” he admits.

Being the flagship of your company for so many years has also brought a responsibility “that I have managed to handle well. If you are it means that you are up and it has helped me to give everything I had all year to be better. Because in addition to the championships, you had to play the summer tournaments and many commitments. Which involved making sacrifices. “But the ball was giving me a lot and it had to be there,” he says.

No loose ends

Summarizing his two decades of professionalism is not easy for him. He is “proud” of the career he has been able to complete. «The body has put up with me. I have taken great care of myself and I have done things the way they had to be done ». Maniac in many of the facets that surround this sport, Goizueta’s has tried not to leave loose ends to be his best. “Finishing playing upstairs is as important as a txapela,” he applauds.

The ball has been his passion and he feels “privileged” to be able to “make a living from what I like, seeing how things are today.” And despite the fact that he is no longer as in his best years, he recognizes that the hunger to win “is never lost.” If you do it is a bad sign. That is something innate in an athlete. I want to take until the last game. »

Today he will play it before his own, in a crowded fronton where surely more than one surprise awaits him. “It will be exciting and beautiful,” he admits. He has not prepared any speech because he is a rather reserved person who finds it difficult to show his feelings. In the nine goodbyes that he has already had so far, he has felt “very loved” and is very grateful for the public response they have had. “I have given everything I had to the ball,” he concludes.