A door opens for Andrei Oleksiyovych Lunin. The injury of Thibaut Courtois has turned him into an unexpected protagonist in a Real Madrid in which the Belgian was the absolute owner of the goal. However, an untimely injury the week before the start of the League against Athletic leaves him as the white team’s starting goalkeeper in the month of August.
Lunin, however, has earned respect and affection in recent months in which The Ukrainian has been very active in raising money, food and clothing for his countrymen after the outbreak of the war. Andrei has his family in his country, which means that you are promptly informed of what is happening. The goalkeeper has also been seen participating in Madrid in protests against Putin.
???? Not bad to be your first #ElClásico, @AndreyLunin13! pic.twitter.com/ATqetYf09w
— Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) October 16, 2022
On February 24, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, Lunin was considering one of the most important decisions of his life. After arriving at Valdebebas in 2018, after the payment by Madrid of 8.5 million, and being transferred to Leganés, Valladolid and Oviedo, the Ukrainian had taken a place in the first team in the shadow of Courtois. During his stay in Valladolid, specifically on the pitch of the Nuevo José Zorrilla stadium, he proposed to his girlfriend, the influencer Anastasia Tamazova. The response, as both announced on social networks, was as expected and shortly after they got married.
Inflection point
On May 23 of that same year, in 2022, five days before the final of the Champions in Paris between Real Madrid and the LiverpoolAnastasia gave birth to a child. News celebrated by his teammates during training. Until then, everything indicated that Lunin would pack his bags at the end of the course and leave Madrid in search of minutes. At 23 years old, and being a starter in his team, he had only accumulated five games for Madrid in two seasons. Betis, Granada, Éibar and some Bundesliga teams had taken an interest in his future.
But after winning the Champions League and the League, Anastasia and Andrei made a key decision for their future: they would stay in Madrid to raise their son in a city where they are very comfortable. The invasion of Ukraine made the player and his wife rethink everything, who prioritized the tranquility of the child, assuming his secondary role in Madrid. Andrei has always had the support of his teammates, especially a son of war like Luka Modric. Ancelotti has also praised his silent work and has encouraged him to continue looking for his opportunity.
Fulfill a dream
Andrei fulfilled one of his dreams last season. He had already played a derby with Atlético, “but my dream was to play a classic… and win it.” A game in which he also had an important role. It hurt the most to play in Warsaw against his Shakhtar compatriots while Putin bombed cities in his country.
“It’s difficult to explain, really. My family and my friends are there and we’re seeing how people are suffering. I hope it ends soon. For me, for any of us it’s no more difficult than for the people who are there,” he declared. on the pitch after a draw in Poland.
Concluding his message with a statement that could be applied to him: “the people of Ukraine He is very strong, he has a lot of willpower and we will surely get through it…”. The same force that has made him wait for his moment. He now has to wait to find out if Real Madrid will give him the stripes of the goal in the absence of Courtois for the entire season.
2023-08-10 13:28:05
#REAL #MADRID #LUNÍN #silent #Lunin #family #Ukraine #Real #Madrid
