When Julen Agirrezabala y Nico Williams were born, the barge had not carried a champion through the Bilbao estuary for 18 and 16 years. No one of his generation has seen the Athletic raise the Copa del Rey, five times they have cried that it escaped them and both conspired and were key to raising it 40 years later. It took them 120 minutes to try in every possible way how to beat a combative Mallorca which led them to a penalty shootout in which they did not fail. The barge will finally return to the water next Thursday.
It was Iker Muniain who walked up the steps to the La Cartuja box to collect from the hands of the King Philip the title. At the end of the long line of authorities was Iribar, with tears in his eyes. Like the legendary goalkeeper, the Navarrese captain knows what it has cost to become champions again. “An atrocity, many defeats, many tears, many bitter moments. Today we savor the good side of football. 40 years have passed to take the Cup and never let it go,” he ventured.
Iker looked for another veteran, From Marcosto once again raise a Cup that soon arrived in the hands of Ernesto Valverde. He did not shy away from the limelight nor did he escape the mantle. Always a restrained technician, he grabbed the trophy, walked alone towards the red-and-white stands of La Cartuja and, without stopping smiling, left the Cup on the penalty spot from where they had just been proclaimed champions. . It has no comparison with any. You just have to see how the field was, what it means for this hobby. In the end it was on penalties, because we also suffered,” admitted the coach, who looked askance at the shots but was happy with the stoppage of With a certificate. “He has played very committed games before this final, like against Atlético or Barcelona,” Valverde highlighted.
The one seen on the grass will not be his only celebration, which he will have to plan. “I had refused to think about how to celebrate it and now I will have to do it. When I was in Greece, after a final we would appear in a hidden bar to eat a gyros (a sandwich with pita bread) and drink beer. We’ll do something like that,” the coach confessed while the party continued on the grass.
A fence gives way
Athletic celebrated with its fans so closely that a fence in the background gave way to the euphoric proximity of the players without any damage being reported and in unison with their squad of champions embraced in the area they sang the Txoria Txoi before Asier Villalibre took out his mythical trumpet and Unai Simón and Yuri will spend a little time cutting the network where the four penalties kicked by Athletic ended.
I didn’t get to kick Nico Williamswho was the danger, the best player of the match, the talent that the red and whites clung to. I can’t wait to get on the barge.. We’ve been chasing this for a long time, from the park to this stadium. Last year I failed twice in the semifinals and now this is a dream. For my family, my brother, De Marcos, I am happy to have achieved it in the club of my life.
That dream will come true next Thursday and will have a special role: “I’ve always been the brother of, but now I’m making my name“.
Julen Agirrezabala saves Morlanes’ shot.J. REINAAFP
I feel the same Julen Agirrezabala, another twenty-something who has been told the story of when they were the best. In this match he grew until he stopped Mallorca’s chances, which were not many but some were very clear, and the penalty from Morlanes that sank Aguirre’s men with a luck that often turned against them. This time Dominik Greif He couldn’t be the hero or take a birthday gift Cup that would erase three years of injury ordeal.
Mallorca had it close. Aguirre recognized his team more than Valverde for many minutes. La Cartuja was red and white and ruja in Basque, but its players were gripped by responsibility throughout the first half. It was difficult for them to make the Williams run, who fought with more heart than head. Iaki against Copete and Lato while Nico managed to break Gio Gonzlez and Valjent but could not find Greif’s goalkeeper.
From anxiety I went to trembling with the goal by Danny Rodriguez. As if you were playing in the square, his wife had told the Galician and that is why he did not hesitate to finish off a ball spit out by Prados that Gio González offered him so that he could become a hero. Neither Muriqi nor Larin nor Abdn. That boy raised in Deportivo who arrived from Albacete in the summer of 2018 to play in the Second Division brought Mallorca closer to the second Cup. That’s what I thought in the box with a scarf around my neck, Rafael Nadal and his coach Carlos Moy. A few rows down I suffered Irbar seeing his Athletic falter and Nico, in a one-on-one against Greif, crash the equalizer into the outside of the net before having his goal disallowed for offside.
Valverde and Unai Simón console Morlanes.JAIME REINAAFP
In the locker room, Valverde read to them everything he had written down in his notebook and there was an awakening. If Larin was able to score the second, nothing prevented his rival from keeping the ball and the little Williams from putting his shield on his back. He escaped down the left wing, lost the ball to Gio, fought the recovery with Samu Costa and assisted Jungle Sancet to beat the Mallorcan goal. This gift makes him the third player who offers the most goals to his teammates in all of Europe.
It all started again though, this time with an Athletic team that shook off the tension to boldly command, play and create chances, but without being able to avoid the extra time that made everyone nervous. Nico was able to close the game again, but the 40 years of drought ended with a penalty, a punishment that Mallorca remembers they already suffered in 1998 in their first final at Mestalla. The match ended with a long hug between Valverde and Aguirre.
2024-04-07 00:11:32
#Copa #del #Rey #barge #generation #Nico #Agirrezabala #Valverdes #beer #years #hold #Cup #Copa #del #Rey
