Water blessed Iker Muniain’s big day. The sky opened just before the event and let his tears fall, soaking the holy ground of the Cathedral, splendid on a gray afternoon. More than 20,000 red-and-white fans came to attend the captain’s farewell tribute, impeccably dressed in a black suit and white shirt, with an Athletic pin on his left lapel, a symbol of a life and unwavering belonging to a feeling. “I am very excited. Thank you for joining me in this special moment,” said the Navarrese, who after 20 years closes one stage to open another far from his home. “I’m leaving calm because I know that this club is in good hands,” he said after joining in a heartfelt hug with Iñaki Williams, the repository of his trust and the man called to succeed him in the representation and defense of the values of the Basque club.
Muniain jumped onto the field with his two children holding hands. They smiled. He too. He didn’t break until the end, firm, hardened for the occasion and genuinely happy. But after his last words she cried with her heart. He lowered his head and covered his eyes. A whirlwind of emotions ate him inside, under his skin, always red and white. An hour earlier he had crossed the hallway made up of the first team players, the women’s team players and some children, the present and future of Athletic. He sat in one of the two chairs placed in the northern back area, with the three titles won – a Copa del Rey and two Super Cups – and a couple of busts dressed in his shirt, ready to engrave in memory a unique moment. He was about to begin a journey of no return, the one that brought him to the club when he was barely 11 years old and from which he left at 31. “I feel privileged to have been able to live so many moments together,” he said looking at his team and the stands. .
The event began with a photo of him projected on one of the screens in which he was seen taking the La Cartuja penalty. “It was a happy moment, but I recognize that it was one of the most difficult moments of my career.” He felt pressure and “fear”, but he faced them and overcame them to win a Cup after four decades of waiting. Then they gave him another snapshot in which he again took a maximum penalty but as a child, with his dreams intact. «I have it in my house. It was my first tournament with Athletic, in Gueñes. He was 11-12 years old. Then he addressed the kids sitting in the stands. «Experiences shape you as a person. But the essence of the child attached to the ball has helped me a lot. My football has lived a lot from the imagination,” he conveyed his impressions to them with the aim of never forgetting where they come from and enjoying the ball.
parade of friends
Muniain remembered his first weeks in the Derio residence, when he was just 12 years old, far from his family but a little closer to his dream. The president of Athletic spoke, Jon Uriarte, who gave him a photograph and dedicated words of affection to him. «You have become a man here. Thank you very much for everything you have given us. “Upa Athletic and upa Muniain!” proclaimed the top red-and-white leader. The Navarrese thanked him for his speech, and then listened to that of his friend Iñaki Williams: «You deserve everything good that happens to you. We are proud of your career. “I will be able to say that I have met Iker Muniain and that I have played with him.”
2024-05-13 19:16:49
#Emotional #tribute #Muniain #San #Mamés #leaving #calmly
