It had stopped raining minutes earlier, Real Madrid had beaten Real Sociedad 1-0 thanks to a goal from Arda Guler and after the final whistle Kepa Arrizabalaga walked to the corner and looked up to wave with a smile on his face.
Up in the away end of the Reale Arena were his parents, Peio and Maria Angeles, cousins and even members of his “cuadrilla” — as groups of friends are known in the Basque Country — including two who played with Kepa in the youth teams. from Athletic Bilbao. They had all come to support him. Most of the group had traveled from Ondarroa, the last town before leaving the Vizcaya region for Guipuzkoa. Ondarroa is Kepa’s hometown.
It wasn’t just another day. It wasn’t just another game. It wasn’t just another normal post-game goodbye. This time there was something special about this ritual.
After three months without playing, Kepa, on loan from Chelsea, was back in Madrid’s starting line-up.
With La Liga all but won – Madrid were 11 points ahead of Barcelona before kick-off against Sociedad – Carlo Ancelotti wanted to reward the less-used players. He made nine changes to the starting line-up from El Clasico.
Kepa returned to Madrid’s starting line-up against Sociedad (Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Kepa was handed a starting spot in a game that not only offered an opportunity, but was also something of a derby due to his past with Bilbao.
From the warm-up, Kepa worked dutifully with Real Madrid goalkeeping coach and ex-Bilbao employee Luis Llopis.
It was Kepa’s first start since the La Liga game against Almeria on January 21. It was as if the goalkeeper knew about it. The last thing he did before kickoff was handle the ball, almost obsessively. He wanted to feel the contact of his white glove with the ball, wet from the rain that fell on San Sebastian at nine o’clock that evening.
He touched the ball 30 times during the match and despite Real Sociedad’s intense pressure, the Basque goalkeeper did not miss a single pass. He made five passes outside the box as if he were a freedom.
Those who know him best say that when he came to Athletic’s juniors, his footwork was so good that he was given the choice between being a goalkeeper and an outfield player.
That was one of his arguments in the months-long goalkeeper debate with Andriy Lunin. In the end, the Ukrainian goalkeeper won the starting team. Since then, Kepa has also been denied a place in the Spanish national team and a possible ticket to the EC this summer. But his face does not cloud over.
According to sources close to the Madrid goalkeeper, who asked not to be named to protect relationships, he spends time in nature. He trains wild birds with his father, a complex but relaxing art he has practiced since he was a child. Although he would like to play a lot more, Kepa is happy in Madrid. He is happy at the club and on good terms with everyone in the dressing room, who have a mutual respect for his good nature.
Therefore, when the decisive penalties came in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Manchester City, Lunin did not hesitate to question Kepa and analyze potential kicks with Llopis.
The decision was key because, as Kepa’s camp also points out, the Basque goalkeeper knew the shooters very well, especially the two that missed. One of them was Mateo Kovacic, with whom he had shared a dressing room and many training sessions at Chelsea. The other was Bernardo Silva, who scored a penalty in the 2019 Carabao Cup final. Kepa still remembers that day for the misunderstanding with Maurizio Sarri just before the shootout.
After the City game, both Carlo and Davide Ancelotti – the head coach’s first assistant – were full of praise in the mixed zone for Kepa’s help.
Kepa kept a clean sheet against Sociedad (Ander Gilleana/AFP via Getty Images)
After El Clasico, it was clear to the coaching staff that Kepa deserved more minutes in La Liga and he repaid their confidence with three clean sheets against Sociedad.
Just after the break, in the 46th minute, he went down to stop a low shot from Benat Turrientes that would have made it much more difficult for Ancelotti’s men. Madrid were already ahead after Guler’s early goal.
In the final minutes, Kepa was also successful with an aerial ball. He kept out the danger in the 81st minute, in another moment where victory was in danger for Madrid.
Madrid were indeed quite lucky. Sociedad had two goals disallowed – one for a foul and the other for offside – allowing Kepa to finish the game with a clean sheet.
This means he has conceded 18 goals in 19 games (0.94 goals per game), while Lunin has conceded 25 goals in 28 games (0.89).
Now the debate is settled, Lunin is in talks about a renewal with Madrid and – despite not having received confirmation – all parties understand that Kepa will return to London this summer. But until then, the Basque is committed to the common goal of Ancelotti’s team: to win the Champions League at Wembley. Along the way, he has to face Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, the team he almost joined in the summer, but the idea of playing for Madrid was too tempting, anyway.
(Top image: Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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