Real Betis man Joaquín has signed a new one-year deal to remain at his boyhood club and continue to play in La Liga into his 40s.
He will remain at the club for one more year and last year he even hinted of attempting to become Real Betis President in the future.
He is just second in the all-time list of appearances in the Spanish first division having played 579 games, behind Barcelona goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta.
Joaquín expressed his desire to stay at the club next season months ago and was eager to see fans' faces once again in stadiums.
"My contract expires in June, but I feel strong and in good shape on both a footballing and physical level," he told Diario AS.
"I want to continue at least one more year.
"I would like to retire with the fans in the stands, as I want to invite football fans to attend my fin al match at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.
"I want to play with the crowd present before I retire."
The Real Betis legend defied all expectations as the 39-year-old scored a wondrous looping header against Deportivo Alaves one weekend adding to his extraordinary assist in the 93rd minute in a tie against Real Sociedad. After being diagnosed with coronavirus in early January, the veteran was unfazed by the challenge of returning to Spanish football again.
Despite painful loss to rivals Sevilla, Real Betis continued to climb and Joaquín, who has over 3 million Instagram followers and almost 400K twitter followers, still is willing to compete at the highest level.
So what is the story of the evolution of the inspirational Spaniard?
Betis were greeted by a blessing as Joaquín returned back to the club he first established himself at in 2015 where he has appeared almost 200 times wearing the green and white stripes since then.
He started his senior career originally at the club after his uncle believed firmly in his talent helping him with trips to and from the Betis youth system.
Betis, nicknamed with the pseudonym 'Heliopolitans' due to the Sevillan district of Heliopolis which the club is located in, was the benchmark to his brilliant career as he featured in the 2005/06 Champions League campaign for the club, where they finished third to demote themselves to the Uefa Cup despite their triumph against Chelsea and draw against another Premier League giant in Liverpool.
This sparked interest from Chelsea, the English team enjoying success with Jose Mourinho, which Joaquín denied. 
He told the Daily Mail, “people always say to me: 'Joaquín, don’t you regret it?' “Well the answer is no, I don’t. I know I lost an important opportunity to play for a great team and earn a lot of money but it just wasn’t what I was thinking about at that time.”
2002 World Cup Quarter Final Controversy:
Prior to his half-success in this European season at the club he's always been devoted to, Joaquín debuted for the Spanish National Team in the World Cup of 2002. This tournament has been widely regarded as the most controversial competitions of all time filled with ambiguity and incompetent officiating.
At the centre of this, was the quarter final between Spain and hosts South Korea. Joaquín was crowned man of the match as he starred showcasing his elegant crosses and his willingness to beat defenders as a right-winger.
However, amongst this was mayhem, and decisions were extremely questionable and propelled altercations. Two poor offside decisions and a cross from the right midfielder which set up a headed goal for Spain was claimed to be over the line when contact for the ball in was made. This was proved to be clearly wrong and Joaquín later pulled up with an injury which subsequently resulted in him missing the decisive penalty in the shootout due to a stuttering run up and tentative shot. It became a continuity of misfortune for Spain and unjust fortune for Korea.
Highlights of the South Korea vs Spain 2002 World Cup Bout
Regarding these scandalous incidents Joaquín said, "It was a robbery." "It was clear before reaching the penalty shootout what was going on. It wasn't only the two legal goals [the referee] didn't give, but a lot of wrong decisions he made."
Joaquín's emotion triggered determination which was evident as he said, "I pleaded to take that penalty because I was really confident in myself."
"Now my heart hurts; it is broken. I feel so much impotence. If I could step back in time I would surely score that penalty. I was fine to take it."
Heading into his prime, the winger then enjoyed a 5 year spell at Valencia after his personal judgement to stay in his homeland. In his later years, he was given the number 7 after the departure of David Villa and scored consistently to eventually obtain the Valencians a Champions League spot in his final season.
Brief times at Malaga and Fiorentina led him into his 30s where he returned to his former club in Seville.
It has led him into several records as one of Europe's oldest players. Scoring in 20 consecutive seasons, over 800 senior football appearances and the La Liga appearance milestone.
At 39 years of age he is still a phenomenon helping Betis to further advance.
His career first hat-trick came in 2019 against Athletic Bilbao after three right footed shots that found the net thanks to the space he created as a 37 year-old through his tremendous ability to unsettle his defenders with his agility.
As the captain of Betis, now he has developed into an appreciated figure that staggers the footballing audience. Granted sensationally with a Europa League place, Betis strive towards a major trophy with Manuel Pellegrini in Joaquín's potential last season.
Can the goals keep coming, as the years keep going and can Joaquín and Betis achieve their quest of competing in Europe once again heading into his 21st successive season in top flight football of his enduring career?
0 Post a Comment:
Post a Comment