Joselu celebrates goal for Real Madrid against BayernAFP
Published 05/08/2024 23:07
Scorer of the two goals that qualified Real Madrid for the Champions League final, Joselu had the long-awaited chapter of redemption playing in the merengue shirt this Wednesday, in front of the fans, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Previously seen as the “ugly duckling”, the striker is now one of the heroes of the Spanish team in the tournament.
José Luis San Martin Matos, 35 years old, was born in Stuttgart, Germany, and moved to Spain early with the dream of becoming a professional player. He began his life in sport in 2002 playing for SD Silleda and Celta de Vigo, where he managed to catch the attention of coaches. He was promoted as a professional by the team and, shortly afterwards, in 2009, he went to the biggest club in the world, Real Madrid.
But not everything went as planned: the striker had to live on the bench and compete for space in the starting team with other stars, such as Argentine Higuaín and Frenchman Karim Benzema. Because of this, his first spell was not as prominent, playing in only two matches and scoring just two goals.
He was soon loaned out by the team that formed him and didn’t attract attention either. With the end of the loan, he ended up going to Real Madrid’s B team. The striker did well, but did not convince the coaching staff due to the high competition in the position and was no longer used.
From then on, he tried his luck in countries like Germany and England. Even so, he failed to establish himself, even failing to reach 100 games as a starter in the teams he defended.
The player’s life began to change after his discreet spell at Newcastle. At 29, he agreed to return to Spain to play for Alavés. In total, there were 113 matches and 36 goals scored and, on top of that, he received his first call-ups to the Spain national team.
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In 2022, he went to Espanyol and had another brief and good spell. This time, he managed to convince Real Madrid to give him a third chance for the 2023 season, albeit on loan. He arrived with a cheap bet on the team – being negotiated for just 500 thousand euros (R$ 2.6 million) with the purchase option estimated at 1.5 million euros (R$ 7.9 million) at the time – with the mission to replace Benzema, the same man who made him a reserve for so long during his first spell at Real and who was leaving for Al-Ittihad.
“It’s a dream for any football player and I’ve had the chance to be here in the past. You always dream of coming home, to a place where they treated me so well and helped me go beyond my expectations. I’m very happy for being back here. Many years have passed, many different experiences and I have grown as a professional.
The player’s persistence and talent made him win the Spanish Championship and the Spanish Super Cup. Now, Joselu is targeting the possible Champions League title against Borussia Dortmund so that the comeback is complete.
