The rain had stopped a few 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, some 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 of Athletic Bilbao. They had all come to support him. Most of the expedition had travelled from Ondarroa, the last town before crossing from the province of Vizcaya to Guipuzcoa. Ondarroa is Kepa’s home town.
This wasn’t just another day. This wasn’t just another match. This wasn’t just another standard greeting after a game. This time there was something special about this ritual.
After three months without playing, Kepa, on loan from Chelsea, had returned to the starting line-up for Madrid.
With La Liga practically won — Madrid were 11 points ahead of Barcelona before the start of the game against Sociedad — Carlo Ancelotti wanted to reward the less frequently used players. He made nine changes to the starting line-up from El Clasico.
Kepa returned to the starting line-up for Madrid against Sociedad (Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Kepa was handed a starting berth in a game that not only represented an opportunity but was also something of a derby due to his past with Bilbao.
From the warm-up Kepa worked out conscientiously with Real Madrid’s goalkeeping coach and former Bilbao employee Luis Llopis.
This was Kepa’s first start since the La Liga game against Almeria on January 21. It felt as though the goalkeeper was aware of that. The last thing he did before the kick-off was taken was to handle the ball, almost obsessively. He wanted to feel the contact of his white gloves with the ball, wet from the rain that fell over San Sebastian at nine o’clock in the evening.
He would touch the ball 30 times during the match and, despite Real Sociedad’s high pressing, the Basque goalkeeper did not miss a single pass. He made five passes from outside the box as if he were a libero.
Those who know him best say that, when he arrived in Athletic’s youth ranks, his footwork was so good that he was given the choice between being a goalkeeper and being an outfield player.
That was one of the arguments in his favour in the goalkeeping debate that went on for months with Andriy Lunin. In the end, the Ukrainian keeper won the starting job. Since then, Kepa has also been denied a place in the Spanish national team and a possible ticket to this summer’s European Championship. However, his face did 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 practised since he was a child. Although he would like to play a lot more, Kepa is delighted in Madrid. He’s happy at the club and has a good relationship with everyone in the dressing room, who have a reciprocal esteem for his good nature.
That is why, when the decisive penalties arrived in the quarter-finals against Manchester City, Lunin did not hesitate to ask Kepa and analyse the possible 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 who missed. One was Mateo Kovacic, who he had shared a dressing room and many training sessions with 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 for Kepa’s help in the mixed zone.
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 goal-saving stops against Sociedad.
Just after the break, in the 46th minute, he got down and stopped a low shot from Benat Turrientes that would have made the game much more difficult for Ancelotti’s side. Madrid were already ahead after Guler’s early goal.
In the final minutes, Kepa also dealt well with aerial balls. He kept out the danger in the 81st minute, in another moment where victory was at risk for Madrid.
Madrid were admittedly somewhat fortunate. 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) and has a slightly higher average.
Now the debate is settled, Lunin is in talks to renew with Madrid and — despite not having a confirmation — all parties understand that Kepa will return to London in the summer. But until then the Basque is committed to a common goal for Ancelotti’s side: winning the Champions League at Wembley. Along the way, he will have 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, come what may.
(Top photo: Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
