Joaquín’s ten finals

Joaquín adds almost a thousand minutes in a campaign that raises questions about his future. At 40 years old, the man from Porto is important in Heliopolis and he has in his hands the decision to continue another year under the orders of Manuel Pellegrini. Meanwhile, on stage, he has ten finals ahead of him, one of them the one that decides his team against Valencia in the Copa del Rey and that focuses all the spotlight on him. The hunt for a title has become the biggest challenge for the Cadiz winger, aware that his football continues to appear based on touches of talent, but that the countdown to his goodbye is a reality. Joaquin does not have an expiration date. It will be he himself who writes the how and why at the end of his career. And at the moment he still has football to deliver in Heliopolis.

The Verdiblanco player looks at the calendar and ten appointments that he intends to live with the most. He is going through a good moment after being undisputed in the Europa League (he played all ten games, eight of them as a starter) and having a growing performance in the League. He was also vital in the Cup with that appearance in the second leg of the semifinals against Rayo Vallecano that gave Betis an invitation to heaven. He wants to play it that April 23 at La Cartuja, but he also intends to be important in the schemes of his team in the nine days that remain for the end of the League. The continuity of the player from Porto will depend on his confidence in continuing to be differential or not on the pitch. It is his greatest motivation when it comes to staying in this project that he warns with more.

His greatest ally in this possibility of continuing is his coach, a Manuel Pellegrini who has already shown with his words that his intention is to have his captain in the future, both for what he gives him on the field and for his leadership factor in the locker room. His companions also insist with every word about him on the importance that Joaquín has for the group and his value in a hypothetical continuity. The player relies on all these parameters to make his way in this end of the campaign. He has ten finals ahead of him, one of them of special value for his career as a footballer. And he wants to be important in this decisive stretch.