Muniain touched the Cup

If those from Bilbao are born where they want, they can also jump onto the La Cartuja lawn and play the Cup before starting to play the final against Real. A gesture that will go down in the history of this final. The problem for Iker Muniain is that he was born in Pamplona, ​​and not in Bilbao. It was worth him to play for Athletic, but not to break a curse. Normally in football (territory prone to superstitions, hobbies and customs) it is said that touching the trophy before playing a final is bad luck. But not only touch it but even look at it. Muniain defied the basic laws of football 'mental gravity'. He not only looked at the Cup but touched it. And Athletic lost the final …

Possibly, Munian thought of Gabigol in the 2019 Libertadores final, when the Brazilian dismissed superstitious theories, and without thinking, put his hand on the cup before taking to the field. It was a viral gesture because everyone said it was attracting bad luck. “It's mufa!” Laughed those of River. But Flamengo turned the score around against the Argentines with two goals from Gabriel Barbosa. Or maybe he remembered Krychowiak, that in the final of the Europa League between Sevilla and Dnipro, in 2015, he touched the cup, but Sevilla ended up winning 2-3 with a goal from the Pole included. But, in the end, Athletic fans will remember for life that strange occurrence of Muniain, which led them to a tragic end and cause for eternal joke (like Juanfran's penalty missed against Madrid in the 2016 final). The problem for the Athletic captain is that this type of gesture has a highly dangerous and superstitious background. It happened, for example in the last final of the Libertadores, to Marinho, who touched the Cup and his team lost …

Today Real fans will thank Muniain. For following the tradition of bad luck that so many others followed. Like Payet, who beat Marseille in the final against Atleti in the 2018 Europa League; Zidane, France in the 2006 World Cup final; Tymoshuk, to the Bayern in the 2012 Champions League final; or Ludovic giuly in the Champions League final with Monaco (they lost 3-0 to Oporto de Mou and ended up injured). An unforgettable gesture from Muniain, who made the curse great …

Sporty gesture at the end

Possibly the gesture of touching the Cup has more echo than the one he starred in at the end of the game. He behaved like a gentleman of sport. He refused to hide and endured the entire celebration of the Royal Society at the foot of the grass, even when his teammates had already left, glimpsing with lost eyes what could be and was not. A precious gesture in the hardest moment. “Two months ago we were champions here and today we have the other side of the coin. This is football and sport. But we have another final ahead of us and we are going to fight to be able to offer it to our fans”, He said