Categories: Football

The vindication of Koke Resurrection

When Koke Resurrection connected a wall with joao felixentered the area and resolved after first, with the right, to the other stick and far from the reach of Stole Dimitrievskithe 0-1 of Atletico Madrid in the 48th minute against Lightning on Vallecasthe captain turned, pointed his name and his number ‘6’ behind his back with the thumbs of both hands and vindicated himself with all the expressiveness of the winning goal.

The ‘MVP‘ Last Tuesday of the second leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League against him Manchester United in a scenario of as much dimension and as much history as Old Trafford, He was also the scorer of the victory this Saturday in his neighborhood of Vallecaswith the team of his life and on his way to eternity in the rojiblanco club, just 18 games away from beating Adelardo Rodriguezone of the greatest legends of the almost 119 years of existence of the institution, as the player with the most appearances with the Athletic: 535 a 553.

in it is Boilthe only footballer who has lived through this entire era alongside Diego Simeonwith eight titles (the Suspenders from 2013-14 and 2020-21; the Copa del Rey from 2012-13; the European Leagues from 2011-12 and 2017-18; the European Super Cups of 2012 and 2018 and of Spain 2014), with more ups and downs than ever this season, both him and the team and the coach, but all of them resurfaced with victories, six in the last seven matches between the Spanish championship and the Champions League.

There are already five in a row LaLiga . He had not linked such a number of wins in that competition since January 31, 2021, in the last season that he crowned as champion, when he reached eight in a row by winning 2-4 at Cádiz in the today New Mirandilla, precisely the day that Boil He had scored his last goal with the Athletic until this Saturday, when he rediscovered that skill in Vallecas to deliver a crucial victory.

Since the ‘League of 14’ was proposed by the Champions Leaguefollowing the resounding defeat at home against the Levante by 0-1 in the Wanda Metropolitanoon February 16, the Athletic has added the fifteen points for which he has competed: 0-3 to Osasuna1-1 against Manchester United2-0 al Celtic1-3 al Betis2-1 al Cádiz0-1 in Old Trafford against the English block and this Saturday by 0-1 against Lightningwith the value it has, awaiting the duel of its direct competitors for the Championswith a Real Madrid–Barcelona and a Seville-Royal Society, apart from Betis visits to Sweep against him Celtic and of Villarreal a Cádiz.

SIMEONE’S ONCE

Until that bump against Levante in the stadium Wanda Metropolitano, Diego Simeone he had featured 31 different lineups in 33 games. He only coincided in two: one in the three-day transition between the 0-1 defeat with the Milan and the 1-4 victory in Cádiz (Oblak; Llorente, Savic, Giménez, Hermoso, Carrasco; De Paul, Koke, Lemar; Griezmann and Suárez) at the end of November; another, a month before, between 3-0 to Betis and the 3-3 with the Valencia (Oblak; Trippier, Savic, Giménez, Hermoso, Carrasco; Of Paul and Koke; Belt, Griezmann; and Luis Suarez).

Since the aforementioned 0-1 with the Levantein the seven games he has played since then Athleticnone with defeat, with six victories and a tie between the League and the Champions Leaguethe Argentine coach has repeated two different elevens, in a stretch of just one month.

He did it after the 1-1 against Unitedat 2-0 to Celta (Oblak; Vrsaljko, Savic, Giménez, Reinildo, Lodi; Marcos Llorente, Héctor Herrera, Kondogbia; Correa and Joao Félix), and also this Saturday.

After the 0-1 in Old Trafford, did it again: Oblak; Llorente, Savic, Giménez, Reinildo, Lodi; Rodrigo de Paul, Hector Herrera, Koke Resurrection; Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann. In none of them was Louis Suarez, substitute for the sixth straight day.