"It was the most important day of my life." Joaquin said after Real Betis won the Copa del Rey final. This sentence is especially meaningful when Joaquin spent most of his life as a professional player.
As the oldest player in La Liga and the most non-goalkeeper in La Liga history, Joaquín has recently added a touch of brilliance to the history of Spanish football. In the early morning of Sunday Beijing time, Joaquin and Royal Betis lifted the Copa del Rey again after a gap of 17 years. After a 1-1 draw with rivals Valencia, Betis won 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the trophy.
"It was the most important day of my life. He said tearfully in a post-match interview that he was proud to be able to help the club he loved win the title.
A lifetime of green and white
Joaquin has always played the central soul of The Royal Betis. In 1994, before many of his current teammates were born, Joaquin became a member of Betis' academy. He made his debut on the first team in 2000, when Betis was still in La Liga, joaquin and his teammates helped Betis win a promotion to La Liga.
Joaquin rose to fame as a key player in the Spanish national team, but he remained loyal to his side, helping Betis qualify for the Champions League and lifting the Copa del Rey in 2005. He enjoyed winning the Copa del Rey so much that in that year he brought the trophy to his wedding and placed it on the altar.
Joaquin left Real Betis in 2006 to join Valencia, where he remains one of la Liga's most charismatic and talented players. In 2008, when Joaquin won the Copa del Rey again in Valencia, he celebrated by taking a photo of him holding the trophy in a fully nude pose.
In 2011, Joaquin joined Malaga and returned to his native Andalusia, where he soon became a nucleus of the top four teams in La Liga. In 2013, he transferred to Fiorentina, where he fell in love with Joaquin, who was immersed in learning Italian but couldn't resist interspersing Spanish in interviews. Once again, he proved his worth on the pitch, helping the team reach the top four for four consecutive seasons.
While enjoying his time in Italy, Joaquin said returning to Royal Betis was "what I want most". He fulfilled his wish in 2015, when the club had just been promoted to La Liga and was attended by around 19,000 fans in his return speech, in which he said: "My heart told me to go back to Real Betis. Some people don't understand why, but they will one day. I hope this is the beginning of a happy time. ”
Continue the frontier with Betis
Joaquin was right, after that, he gained many happy days. In the 9 years since Joaquin left Betis, Betis has struggled for relegation, going through two relegations. Since Joaquin's return, Betis has become more and more powerful.
Since then, Betis has played in the Europa League twice, and after winning the Copa del Rey, they will again be given the chance to compete in the Europa League. Off the field, Betis has also made great strides, expanding the number of spectator seats at the home benito Villamarin stadium to 60,000 and unveiling plans for the renovation of the academy and training ground. This season, Betis still has hopes of getting better results, and may even end the season with the previous four results and take the Champions League spot.
After winning the Copa del Rey, Joaquin announced he wanted to stay with the team until the 2022/23 season, when he was 41 years old. Asked about future plans, he said: "Stay. How can I leave when we're just starting to win?"
In Spain, whether you like football or not, you will not dislike Joaquin. Joaquin has said he wants to be a TV talk show host after hanging up his boots. With his natural charisma and comedic flair, he should have performed well.
Until then, though, fans will have to look to the veteran to create more magical moments.
About La Liga
The Spanish professional football league LaLiga (La Liga) is a global, innovative and socially responsible sports league, as well as a leader in the field of leisure and entertainment. The league organizes the Spanish professional football leagues , La Liga and La Liga , with 20 La Liga clubs and 22 La Liga clubs , affecting more than 2.7 billion people worldwide in the 2019/20 season. Headquartered in Madrid, La Liga has 11 permanent offices and 46 foreign representatives in 55 countries and territories around the world. In 2014, La Liga opened an office in Shanghai, China. In 2020, La Liga, together with Mediapro and Xinying Sports, established a joint venture company SFCM, which continues to make efforts in the field of sponsorship and brand licensing. At the same time, the league is actively involved in social activities through its fund LaLiga Genuine, which is the only professional football league in the world with a league of intellectually handicapped players.