El meta del Athletic Club enterró la fatídica tanda mundialista ante Marruecos atajando dos penaltis a Croacia
Unai Simón se vistió este domingo de héroe en el estadio ‘De Kuip’ de Rotterdam. El meta del Athletic Club sacó sus garras en una vibrante tanda de penaltis ante Croacia y atajó dos penas máximas a Majer y Petkovic que fueron determinantes para que la selección española conquistase la primera Nations League de su historia, el primer título de la recién iniciada ‘era De la Fuente’.
El portero de Murgia (Álava) se desquitó del fracaso que supuso la dolorosa eliminación en octavos de final del pasado Mundial de Qatar ante Marruecos desde el punto fatídico. Hace pocos días, el meta de la selección norteafricana, el sevillista Bono, desveló que Unai Simón le dijo en una breve conversación que tenía apuntado en un papel hacia dónde tirarían los jugadores marroquíes. Al cancerbero vasco se le tachó de ‘pardillo’ por un episodio que quizá pudo decidir el KO de la selección española.
Contra Croacia no se le vio a Unai Simón con ningún papelito en el que tuviera apuntados todos los perfiles de los lanzadores croatas de penas máximas. Esta vez la ‘chuleta’ la tuvo en su cabeza y su concentración fue máxima en el momento clave de la final. Luciendo una impoluta indumentaria totalmente de color blanco, el ‘23’ de la Roja se hizo gigante ante los futbolistas croatas, que no habían podido batirle durante 120 minutos. Desde el punto de cal brilló con luz propia. Vlasic, Brozovic, Modric y Perisic lograron batirle, pero tanto Majer como Petkovic toparon con una pierna y una mano de Unai Simón, quien neutralizó así sus respectivos lanzamientos.
En la Eurocopa 2020, el meta del Athletic también fue el héroe en cuartos de final ante Suiza después de detener dos penas máximas en la tanda a Schar y Akanji, aunque en ‘semis’, de nuevo con la lotería de los penaltis para designar al vencedor, no bastó el que le paró a Locatelli para dejar en la cuneta a Italia.
Unai Simón se regaló la Nations League después de cumplir 26 años hace apenas una semana. El Athletic elogió la destacada de su portero titular y así lo hizo saber en Twitter, donde publicó una foto de Unai Simón con una palabra: “Porterazo”, acompañado de un icono de un león. Ante Croacia, el vasco rugió como toda una manada.
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