Dubravka admits he got "weird" Man Utd gift after Newcastle lost cup final
Martin Dubravka got a Carabao Cup final winner's medal from Manchester United - while registered for the losing side Newcastle.
The keeper wants to go all the way to Wembley again with Eddie Howe's side this season as they face Chelsea on Tuesday. But he's revealed the highly unusual situation from last season, which ended up with him being quietly presented with a winner's medal.
Dubravka was loaned to Manchester United in September last year, making two appearances in the Carabao Cup against Aston Villa and Burnley in the quarter final. But he was recalled by Newcastle in January to deputise for Nick Pope.
The Slovak would have played in the cup final in February for Newcastle because Pope was suspended after being sent off, but was cup tied. So as Dubravka cheered on his team-mates and Loris Karius in goal instead. They lost 2-0 - but he still ended up a winner!
He explained on Monday: "I got a medal. I didn't really expect it because I didn't know if they would give it to me. It was (weird) but if you think about it, it's part of the game. I played two matches for them and how many matches was it to get to the final so it was a strange situation to be in, I didn't want to be in it. I have it at home, but not on display!
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"Don't get me wrong it's still a medal you know so I still appreciate it. It's special circumstances and it was weird obviously because I wanted Newcastle to win. When we played against Manchester United (later that season) in the league they brought it up."
"Did they put it round your neck? "No, I just opened it because it was in a little box."
Dubravka will be in goal on Tuesday after keeping a clean sheet against Fulham. He added: "The final last season was the strangest game for me as you can imagine!
Dubravka helped Manchester United win the Carabao Cup last season (Getty Images)Do you think Newcastle win win this season's Carabao Cup? Let us know in the comments below!
"I played two matches for Manchester United and I was back in the team so everyone was asking me who I'm going to support? I always say I always support Newcastle because of the length of time I've spent here. It was five and a half years as opposed to five months so you can't compare. I wanted Newcastle to win for the city, for the club because the fans are just waiting for something special.
"It would be absolutely fantastic to do it for Newcastle this season. Everyone is buzzing here and everyone wants to win something and achieve something here and it would be amazing. The region means everything to me. I've spent so much time here. I could have left the club a couple of years ago but I didn't want to because this is a special place. The stadium should be 100,000 capacity!"
Dubravka is under pressure, with David De Gea and Aaron Ramsdale viewed as possible short-term January recruits. Pope is out for five months with a shoulder injury.
He added: "Hopefully this is a turning point for us. We did well against AC Milan and the defeat was tough to take so it was a great reaction from us today. Credit to the guys because mentally it was very difficult after a couple of defeats..
"I was waiting for so long to get back in the team and I know injuries are part of football so I'm happy to be back in goal and hopefully we can go on and win some more matches. It was stressful being out of the team."
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