Joaquin signs off 23-year career with 10-word comment that sums him up
"I have tried to make my football an art form." This is how Real Betis captain Joaquin defined his approach to football as he draws the curtain on his glorious 23-year career.
The veteran winger, who will celebrate his 42nd birthday this July, has enjoyed an unparalleled level of longevity since making his senior debut in 2000. A star of Spain’s run to the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002, his impact at the top level is evident by his scoring a hat-trick and providing a hat-trick of assists in separate La Liga games, at the aged of 38.
Joaquin has established himself as the most emblematic player in the distinguished history of Betis. The winger was not born in the city of Seville, home of the club, but in the province of Cadiz – the region of Spain’s south coast most famed for its wicked sense of humour and sense of fun. The footballer personified these qualities.
Fans love him, the media love him, and teammates love him. Joaquin’s post-playing career will not see him shy away from the limelight. Already establishing himself as a TV star, an ideal home for his natural charisma, he has eyes on becoming a future Betis club president.
He has already personally invested €1million in the club’s shares “because it’s my life,” and when asked directly about this by Spanish TV station La Sexta in 2018, Joaquin responded, without hesitation: “It would be a dream come true!”
Man Utd's January transfer window winners and losers as 'new Scholes' makes exit
On Wednesday, Joaquin confirmed on social media that his professional career would end next month: "I wanted to say my time has come," he explained. "The time to tell you this is my last season as a Real Betis player. But this is not farewell, it is just 'see you soon' because I will continue by your side, defending my life, because Real Betis has been my life.
"I will live it in a different way but with the same feeling and the same joy of all these years."
Joaquin established himself as the most iconic player in the history of Betis (Getty Images)This was always going to be an emotional day for the player and the club. His teammate Borja Iglesias wrote to him, alongside crying emojis: "I'm going to miss you." Yet this is not the end for Joaquin, not yet. He is seven appearances short of Andoni Zubizarreta’s long-standing record of most matches played in Spain's top flight. Betis have nine matches left for the winger to secure the record. That feat for Joaquin is all the more impressive as he has spent three seasons away from La Liga – including two with Fiorentina in Serie A.
Joaquin has continued to set records for years. He became the oldest goalscorer in the history of the Europa League when he netted against Ludogorets this campaign. No longer able to compete for 90 minutes, he has played regularly for up to an hour in matches for years.
The level of respect for him across Spanish football – perhaps with the exception of Sevilla, the fierce city rivals of Betis – is notable. Opposition stadiums often stand in unison to applaud Joaquin as he comes on or off the pitch. “A great footballer retires,” Barcelona wrote on Twitter. While Real Madrid tweeted: “It has been an honour to share all these years with a legend who represents the best values of our sport.” Mallorca added: “We suffered from your art.”
Joaquin has spent a total of 15 seasons in the first-team squad at Betis across two spells, separated by five seasons at Valencia and two apiece at Malaga and Fiorentina. Yet he has only three pieces of silverware to show for his career – all successes in the Copa del Rey.
He won the Copa with Betis in 2005, with the trophy making a guest appearance at his wedding weeks later. Three years later he lifted it with Valencia, with an infamous image of a naked Joaquin in the post-game dressing room celebrations – dressed only with his trademark grin. Fittingly, Joaquin captained Betis to their first trophy since 2005 last season, defeating his former club Los Che in the showpiece in Seville.
Yet just three trophies and no league titles feels like short change for such a talented player who enjoyed prolonged excellence. There was also a very clear sense of something unfulfilled at national level too – all 51 of the winger’s caps came by the age of 26, with his last arriving just before La Roja’s period of unprecedented success – lifting two European Championship titles either side of the 2010 World Cup.
Joaquin captained the club to their Copa del Rey success in 2022 - against former club Valencia (Getty Images)“Right now, the national team is a mess,” an emotional Joaquín told reporters. “We are in chaos and Luis doesn’t know how to handle it in these difficult moments.” He later admitted he had “paid the price” for speaking out of turn.
Joaquin was linked with Manchester United and Real Madrid early in his career, but he came closest to joining Chelsea. A fee of £28million was agreed upon between the clubs. His father Aurelio Sánchez explained years later: “I told him to come to Seville immediately to sign the contract. It would be a five-year contract at €6million per season. He could have made a fortune, but he never thought about the money. Manuel Ruiz de Lopera [Betis president] called me crazy. He had been raffled to all of Europe and this led to him losing his love for Betis.”
Arsenal's transfer window winners and losers as late arrival softens Mudryk blow
The winger spent nine years away from Betis before returning in 2015, aged 34. It was thought that it would be the swansong of his career, yet he has netted 30 goals across 264 appearances and eight seasons.
Over 19,000 fans turned up at the club’s stadium for his unveiling, (a higher number than five of the ten La Liga attendances that weekend), which saw the player’s right arm secured in a plaster cast – reportedly due to him hitting a wall when it appeared the deal would fall through. “I enjoyed many beautiful moments during my first spell at Betis, but now I am really living out my dream. This is the happiest moment in my career.”
Joaquin played both legs for Betis vs Man United in the Europa League last month (Joaquin Corchero/Europa Press via Getty Images)There will always be question marks over his medal haul, and how it is not befitting a player with such enduring quality. “Perhaps I could have done more,” the player reflected. “But I could have done a lot less too.”
Famed on the pitch for his trademark feint and sprint down the by-line past the desperate challengers of defenders, he is just as known for his jokes and personality. There was the time he claimed he could hypnotise a chicken on live TV, but one of his best moments came upon his unveiling as a Malaga signing.
“It is the Champions League Final,” Joaquín began, after taking the microphone on the pitch, “and a man turns up late at the stadium, looking for somewhere to sit but it is full. Suddenly, he spots a free seat, and, as he approaches, the woman beside it says: ‘You can sit here if you want.’
“The man is glad but he can’t understand why the seat was empty. ‘It’s my husband’s,’ explains the woman. But where is he?
“‘He died’, the woman continues. ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ says the slightly befuddled man. ‘Was there not anybody else who could fill it?’
“The woman insisted, ‘No, they’re all at the funeral.'”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
