Two years after his last match (on 28 February 2021, between Union Berlin, where he played at the time, and Hoffenheim (finished 1-1) and almost five years after his disastrous appearance in the Champions League final lost by Liverpool against Real Madrid , German goalkeeper Loris Karius returned to goal to defend Newcastle’s goal at Wembley in the final of the Carabao Cup, the League Cup, between Newcastle and Manchester United.
Karius’ presence in the ranks of the ‘Magpies’, with whom he has a contract until June, was due to the disqualification of starting goalkeeper Nick Pope and bureaucratic issues that prevented the club owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund from deploy second goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. So the ‘third’ went between the posts, namely Karius, innocent of the two goals that gave Manchester United the 2-0 victory and its first trophy of the last six years (and also of the Ten Hag management). The goals, both in the first half, were scored by Casemiro with a header and a shot by Rahford with a decisive deflection that sent Karius out of time. In added time, the former Liverpool player was decisive with a save on Bruno Fernandes which helped save the 3-0.
Before the game, Karius’ girlfriend, television journalist Diletta Leotta, had sent him a letter in response to a request from ‘The Athletics’ who had asked a family member or loved one of each player to dedicate a thought to the player himself. After defining Karius’ last two years as “endless, painful and incredible”, Leotta recalls “the two years of sad nights, lumps in my throat and bad thoughts that kept you away from the game, but not from your greatest passion : the green soccer field that makes millions of children dream every day. But, as you taught me, life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you decide to react”. So here is that “from the first moment we met I admired your strength and courage. You told me about the long journey you made, your rebirth and the strength with which you believe in yourself”. It’s just a pity that, as Diletta hoped at the end of her letter, there was no happy ending: United won at Wembley.
Source: Ansa
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
