"What I thought might happen in five, six, seven years happened in 19 days. It was August 2018, Simon was 21 and although he had been training at Athletic Club for a decade, and with the first team for three years, the son of police officers from Vitoria didn't think there was a chance of playing in Bilbao any time soon, if at all. It was all he wanted but he didn't even live there any more, moving 800km in search of an opportunity with second division Elche."
"Which is when weird things started to happen. Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga. Iago Herrerin got injured. And negotiations over a contract renewal with Alex Remiro stalled, Athletic deciding that they couldn't play him. So they called Elche and asked for their goalkeeper back. He hadn't even played a game. Actually that's not entirely true; not if you include friendlies. I only played once at the [Estadio] Martinez Valero and we won a trophy: the [pre-season] Lady of Elche Cup, Simon says, laughing."
Unai Simón was 21 in August 2018 after a decade training at Athletic Club and three years with the first team. He moved 800km to join second-division Elche on loan to seek playing time. Rapid external developments — Chelsea signing Kepa Arrizabalaga, Iago Herrerín's injury, and stalled negotiations over Alex Remiro — prompted Athletic to recall him. He had only featured in pre-season friendlies, winning the Lady of Elche Cup, before debuting at San Mamés on 20 August. The debut provoked intense nerves and initial mistakes, but the opportunity catalysed a career change culminating in a first Champions League appearance against Arsenal.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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