A lightning bolt struck the Costa Rican soccer field this Thursday while the fans of the two traditional teams discussed the final of the local tournament and some saw on their calendars the next start of the World Cup qualifiers and the start of the Copa América in June. Nobody expected this news to arrive and above all nobody wanted it, but Keylor Navas once again showed that he acts in particular ways and dropped the bomb: he will not play for the national team again.
At 37 years old and giving clear explanations, the agile goalkeeper decided to put an end to 16 years of experience with the Costa Rican national team, with which he competed in the last three World Cups, including that wonderful page of Brazil 2014 after which he made the leap to the world elite with Real Madrid.
It is the news that everyone knew would come, but it was never the expected moment. Navas’ age and conditions seemed to allow for many more plans for the Ticos selection. He was still the undisputed starter and not just because of his career. The Federation trusted him to reach the 2026 World Cup and face Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay in the Copa América in June. Among fans and the press, the discussion continued to be about who should be the second goalkeeper, and the third or fourth, in case at some point Navas was injured or had the luxury of choosing not to play.
The goalkeeper who is still a member of Paris Saint-Germain will continue playing but only with clubs. His career is on the decline, but he is coming from very high after having reached the top by winning three Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and being able to tell his children that he played with Cristiano Ronaldo in Madrid and with Lionel Messi in Paris . Just two weeks ago Kylian Mbappé hugged him with affection in the stands of the Parc des Princes, dedicating a goal to him because he too is leaving PSG to look for a new club.
Navas’ home, however, has been the Costa Rican team. With his shield he flew on June 29, 2014 to stop Greek Theofanis Gekas’ penalty kick and advance to the World Cup semifinals. Surely it is the stop most seen by Costa Ricans and followers that he has left for the different clubs, but before and after there are hundreds of saving plays. There are viral videos of Central American narrators cursing the moment in which Navas appeared with an incredible hand. There are shots of Navas signing autographs for desperate rival fans. There are thousands of images in the history of the goalkeeper whose nickname ‘condor’ never marked him as much as his own name: Keylor. Some more enthusiastic people told him Keylord.
But all those images are already part of the past. Thousands of Costa Rican and Argentine fans watched the friendly match between both teams in March, in Los Angeles, without imagining that this would be the last time Keylor would defend the goal of the Costa Rican team. It seems like a coincidence that the Qatar 2022 world champion, although without Messi, would have said goodbye on a FIFA date, but no one could have foreseen it. Even 10 days ago, Fedefutbol classified Keylor as “fundamental” for the World Cup qualifiers led by Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro.
That’s why the feeling of emptiness that was left with the decision of Navas, the main reference in the history of Costa Rican soccer and perhaps the best-known Tico in the world. Now the betting begins to see who will be able to wear those gloves that seem gigantic to anyone. The legend is too fresh and no one was prepared for that goodbye, although there were already fears. The goalkeeper belongs to a generation of footballers who have slowly left the national team or even hung up their boots. They were his friends and his “family,” as he described them in the video he recorded for the farewell. And he, a family man, felt strange.
“Missing all the teammates who were in the National Team before, on a personal level it is a change for one to also be with other generations,” he said in March after defeating Honduras in the playoff for the last Copa América spot. It is the only explanation that was given on Thursday in the sports programs, in addition to the speculation of whether he is willing to continue crossing oceans to play with the Red. His next club destination may be in Europe or Asia, it is not known, but all the distances may seem too many for the veteran turned legend who no longer has to prove anything to anyone.
After all, Keylor has always acted with a cool mind. Without measuring 1.90 meters or having grown up in the European quarries, Navas made his mental strength a greater strength than the speed of his arms or the foot technique that he boasted about in playful moments with Marcelo or Ramos, among other greats. friends. At that time, it was not the popular clamor or the pressure of the environment that would force him to continue in the Sele. A legend leaves when he wants, although some sense of abandonment in the Federation is undeniable, said a Federation source.
The statement was brief, but generous: “Describing Keylor is beyond numbers and feats. Keylor is the example of all children who dream of flying like a falcon. His great performances and the joys that we shared with a single heart, the heart of the Sele.” It is true that thousands of children became goalkeepers after 2014 just because of him. A coach from a small soccer school in the province of Alajuela remembered this Friday when in 2015 his children’s team had nine goalkeepers and nine outfield players. They dreamed of being that goalkeeper who, with the number 1 on his number, prayed on his knees before starting the game, like in the image that FIFA published this Thursday in tribute to Keylor after the news that no one in soccer-loving Costa Rica wanted to hear.
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