Oyarzabal no longer remembers his knee: from a torn cruciate ligament to scoring the goal that is worth a Euro | Euro Cup Germany 2024

Spain and the Spanish teams that take part in top-level international competitions are the protagonists of a surprising fact: they have not lost a final for 22 years, and they have won the last 23, ten of them against British teams. But there is a micro fact that has to do with the author of the winning goal for Spain in the Euro final, Mikel Oyarzabal. The player born in Eibar 27 years ago and a true representative of the Real Sociedad youth system, has played in four finals in his career, with the club, with the senior national team and also with the Olympics. And he has scored in all four. In the Copa del Rey, against Athletic, he scored the goal that gave Real the title; in the Nations League, he scored one of the five goals in the penalty shoot-out in the victory against Croatia. His goal in the final of the Tokyo Olympics was not enough to beat Brazil, but he made up for it with the one he scored against England on Sunday.

Oyarzabal is a sure thing for the national team and also for his team, Real Sociedad, despite the high personal cost he had to pay after he suffered a serious knee injury in March 2022 and was unable to return until December of that same year. When he returned to play with his team, doubts began to arise about his performance, to the point that his coach, Imanol Alguacil, had to step in: “He is one of the best in the history of Real Sociedad and there are some who are putting a but on him,” he pointed out. The player himself asked for patience, because he knew what he was up against. “The doctor who operated on me, Mikel Sánchez, told me at the time that after eight months I would be able to compete and train normally again,” but that “I would spend two years recovering from my knee injury.”. It’s not an injury that lasts a month or a tear and I forget about it. Everyone who has gone through this knows that, as do the rehabilitation specialists and doctors.”

But the world surrounding football is impatient. With his team shining in the League, Oyarzabal was gradually gaining minutes, in a grey tone. Doubts began, although never among those around him. “His knee is perfect, but it will take some time for him to recover his level,” warned Javier Barrera, doctor of Real Sociedad. “He will be the same as he was or better,” he said when questions began to arise about Oyarzabal when he had already been discharged after months of uncertainty and some relapses, such as when he suffered an injury to the muscle from which one of the tendons was removed to make a graft, the semitendinosus, in the operation after the injury. For the player, “it was the hardest day with the injury because, although I saw myself far from returning to the team, I had been training with everyone for five days and I felt fine.”

Although after his return against Osasuna on the last day of 2022, it seemed that the circle had closed, those who had worked with him for nine months knew that it was not going to be easy. “He is at the time of returning to competition, of adding minutes, of getting fit, and it will not be quick,” said Iñigo Almandoz, one of Real’s recuperators. On the pitch, things were not easy with Sorloth and Kubo at their best, but two months after returning, the club gave him its total confidence by extending his contract until 2028.

Oyarzabal made 14 starts in his comeback season, but only completed three and scored three goals, but after the two years that Mikel Sánchez predicted he would need to be who he once was, things returned to normal. He finished last season with 14 goals in all competitions, with 33 games in the starting line-up for Real, 17 of them complete, and the fans at Anoeta began to feel that the Eibar player was essential to Imanol’s plans.

Meanwhile, in the national team, Luis De la Fuente had no doubts. “Mikel is a sure bet. He never fails. We have been together for nine years and we have won everything together.” Luis Enrique also had faith in him, although he could not wait for him for the World Cup in Qatar, but when the current coach saw that Oyarzabal was the same as always, he returned to the squad. And he showed his gratitude with his goal against England. And his knee? “I have not worried about it for quite a few months, it is responding and I feel fine. I have pain in other places for a thousand other things: a lot of training, a lot of matches,” he said in an interview two months ago.

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