The career of Joaquín Sánchez. The 41-year-old captain of Real Betis said goodbye to Valencia on Sunday evening. It became an emotional event.
Emotional farewell for Joaquín (41)
Joaquín has been part of the Betis selection since 2000. He then played for Valencia, Málaga and Fiorentina, but could not resist Betis’ call to return. The striker would eventually play in the first team from Andalusia for another eight years. The counter ends at 622 games in LaLiga, equaling record holder Andoni Zubizarreta. In the duel with Valencia, Joaquín was taken off after just under sixty minutes of play and that resulted in beautiful images.
Afterwards, Joaquín expressed his thanks to the supporters of Betis. “Thanks to them I am Joaquín. I feel a lot of emotions and beautiful memories come up. This is a beautiful day. It’s a dream come true, one much more beautiful than I expected. I couldn’t have wished for more I will forever be a supporter of Betis,” he said.
“I don’t know what I did to get so much love”
Joaquín Sánchez’s farewell match was spectacular and emotional. The 41-year-old striker said goodbye as a professional football player on Tuesday evening. Joaquín was not dry.
Joaquín had invited a large number of former teammates to his farewell match. Afterwards it was not about the game and the tactics, but about the career of Joaquín, who became emotional about it.
“I don’t know what to say, I don’t know what I did to get so much love,” Joaquín said afterwards. “I want to thank everyone who made it possible to make this a beautiful day. To my friends, family, wife and my daughters: thank you for always being there. And thank you to all the fans of Real Betis, because without you this would never have been possible.”
Fans of Real Betis treat captain of arch-rival to loud applause
Friends from the football world gathered on Tuesday for the farewell match of Real Betis legend Joaquín Sánchez. Even Sevilla captain Jesús Navas was there. And that could count on appreciation from fans of the arch-rival.
You can see how Navas, who did not play because he is in the national selection of Spain, enters the field of Benito Villamarín to loud applause. Normally, the 37-year-old veteran is used to hearing boos and whistle concerts in that stadium.
“I never doubted to be here by Joaquín’s side,” Navas said in front of the camera of La Sexta. “He’s a great person who deserves this recognition and it’s great to be next to him. In a match like today, the club colours don’t matter.”
