It’s been one year? Amazing. As time goes! One year since that unforgettable April 3, 2021. A year of the ecstasy of La Cartuja. One year since the victory of Real Sociedad against Athletic Club in the biggest Basque derby of all Basque derbies. The first, and only so far, in a final. A year of history goal by Mikel Oyarzabal. One year of third Copa del Rey title in the history of the txuri-urdin club. But it seems like it was yesterday. Although it really feels like four years have passed, because of everything the team from San Sebastian has experienced in all this time. He has not stopped continuing to grow, to continue giving joy to his fans. Trying to repeat what he experienced, what he achieved, what he enjoyed on April 3, 2021. The longest final in history. Because it was the 2020 Cup.
But that, no matter how hard you try, is unrepeatable, unforgettable. For the context of the final. No fans in the stands and no celebration in the streets. And for the time without winning, doing it again 34 years later tastes so good that you can never forget that feeling. Seville will always have a special color for Real. La Cartuja is now part of El Molinón and La Romareda as settings for the Txuri-Urdin collective imagination forever. There where leagues and cups were raised, there will always be a piece of Real’s heart. How can we not love you? It is impossible. A year later, I remember as if it were yesterday the hangover of joy that flooded my entire body after screaming with all my might and crying with all my soul at the SER Sports Carousel. That came out of the gut, like something he had been wanting to get out of it for many years. A year later I’m still excited as if it were that day. I can’t help it. I don’t have a logical explanation. “If it’s just a Cup”, many will say. I understand you. But it’s not like that for me: it’s THE CUP. Who knows when I see Real win something again. The same is soon, hopefully; but you see what it cost to be champions again. More than three decades.
No, it is not just another Cup. And that is why a year later all the fans of Real Sociedad remember her with such affection. Also because he couldn’t be in Seville. Damn pandemic. fucking coronavirus. I had the immense luck of being in Seville. With my inseparable companion Jorge Beristáin, traveling with the ‘enemy’ Iñigo Markinez, Diego González, Iván Martín and Verónica Gómez. With a fantastic derby atmosphere, working hard and well with them. A luxury. With the great Bixio Gorriz in his heart, who was unable to travel due to an inopportune health problem; and my friend Peio Godoy always present, because he did not stop sending me messages, as nervous as I was in the previous one. The one he would have messed up if they let him go. And with the great Ion Urrestarazu as guide in Seville. Unforgettable treatment, unforgettable everything we live together. Those tears before the final at the Real hotel were just the beginning of what would come later, Ion. Unforgettable bar ‘La Esquina del Puente’ by Irundarra Chema. Unforgettable Peñas de la Real in Seville: Nazarena and El Sur. I keep as a devotion the scarf you gave me. How can I forget it!
It was a luxury to be able to be the voice of Real in Seville for the Carousel, be your representative on the day you had to be the most, but you couldn’t. A year later, I still wish I had lived up to it. Unforgettable gestures by Dani Garrido, Laura Martínez, Jorge Escorial, Borja Cuadrado, Dani Álvarez, Coke Peinado, Juan Otxoa, Alvaro Benito, and of course Iñigo Markinez. I will never forget what I experienced professionally in Seville. The work of technicians, producers and colleagues, of Ricar Arias and Roberto García on social networks is unforgettable. The display of Radio San Sebastián was unforgettable, with Coro Tellechea, Naike Bernal, Eva Monente, Eneko Picavea, David Sánchez, the commentators Ander Avellaneda and Facundo Ceriani, the director Oscar Tellez and his success with the happy little flags. Everything was unforgettable. And a year later it is impossible to forget it.
Unforgettable detail of Imanol Alguacil before the final, when they left the hotel for the stadium by bus. He was away working and he made me get on the bus to say hello and wish us luck. How can I not love you, Imanol! You kept your promise. A year later, of course I remember. Unforgettable starting eleven. Alternates. The entire template. The technical body. Directive. The press people, Jonan, Luis, Iban. The rest of the workers, who were many. I remember you, Jorge Sánchez. From Karmel. From Naira. Unforgettable Oyarzabal’s goal. Unforgettable hug with my friends and colleagues Mikel Recalde, Mauri Idiakez, Ángel López, Maitane Urbieta, Yon Cuezva, Mitxel González, Jon Ander de la Hoz, and with Gorka Otxoa. We almost fell rolling down the steps, Gorka! Unforgettable to continue missing Oscar Badallo that day in Seville, and especially Iñigo Taberna. They deserved more than anyone to live that final in situ. It was very unfair. Unforgettable congratulations from Iturralde González, Yago de Vega, Alfonso Herran and Javi Beltrán. Unforgettable messages from my aita and my father-in-law. They have taught me to live football as it should be lived. And above all, the return home was unforgettable, with my wife, Oihana, and my children, Markel and Noah, waiting for me at the door with the Real shirt to give us the hug that we should have given each other in Seville. They are my title. Tears of joy run down my cheeks a year later. These are my memories, but each one has their own, so different but just as emotional. Keep them well, reader friend, dear Real Madrid fan, because they are memories of an unforgettable Cup. A year later, but for life.