Mikel Merino became Spain’s surprising hero in the quarterfinals. He did a goal celebration that was a copy of his father’s celebration at the same stadium in Stuttgart in the fall of 1991.
European Football Championships on channels 14.6.–14.7. Go to the competition website from this link.
On both days, live broadcast from 21:15 on TV2, Areena, app and website monitoring.
Tuesday 9.7.
At 22:00 Semi-final: Spain–France
Wednesday 10.7.
At 22:00 Semi-final: Holland–England
When Spain beat Germany in the quarter-finals of the European Football Championship in Stuttgart, the team got a very surprising hero.
Midfielder Mikel Merino28, rose to the top of the cross and scored a 2–1 winning goal when there were 119 minutes on the game clock, i.e. the last moments of the overtime match were played.
In the first two matches of the first group, Merino had received playing time for a few minutes. In the last match of the group against Albania, when Spain had no contribution, he played the full minutes.
In the semifinals, he came on in the 80th minute of the game for the young star by Nico Williams in place of. Merino has now played 26 matches in the national team, scoring two goals.
Merino’s professional career began in Osasuna in the second tier of Spain in 2014.
In the winter of 2016, Merino signed a five-year contract with Borussia Dortmund, where he was able to play only eight matches. Already in the summer, Merino’s career continued in Newcastle, England. The number of matches in the Premier League remained 24, and one goal was scored.
Since 2018, Merino has played again in his home country, Real Sociedad, where he has scored 20 goals in 190 league games.
Even in the semifinals on Wednesday, it’s clear that Merino will be a last-minute replacement if necessary.
Father ahead, son behind
After Merino emerged as the surprise hero of the quarterfinals, the biggest topic of conversation has been his goal clearance.
– To be honest, it took me two or three seconds to realize what had just happened. I punched the ball, the stadium fell silent. I opened my eyes and saw the ball on the wigs of the net, Merino felt after the match According to The Athletic.
The Spanish bench ran towards the corner flag. In the midst of all the commotion and confusion, however, Merino knew what he had to do. As the rest of Spain’s celebrating players moved away from the scorer’s bundle, Merino circled the corner flag, waving his fist.
The reason for this was clear. Merino’s father Miguel Merino never played for the national team. But he played at the same Stuttgart stadium in the Uefa Cup in November 1991, representing Osasuna.
When Osasuna surprised Stuttgart in the away match 3–2 and advanced to the next round of the Cup, Osasuna’s second goal was scored by Miguel Merino. Father Merino fanned the goal by dancing around the corner flag.
– I had to score here so that my father can stop mocking, Merino joked.
– He has said that he is the only Merino who has scored in Stuttgart. Well, now he can’t brag about it anymore.
“All I Had Left”
On top of everything, Stuttgart is the city where Mikel Merino played his national team debut in 2020.
No wonder Miguel Merino was moved to tears after the match. Father Merino told According to The Guardianthat he had talked to his son before the match about the possibility that he would paint in such an important stadium for the family.
– He has decided to make me look bad. He has surpassed me in everything now. He has accomplished much more than I ever will. But I had scored in Stuttgart. It was all I had left,” the elder Merino joked.
– This is a special moment and makes me emotional. This is much more important than when I scored here. I loved this moment almost more than my own. I saw him afterwards and we laughed about it: “Second goal in Stuttgart, huh?”.
According to his story, after the semi-final, Merino was in a hurry to take a shower so that he can go outside the stadium to celebrate with his family.
After a long period at Sociedad, Merino is taken to bigger clubs. Merino has become an all-round midfielder who scored two goals and assisted five in the club season that ended. According to Athletic, for example Barcelona and Arsenal are after him.
The races are followed moment by moment in the app and on ‘s website in this article.