He played little or nothing and when the way opened for him to be a starter due to the injury of a teammate, Florentino Pérez, master and lord of Real Madrid, went to buy another goalkeeper. However, the story of Andriy Lunin goes beyond his heroic night on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium to put "Merengue" in the semi-finals of the Champions League. The Ukrainian
brought the Russian invasion into the living room of the most powerful team
in the world.
Andriy Oleksíyovych Lunin was born in Krasnohrad, Ukraine, on February 11, 1999. Hero of the black night in which Guardiola's City kicked the goal 118 times in 120 minutes, his hometown is located in the Kharkiv region, one of the most punished by the Russian bombings that have been going on for more than two years.
There, in that area today semi-devastated by Putin's war advance, Lunin trained in the youth ranks of Metalist, a club where Argentines such as Alejandro "Papu" Gómez, world champion in Qatar 2022, among others, played. And from there he went to the FC Dnipro U19s.
In that club whose name resonates with the current war chronicles due to the missiles and drones that rained down on that community, he made his debut in the first division at the age of 17, becoming one of the five youngest goalkeepers to do so in the Ukrainian league.
After 25 games and with less than one goal conceded per game, he moved to Zorya Luhansk, a team with which he made his debut in European competitions in the 2017/18 Europa League, in which he played six games, received 9 goals and his team They were eliminated in the group stage after finishing third behind Spanish team Athletic Bilbao and Sweden's Östersunds FK.
On June 14, 2019, he was the goalkeeper of the world champion under-20 team in Poland, just a year after being hired by Real Madrid for just over 8 million euros.
Despite having achieved glory for his country, the only title at the national team level of the former Soviet republic, Lunin came to merengue to leave on a quick loan. He went through several Spanish teams, such as Leganés, Valladolid and Real Oviedo on loan and never had continuity.
In Valladolid he only played 2 games, in Leganés, 7, while Oviedo added 20.
Continuity was always a shortcoming in his career;
Not even when Madrid's starter, Thibaut Courtois
, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at the beginning of the season, on February 21, Lunin was able to take over the white goal.
Florentino decided to go look for
Kepa Arrizabalaga
at Chelsea, a club until recently in the hands of Roman Abramovich, the Russian tycoon who had to leave Stamford Bridge shortly after Vladimir Putin ordered the start of the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
The Russia-Ukraine war, the consecration and its lament
On February 24, 2022, Moscow launched the first missiles on Ukrainian territory and football, which today seems to have forgotten that conflict that still continues today, dressed in yellow and blue in support of the country governed by Volodymyr Zelensky.
In those weeks, just a couple after Lunin's 23rd birthday, the most important sport on the planet spoke out about the war.
Today it is Lunin, who is carried away for having saved two penalties, he must remind the rest that the bombs keep falling. In the midst of the euphoria over qualifying for the Champions League semi-finals, he remembered his team.
“The only difficulty is the war in my country
. It is not easy to go to training day after day when the worst news is coming out,” he said in the mixed zone of the Manchester City stadium.
"
There is my family, my friends, all my people, my city, my school...
", he said hurt in the middle of one of the biggest celebrations of his career and which led him to be the cover of the main newspapers in the world. “I try to help people, encourage them, do what I can. I feel this encouragement, this help that people give me, I try to return it.”
Lunin, on his social networks, asked the Spanish for help. He requested donations of medicine, clothing and canned food for his compatriots who endured the fall of missiles.
🇺🇦📱 Lunin on IG: "thank you for your attitude, everyone wants peace!!! No to War!!!"
Andriy was at the peaceful protest for Ukraine's peace in Madrid earlier. 🇺🇦🤍🇪🇸
Bravo, @AndreyLunin13! #StopWar. pic.twitter.com/jPNegeLZGx
— O (@FranRMA_) February 27, 2022
Together with his teammates,
including Luka Modric, Marcelo, Toni Kroos and Vini Jr.,
he went out onto the field crying and wearing a t-shirt that said "everyone with Ukraine", while flags in the stands asked for peace in the region. .
Or Barcelona will also have 20 @Beko washing machines 😂
— Leão estriste (@Leaoest1906) March 16, 2022
The Real Madrid squad had fun at their expense for having married Anastasia Tamazova, a Ukrainian model and influencer,
with sports clothing. The Spanish press reported that that week after the wedding and full of jokes was one of the few times that the players saw Lunin laugh.
NO PARAPHERNALIA😉! Andriy Lunin, substitute goalkeeper for Real Madrid🇪🇸, married Anastasia Tamazova. Both surprised with a relaxed and sporty outfit. pic.twitter.com/m9leaoAiZw
— Toque Sports (@ToqueSports) March 21, 2021
"Live the war in silence, like a monk"
A chronicle in El País de España describes that the archer cannot be understood without the war between Ukraine and Russia. "With a sober and even 'mysterious' character, the club says, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced him to be part of a media focus from which he has always stayed away."
The same media also tells that, from inside Valdebas, the Real Madrid sports city, the goalkeeper, now 25 years old and who still has to fix his contract to continue in the club,
"lives the war in silence, like a monk." .
Although the coaching staff and management had given him a few days off due to what happened in his country, Lunin never stopped training, being available and
"has never caused a single problem."
In February 2022 In the last press conference prior to the duel against Rayo Vallecano, it was the Real Madrid coach himself who said that he spoke with Lunin after the Russian invasion. “I have spoken with Lunin, also the president, to show him our affection, we know that it is a difficult time for him. War is a horror and everyone at the club has to be close and show all our affection,” said Carlo Ancelotti.
At the same time, the Italian coach admitted that the situation affected the footballer's spirit. “He does not have the spirit that he had before, he is worried because he has people near kyiv, his mother, friends, it is normal that he is very worried,” he said.
“It affects his spirit but I think the training helps him not to think about these things all the time. He is serious and professional in training although obviously all this is affecting him,” he concluded.
At the opening of Russia 2018, while Putin gave the opening speech of the World Cup at the Luzhniki Olympic Stadium, Florentino Pérez announced the arrival of Julen Lopetegui to Real Madrid, who in a couple of days would have to lead the national team in the Russian World Cup.
The spotlight was on that scandal that forced the coach to leave the national team and gave his place to Fernando Hierro, former Real Madrid player and member of the Spanish delegation. Putin's speech, like never before, was overshadowed, while Florentino showed signs of his power.
The debate over whether Real Madrid is the team of dictator Francisco Franco or not has perhaps been the strongest, politically speaking, in which the 14-time European champion has been involved.
Lunin, who this Wednesday was the architect of Merengue getting into the semi-finals in the search for "Orejona" number 15, in addition to having been the unexpected hero in Manchester, he is also the one who brought the first great war of the White House to the living room of the White House. 21st century, in times where everything is seen and multiplied by millions.
This time it was the penalties saved against Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic, but two years ago, it was the Kremlin's missiles on his house that he would have liked to stop and be the cover boy.
For one reason or another and no matter how much he plays a little or a lot, his time at the Santiago Bernabéu will not go unnoticed.
On his night of glory and sporting vindication, Lunin said:
"I am not a hero
. "