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It's never too late for a hair-raising sensation: 41-year-old Jose Juan knocked Zidane out of the cup
He played with Mostoboy against Benayoun, met Rivaldo 21 years ago, and studied with Kika Stein in the second division.
Jose Juan was a completely anonymous guy until yesterday.
Now, at 41, he is the great hero of Spain after defeating Real Madrid with Alciano from the third division
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Real Madrid
Michael Yochin
Thursday, January 21, 2021, 1:00 p.m.
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His only game in the Spanish top league is Jose Juan against Yossi Benayoun.
It was May 2003, when he was Salta Vigo's third goalkeeper.
He sat on the bench in the important home game against Racing Santander because assistant goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto - later Leo Messi's best friend at Barcelona - contracted chickenpox.
At the beginning of the second half, the Argentine Pablo Cavajero was sent off, and Juan Pablo was called to the crossbar in his place for what is officially defined as 37 minutes.
In practice, it was 46 minutes, because the extra time was very long, and right in the closing seconds, while Salta leads 1: 2, the disaster occurred.
A final raise was certainly sent to the field, Jose Juan came out recklessly, pushed by goalkeeper Stander Erwin Lemens who joined the attack, did not reach the ball, and Diego Alonso slammed into the exposed net to equalize.
Immediately afterwards the final whistle sounded, and the absorption was Jose Juan's last action in the spotlight.
One could have focused on the mistake, but he preferred to stay with the positive memories rather.
He got to be on the field alongside stars like Alexander Mostovoy, Juanfran and Eduardo Brisso.
He made a number of great saves, preventing a certain goal from Pedro Monitis who was sent towards him with a perfect delivery from Benayoun who shone in his first season in Spain.
In the end, when Salta qualified for the Champions League, he felt a partner in achievement - even if his contribution was small.
To this day, he defines that day as one of the founders of his life.
More on Walla!
NEWS
Alcoiano from the third division stunned Real Madrid with 1: 2 after extra time
To the full article
The opponent in the only 37 minutes of Jose Juan in La Liga.
Yossi Benyon (Photo: GettyImages)
From January 20, 2000 to January 20, 2021
Another exciting evening was three years earlier, on January 20, 2000, when he belonged to a more modest team from Galicia - Oresa from the third division.
The city then wore a holiday when Barcelona came to host it in the King's Cup.
Jose Juan may not have played, but was included in the list of substitutes, and was happy to see off the bench Rivaldo, Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Frank de Boer, Sergei and Bodwin Zandan.
The legendary Louis van Gaal was within touching distance of him.
Orensa lost only 2: 1, and two weeks later also squeezed an impressive 0: 0 rematch in the Catalan capital.
For a 20-year-old guy, it was amazing to step on the grass of Camp Nou even in the warm-up.
Jose Juan still bore the nickname Husinio at the time, which he later gave up because he decided he was not serious enough, and dreamed of a brilliant career at the top.
It did not happen, and he is so anonymous that on the English Wikipedia page even his birthday is incorrectly stated - January 25 instead of December 31.
However, the year is absolutely right - 1979. The goalkeeper appeared on the world air on the last day of the 70's, and is four months older than even Benyon.
Zizu did not remember the previous meeting between them.
Jose Juan (Photo: GettyImages, Quality Sport Images)
10 saves against Real stars
And maybe Wikipedia "added" to him almost a year, and he "only" recently celebrated 41, but that does not change the fact that he is the oldest player left in the Spanish Cup this season.
And yesterday, the elder of the tribe threw Real Madrid out of the factory.
On 20 January 2021, which is exactly 21 years after that meeting with Barcelona, he finally won a match against a luxury club in the squad, and excelled to receive the first big titles of his life.
Jose Juan demonstrated an almost perfect game, stopping 10 balls kicked towards him, and the tiny Alcoiano from the third division celebrated with a sensational 1: 2 in overtime.
Zinedine Zidane sent into the campaign as replacements for Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Tony Cross, but it did not help.
The disgraceful dismissal was completed in the 115th minute when the opponent was numerically inferior.
Zizu did not know about his previous meeting with Jose Juan, but the goalkeeper remembers her well.
In early 2004, he arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu as Pinto's assistant goalkeeper, and watched from the bench of Salta Briel winning 2: 4 a pair of Zidane, and goals from Brazilian Ronaldo and Luis Figo.
David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Raul and Gotti were also on the field.
It feels like ancient history, but for the veteran hero these were the glory days.
Then, when it was made clear to him that his chances of playing in Vigo were equal to zero, he embarked on a long journey in the lower leagues, earning a decent and modest living.
Over time, ambitions diminished, even as he returned to the first division in 2011 as Granada's third goalkeeper and once again visited the bench at Real and Barça stadiums.
"He represents the football I love."
Kika Stein (Photo: Reuters)
Connect to Stein's style
He found his natural place at the back stage of his career, when he signed with a logo from the second division in 2012.
Jose Juan was already 32 years old, and coach Kika Stein was not enthusiastic about him at first because his footwork was not good enough.
A loyal follower of Johan Cruyff demanded that his goalies participate in the construction of the game, and his apprentice learned.
In time, he proved himself a real star in terms of logos, became a banker in the lineup, and fans admired him.
They composed a special song in his honor, and performed it in every home game.
"I will always remember this song. I felt a great love in the logo, and I really enjoyed the five years there, also thanks to Stein. He was the most important coach in my life, taught me a lot, and I was very connected to his worldview and style. Stein represents the football I love," he said at the time. Jose Juan.
He was moved to tears when his boss was appointed Barcelona coach a year ago, promising: "I am convinced he will succeed."
The prophecy did not come true, but while in 2020 it turned from a dream into a nightmare for Stein, Jose Juan enjoyed it to the roof - and even the Corona helped him.
After getting tired of sitting on the Elcha bench, the goalkeeper did not want to hang up his gloves, and the dream was to move to Albacete - his wife's hometown, where the family even opened a gourmet food store.
But the club from the second league has not expressed interest so far, and he chose to join Alcoiano in the summer of 2019 in the fourth league.
He even brought his good friend Elche - Johnny, Saul's older brother from Atletico Madrid.
Together, the veterans marched the team to the top.
When the playoffs were canceled in July due to the plague, the association made a decision to move all teams, including Alcoiano, to the third division - and even there this season Jose Juan is making a crazy living, with only six mandatory goals in 10 games.
A one-time experience.
Alcoiano celebrates the splash (Photo: GettyImages, Quality Sport Images)
Admires Lev Yashin
The stated goal is a second consecutive promotion, and the trophy is seen as a likable but marginal attraction.
However, two weeks ago, Jose Juan provided a superb performance against Huesca - and Alciano ousted a rival from the Premier League, in what has been described as one of the greatest victories in its history.
She did not know what awaited her.
"When we got Real in the draw, I initially thought it was Real Sociedad. It took a while for the token to fall, and we all shouted for joy," said Jose Juan.
He promised to do his best, and only regretted that the 4,800-seat stadium would be left empty, in the Corona-hit area.
They were not partners in the one-time experience, but Jose Juan certainly was.
Before the game, historians recalled the 1947/48 season in which Alcoiano finished above Real Madrid in the first division, but the goalkeeper thought of his special story.
At age 41, after more than two decades as a pro, he received the ultimate award.
He thought of Mostboy and Juanfran who often mowed down the Blancos.
He recalled how he defeated Real's reserve team in his debut game in a logo uniform somewhere in December 2012, when Fabino (now the Liverpool star) and Jose Rodriguez (now the Maccabi Haifa star) collaborated in the white uniform.
Then he wrote his name on the sensational sensation.
What awaits him now?
Will he come to Camp Nou again?
And how many years have he had left on the field?
"Every year I lose one kilogram to stay fit and be more flexible," said the man who admired Lev Yashin as a child - even if he barely saw videos starring the Russian panther.
Yashin retired at age 40, Jose Juan passed him by in that regard.
This too is a special achievement.
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